Sunbed wars have taken on a new dimension in Spainas tourists use torches and mobile phones to hog the best spots on the beaches before dawn. Bemused locals have taken videos of holidaymakersgetting up while it is still dark and say the record time so far is 5.31am.
They plant their sun umbrellas, beds, and towels just inches from the sea in a bid to reserve places, and within an hour, the first line on the beaches is full. The ritual has become a “must-watch” scene for those who look on with amusement, with one saying: “Who will be next to break the 5.30am record?” The umbrellas at dawn scenario, described as “a very peculiar” race, is hitting several beaches, including the popular Costa Blanca resort of Torrevieja. “There is no official timer, but everyone knows that the competition is more alive than ever,” says Spanish newspaper Informacion . “Every morning, even before dawn, the Cura beach in Torrevieja becomes the scene of an invisible race, without a podium or medal, but with a highly coveted reward: the best place just a few centimetres from the sea.”
“Yes, we are talking about that now mythical custom that is repeated every summer: plant the umbrella as soon as possible to ensure the beachfront. And this 2025 is being especially competitive.”
Mastral Project, a Facebook page known in Torrevieja for its weather reports and for capturing common customs, says: “Good morning! At 5.31am, the first umbrella was already in place. By 7am, the shore was practically full. It’s not an exaggeration.”
Proyecto Mastral had already shared a video showing the first early birds at Playa del Cura planting their umbrellas at 5.41am.
“The reality is that those who do not get up early do not get their feet wet on the front line. From very early on, entire families organise their strategy,” says Informacion.
“You put the umbrella up. Another stays for a while to watch. And when the sun begins to heat up, the relay is activated: the children, the fridge and the towels arrive. The camp is set up.”
“That’s why, at 7am in the morning, the image is clear: the waterfront looks like a festival of colour, folding chairs and half-voiced conversations, as if a working day had begun… in swimsuit.”
Onlookers are questioning if it is legal to reserve a place at such an early hour. Technically, the municipal ordinance prohibits leaving objects without being present, but in practice, custom weighs more than regulations, and as long as there are no complaints or excesses, it is allowed.
Even so, there is no shortage of critical voices that denounce that this “express reservation” turns the beach into a board with banned areas for the stragglers.
Setting up the umbrellas early in the morning to reserve a place on the shore, leaving and returning later, is still a daily problem in Benidorm.