Between Alicante and Cartagena lies one of Europe’s most quietly organized naturist coastlines. Valencia’s cities and towns have done something unusual: they’ve written naturism into municipal law, with officially decreed, signposted naturist zones – while Murcia hosts the mainland’s best-known year-round naturist resort, tucked in a protected cove an hour from anywhere. Andalusia has the fame; the Levante has the paperwork.
El Portús: The Levante’s Flagship
Camping Naturista El Portús sits in its own cove within the Sierra de la Muela, Cabo Tiñoso y Roldán natural park near Cartagena: roughly 400 pitches plus bungalows across a 10-hectare resort inside a 100-hectare private estate. It’s not one of Europe’s largest naturist resorts by area – the French giants dwarf it – but it is Spain’s premier dedicated coastal naturism resort, and one of very few in Europe that operates year-round with an indoor heated pool, sauna and spa, thanks to a microclimate of over 300 sunny days a year that makes it a winter base for European long-stayers. FEN or INF cards aren’t required (cardholders get roughly 10 percent off); day passes run about €10-15, pitches €25-45, bungalows €60-150. Its beach, Playa del Portús (Cala Morena), has been the resort’s naturist counterpart for over 30 years – a traditional naturist beach backed by no municipal decree, just decades of practice.
Valencia: The Decreed Zones
Three Valencian naturist zones are officially established by municipal ordinance, signed and protected:
- Playa de Pinedo (València city): created under the city’s beach-use ordinance (Articles 35-36), south of the port – a legal naturist beach in a major city’s jurisdiction, a 15-minute drive from Valencia airport.
- Platja de l’Ahuir (Gandia): a two-kilometre protected dune sector at Gandia’s northern end, designated by decree with signposting and boardwalks through the dunes.
- Racó del Conill (Villajoyosa): formalized in the town’s 2017 beach ordinance (Article 60) and signposted since 2020 – a secluded pine-shaded gravel cove with crystal water between Villajoyosa and Benidorm, with a “better without swimwear” tradition now backed by law.
Add El Carabassí at Elche with its signposted naturist dune section, and the picture is complete: this coastline legislates its naturism.
The Traditional Beaches
Beyond the decrees, the classic Valencian naturist spots operate on tradition and constitutional tolerance: La Playeta at El Puig, Mareny de Sant Llorenç at Cullera inside the Albufera park dunes, and the dune sections of Rabdells (Oliva) and Les Deveses on the Dénia border. None carries a municipal decree; all are long-established.
Inland Alternatives
Two dedicated naturist retreats sit inland: Camping Naturista Sierra Natura in the Sierra de Enguera mountains, and the small adult-only rural naturist retreat Gayanes in northern Alicante province. One name warning: Camping Natura at Rugat is a standard family campsite – the name is a trap.
Getting There
Murcia-Corvera (RMU) is 35 minutes from El Portús; Alicante (ALC) is 40 minutes from Racó del Conill and about an hour from much of the coast; Valencia (VLC) puts you 15 minutes from Pinedo and under an hour from Gandia.
Flying in? Murcia (RMU) is closest to El Portús; Alicante (ALC) and Valencia (VLC) cover the rest of the coast. Search and compare fares on Kayak. Disclosure: affiliate link – if you book through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Where to Stay
El Portús books direct through elportus.com, and the naturist campings likewise. For the El Portús end of the coast, the map below is centered on the resort’s cove near Cartagena:
Disclosure: this map contains affiliate booking links. If you book through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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