Naturist Beaches of on La Costa Verde 
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Surftolive House
Cantabria: Santander, Spain Youth HostelsLet the noise of the waves cradle you among splendid panoramas. The nature will be the true protagonist, and you will discover its strength and you will become its lover.
View DetailsAccommodation list for Zarautz
Accommodation list for Galicia
Accommodation list for Barrañan
Accommodation list for O' Grove
Accommodation list for Cagnas de Morrazo
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La Costa Verde
(The Green Coast)
Without any doubt beaches are one of the most attractive and sought after places to spend a holiday by many tourists coming to Spain. Four out of five come to enjoy it's coastline, which is bathed in sunshine and twice daily is covered by it's clean and crystal clear waters.
La Costa Verde (The Green Coast), stretches as the crow flies, for over 1500 kilometers from the French/ Spanish border by the town of Irún to the Spanish/ Portuguese border by the river Mino. The Green Coast is so named due to it's more temperate climate. La Costa Verde is graced with more rainfall than the rest of Spain. Sunshine is not guaranteed throughout the summer and therefore has not been so popular with the tourists as the Mediterranean or south coasts have been. This in itself has been more of a blessing than a hindrance, as much of the coastline has not followed the same touristy development as the more popular "costas" further south and so it's able to offer the visitors a more relaxed and natural surroundings. The further west one travels the more evident this becomes. There are many beaches to be found here along it's length, with many suitable for Nude leisure.
Almost the entire coastline is backed by the northern mountain range of the Cordillera Cantabrica and succeeded by the Montes Gallegos on the western side. This gives this coastline a varied and very attractive as well as interesting contour. The flora and fauna changes gradually from east to west from the green coniferous pine forests of the Vasque country to the tall and aromatic forests of eucalyptus trees of Galicia. The whole coastline is dotted with fiords which multiply in numbers especially on it's west coast. With such a rich and exuberant natural environment, many places can be found where Naturism can be practiced in it's countless number of dense green forests, it's grassy hills and rocky mountains, it's winding cool streams and rivers, it's lakes and reservoirs and lastly and infinitely more popular it's coastline, which offers more diversity of beaches than the rest of the Iberian peninsula put together. It is perhaps because of this reason, where one can hide in a thousand places, that Naturism never developed as sociably as it has done in the rest of Europe. This coupled with the general religious attitudes of past years, reinforced by the Franco regime has held Naturism back in these regions, even comparing it to the rest of Spain.
Since becoming a democracy things in Spain have changed and this change has only been positive where Naturism is concerned. Today one can enjoy Nude leisure in any of hundreds of beaches all throughout Spain. The Green Coast is blessed with an excellent multitude of choices, all of which are nearly unspoiled by the ever advancing army of pleasure seekers from foreign lands. Due to it's climate, the region only invites Naturism to take place in the warm summer months when one can enjoy and embrace nature in a natural manner. It's winters mild but wet, do not give much possibility for outdoor Naturism and so has to beconfined to indoor events as is typical for most of Europe.
Without a doubt the best beaches for Naturism are those found far away from touristy resorts and city centers. In the case of The Green Coast this is where all the most beautiful, best, and most popular beaches are found, all offering fantastic natural surroundings while most still providing some basic services and easy access.
Starting
in
the Vasque region, the province of Guipuzcoa, we find our
first popular beach near the town of Zarautz. The entire length
of this sandy beach is 2.5 km but only a small zone is Naturist.
This is right at one end by the golf course, where many textiles
mix with Nudists. This is a place where wind surfing has become
very popular even among Nudists. Our next beach takes us already
into the next province: Vizcaya. La Cantera beach is situated
near the small village of Barrika some twenty kilometers east of
Bilbao. La Cantera is modest in size but well located
geographically and affords some shelter from the sometimes rough
seas of the Bay of Biscay. Popular to some extent but not
overcrowded. Here all of the population is normally entirely Nude
with a few, if any, textiles.
Moving along to the neighboring region of Cantabria, we find the beach of La Arena, nick named "Los Nudistas" which requires no translation! This beach is found on the Ria de Ajo (The Garlic Fiord) by the town of Isla 35 km east of Santander. The beach does not face the ocean but is part of the fiord and so can be classified as an inland beach. It is very popular, due again to the shelter it gives from the strong currents and wind that can sometimes ruin a good beach day. Lots of sand and space with the added security and comfort afforded by it's location, makes this beach a favorite among families with young children.
