The Catalan coast will have 50 designated areas for dogs to swim this summer, spread across 43 municipalities, a figure that reaches 62% of coastal towns. The map includes new additions in Tarragonès, where Vila-seca is introducing its first delimited zone in La Pineda and Tarragona is expanding its offering to two beaches, Miracle and Llarga.
The distribution, however, remains very uneven. While regions like Maresme have 13 designated beaches in 13 of their 16 coastal municipalities, Selva continues to be the only coastal region without any urban beaches open to animals in the summer and with no plans to open them in Blanes, Lloret de Mar, or Tossa de Mar.
Maresme adds 13 beaches and Selva still has no urban areas
The highest concentration of spaces is in Maresme, with a designated beach in 13 municipalities, including Mataró, Pineda de Mar, Malgrat de Mar, Vilassar de Mar, Arenys de Mar, and El Masnou. In l'Alt Empordà, there are 11 spaces in seven municipalities, with four in Cadaqués and two in Port de la Selva, while Roses and l'Escala are left out of the list.
The uneven distribution is also notable on the southern Costa Brava. Baix Empordà has three spaces in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Palamós, and Torroella de Montgrí, but there will be no designated areas in Platja d'Aro, Calonge, or Palafrugell.
In Selva, Blanes conducted a pilot test in winter on the central beach with a 5,500-square-meter area. The city council has decided against maintaining it in the summer and plans to reinstate it in the autumn, meaning the region will continue to have no urban beaches for dogs during the high season.
Tarragonès adds La Pineda and Tarragona opens two beaches
Tarragonès will offer six dog-friendly beaches this summer in Tarragona, Salou, Altafulla, Torredembarra, Roda de Berà, and Vila-seca. The main novelty is in La Pineda, where Vila-seca is introducing its first delimited zone with buoys to also mark the swimming area in the water.
Tarragona, for its part, will now have two designated areas, in Miracle and Llarga. In the same region, Creixell will not have a dog zone this summer.
Further south, Montsià will have four beaches, one in each municipality of Alcanar, La Ràpita, Amposta, and Sant Jaume d'Enveja. Baix Llobregat, Barcelonès, Baix Camp, and Baix Ebre will each have two designated beaches, while Baix Penedès will maintain one in El Vendrell.
Cubelles loses its space and some municipalities limit hours
El Garraf will have three spaces, one less than last year, because Cubelles will not open its usual area due to works that will last at least until the summer of 2027. The reduction affects a region where access is also permitted to Belis beach, in Sant Pere de Ribes, although without specific regulation, without services and without signs.
Most beaches authorize the presence of animals during all daylight hours of the high season, from the beginning of June to the end of September. Even so, several municipalities maintain limited strips.
Sant Pol de Mar and El Prat de Llobregat allow access from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Altafulla restricts it from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., while Alcanar sets it from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. during Easter week and from June 15 to September 15.
The conditions of use also change depending on the municipality. In Torroella de Montgrí, they require animals to be leashed and controlled, most areas are fenced and signposted, and Pineda de Mar is among the town councils that install showers for pets.
In Blanes, the winter pilot test occupied an area of 5,500 square meters on the central beach and the city council plans to reopen it in the fall.