Staying in Cantabria another beach worth mentioning has to be Playa Valdearenas; an awesome 3 km long sand bank is it's main feature giving bathing opportunities either facing the ocean or inland. For this reason alone, it has become popular especially with Naturists which rule in numbers here. Windsurfing is also very popular at this spot. To find it head for the town of Liencres laying about 12 kilometers west of Santander. The beach is signposted from there.
Leaving Cantabria and entering The Principality of Asturias we notice a gradual change in the contours of the coastline as it becomes more and more abrupt the more west we travel, in turn giving us more variety of landscapes and seascapes.
The most notable Naturist beach we encounter, after entering Asturias, has to be Playa Torimbia near Llanos or Llanes. Set in a horseshoe bay and backed by a blanketed mount of lush green foliage without a building in site, gives one the feeling of being in a wild and virgin territory where one can be one with nature and indeed one can in more ways than one. It's white sands are ideal for that all over tan. Is regularly cleaned and raked everyday and offers the beach goer 600 meters of paradise which is shared with its smaller neighboring beach Pestaña, also Naturist. Atop of one of it's neighboring mounts one can have a fine view of all the surrounding bays and the spectacle of sunrise and sunset from here is something not to be missed.
Traveling further west we now visit Playa Vega or sometimes simply called Berbes, an extensive sandy beach of 1.5 km, by 80 m. wide backed by gentle green sloping valleys. Vega is a very popular beach especially with the textiles but has a zone reserved for Naturist use. If you like wide open spaces then this is the place to visit. Finding it is easy. The turn off for la Vega is at kilometer 9 of the N- 632 national road, this is found 7 km west of Torrelavega. Before we leave Asturias, one last beach has to be mentioned and this is the beach of Peñarubia, laying close to the city of Gijon. The beach is by default well visited especially on weekends. Backed by impressive shear cliffs, which shelter it's golden sands, the beach can be enjoyed on most days and offers a high degree of services and comfort with the added convenience of being so close to the city.
Having left Asturias and now entered the Kingdom of Galicia we find that in this the first province we enter through, Lugo, there is an unnatural void of beaches where Nude recreation can be enjoyed. One must travel further west until the province of La Coruña is reached before once again being able to feel the sun's rays upon one's entire body. Here in Galicia the possibilities are almost endless for Nude recreation with hundreds of possible Nude spots and over 40 well known Naturist beaches. The sheer diversity of the Galician land and seascapes make this land ideal for such activities and can, and indeed combines many more vacational interests hand in hand with Naturism.
I am cursed by the fact that Galicia has so many fine sites to offer as I would undoubtedly run out of space if I were to describe them all. However I shall endeavor just to describe the top three or four,
On with Galicia - The region offers Spain's most articulated coastline with a total of over 5.000 km of actual shoreline which is divided between its rocky shoreline, 1000 plus beaches, coves and fiords, some of which extend up to 30 km inland. Exactly 744 of these places are actually usable bathing beaches so you will excuse me if I don't name them all.
The first beach we visit is the very popular beach of Barrañan, a small section of this beach actually named Conbouzas is used entirely for Naturism. It's popularity is due to it's proximity to the ancient city of La Coruña, Conbouzas is but a short 12 km away from it's city center. Again this small section of Barrañan (Conbouzas) is surrounded by high green covered mounts giving the illusion of total isolation from the urban areas which one finds nearby. The Naturist beach itself is small by comparison to it's neighboring main textile beach in all approximately 1.5 km of beach backed both by the high mounts surrounding Conbouzas and extensive sand dunes on its textile side followed by rich and fertile agricultural land. The sea can often be very choppy here and high waves are not uncommon even on the calmest of days.
Passing by many extraordinary and unbelievable scenic beaches we arrive at our next stop Castro De Baroña, officially known as Area Longa. This, the cot of Galician Naturism, is situated next to an ancient bronze-age town from which the beach takes it's name. Due to the popularity of this site, the beach has an insufferable number of textiles which completely overrun the beach on weekends squeezing the Naturists to both ends, many of which are offended by this intrusion of the textile public on an official Naturist beach. Without shame or any exhibitionist reasons, they state their claim to the beach by parading among the textiles and refusing to be shoved to one corner by the majority. The beach is well signed as a Nudist beach but still the prudes persist. This is not the beach for you if a majority of textiles on a beach intimidate you. To find it, turn into the driveway of the restaurant Castro Baroña at kilometer 58 of the C- 550 national road. From here it is a 1 km walk down a gentle slope to the beach.
Many more idyllic places exist from here along the way to our next stop. Most notable is the area of O' Grove in the province of Pontevedra, which offers a profusion of beaches and coves for Naturist use all within walking distance of one another
Having once arrived at the peninsula of Cangas de Morrazo we can stay on the C-550 road until we arrive at km 111, near the small village of Hio and then head for playa Barra. Playa Barra must be said is one of Galicia's, if not Spain's, best Naturist beaches. It has ended the pearl of Galician Naturism. I say this with many considerations in mind, set in an idyllic setting, backed by extensive sand dunes which are blanketed by a thick forest of pines and facing the very wide mouth of the Vigo fiord which in turn is protected from the force of the Atlantic by the Cíes Isles. Playa Barra is well protected from harsh seas so common of this coast by these features and more, it's white fine sand stretches for 1300 meters from end to end and has an average width of about 30 meters where hundreds of people enjoy this little piece of paradise as God intended. It's waters are shallow and calm and ideal for children to play and swim in. The absence of any permanent structure, adds to the atmosphere and complete integration with nature culminates in a completely relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable day. The only sign of urban madness is when the time comes to retrieve one's vehicle. Unfortunately, due to the immense popularity of this beach, all the access roads are usually packed full with cars and it can be quite difficult to find a parking space or get out of one. Parking is on a bumper to bumper basis, although several small private parking areas are provided at reasonable costs. These do get full very quickly, so come early and stay late if you plan to visit.
To end our tour of The Green Coast we must, without a doubt, stop by Figueiras beach, yet another fine example of what this region has to offer to the Naturist. Playa Figueiras is not on the mainland but on the isle of Monteagudo, which forms part of the Cíes Islands situated as stated above in the mouth of the Vigo Fiord. To reach the island, ferries can be boarded from Vigo's main harbour or Cangas on the north side of the fiord. The isle lays about 7 nautical miles from these ports and the ferry ride takes approximately 50 minutes. There are no cars on the island and the only possible overnight accommodation is a small camping site. The whole island group has been turned into a natural reserve and some very impressive panoramic views of the Vigo Fiord and its surroundings can be enjoyed from the top of its highest mount: Monte Faro.
Playa Figueiras faces slightly inland and is offered protection from the Atlantic by its northern peek, Mount Agudo. The beach is only 500 meters north from the boarding dock so it is easy to find. The very nature of the island, extremely whitish sand, gives a good all-round tan. It's waters, although cool, are extremely clean and clear. They are also calm and safe for small children to play in. Sheltered as it is from the Atlantic, the weather influences a shortage of a cooling sea breeze and this is most noticeable where temperatures on this side of the island can reach the high thirties or forties quite often in summer. Luckily the beach is surrounded by a thick pine forest where one can find shelter from the scorching heat if a dip in the sea is not always to your liking or convenience.
That concludes our whirlwind tour of La Costa Verde. Next time you are thinking of a holiday in Spain ... think Green, where getting close to nature is only natural!
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Naturist Beaches of La Costa Verde in Spain A guide to the Beaches of La Costa Verde. The Green Coast is so named due to it's more temperate climate. The Spanish Tourist Board estimates that around 1.5million tourists visit Spain every summer with the express aim of practicing naturism. |
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<a href="http://www.spanish-holidays-ltd.co.uk/Costa-Verde/naturist-beaches.htm"> Naturist Beaches. A guide to the Beaches of La Costa Verde. The Green Coast is so named due to it's more temperate climate. The Spanish Tourist Board estimates that around 1.5million tourists visit Spain every summer with the express aim of practicing naturism. Locations, advice and general information.. |
