Spain, Costa Dorada beach detecting

[Acquisitor]

hi all, I need some help!

I booked a trip to Costa Dorada and wonder if the police will bother me if I decide to detect on public beaches, I know the law in Spain is rather complicated when it comes to detecting. So I plan to detect the beach and in water, is that a problem ?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[Tom_in_CA]

You might try this link. But ..... as dire sounding as some of the stuff seems to sound, there are no shortages of md'ing hobbyists in some of those countries. That is, the rules, in actual effect, might only apply to historic antiquities (ie.: if you were raiding pyramaids, taking statues and gold bars out of the country, etc...).

http://www.ncmd.co.uk/law.html

The issue of tourist beaches in Spain came up awhile back on a beach hunting forum: a tourist, returning from his vacation from Spain, proudly posted a handful of gold rings he'd found there. Someone on the thread "took exception" to his post, saying it was illegal, perhaps citing this link as their proof. But the wierd thing was, he had gone in broad daylight, for a week straight, and no one seemed to care. Others on the thread said they too had no problems, even getting thumbs up from local cops or whatever, and met locals with md'rs on the beach.

It might be one of those things where .... beaches (where presumably you're angling for modern tourist losses, not "antiquities" etc.....) might be treated differently than land sites, or obvious historic monuments, etc...

Another way is to contact dealers in those countries (who ..... presumably .... are selling them to people who are using them ). A quick search of Fisher, Garrett, and Minelab's websites shows they have dealers in Spain. If you contacted them, they'd have the real skinny.

 

[Dano Sverige]

Go to the "todays finds" forum and scan down the posters/response list until you see "HISPAN". He's Spanish and does a lot of detecting there. Send him a messege, i'm sure he'll put you straight. He's a nice guy.

 

[U.K. Brian]

Tom fails to mention that one silly old *** on another forum thread who insisted that you could detect anywhere, anytime eventually after three months or so did admit that there were restrictions.
I wasted a lot of time posting links to people who had had detectors confiscated, confiscated but returned when they left the country, had been fined or had the finds they had made taken from them and even had their hotel rooms searched.

NO ONE EVER SAYS YOU CAN'T DETECT IN SPAIN....you just need to take care.
Hopefully this link will work

www.absolutespainforumbecause.com/.../4662-metal-detecting-spain-continued.html (doesn't work for me when loaded so either go to absolutespain forum and search, or type in "metal detecting at Costa Dorada" into Yahoo or similar which should get you there.

 

[Acquisitor]

thanks all, I'm going to a place with hotels ONLY, no private beaches, just one hotel after another, in a LOOONG line.


I received an email from my hotel with permission to detect the beach and the water, on condition that I do it early in the morning or late in the evening so I dont disturb the other guests. Once there I will also visit the neighbor hotels to ask for permission too, hopefully that wont be an issue.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Brian, sure. And there's "restrictions" and "rules" everywhere. Even the united states & UK. Even in the most innocuos & allowed places, etc.... there are still "rules" (ie.: lost & found laws, IRS income reporting laws, damage and destruction laws, curfews of when parks are closed, etc... blah blah). Who ever said there weren't rules, there, here, or anywhere? And who ever said not to "take care"?

You say that it is legal to detect Spain (the beaches anyhow perhaps?). But I bet if I went and asked enough lawyers and consulates there, I would find one who morphs laws in such a way, to render a "no" to that question, even at beaches you say it's ok at.

Thus my advice: find out what the real skinny is, by seeing what's done in actual practice (ie.: if anyone really cares or not). Sure, avoid breaking laws that cause confiscations, but you'd be surprised how often that phrase gets thrown out, for places where detecting has gone on, since the dawn of time, and no one's ever cared. Why? Because someone searched deep enough, long enough, and asked enough lawyers, and found someone to morph something to apply to their question. Then those who are there detecting, ask themselves "since when?"

 

[Acquisitor]

administration of the hotel told me it was ok, Ihave it on paper, what else do I need ? I doubt there will be police there.
Also I will detect from 6 am to 8 am and from 8 pm (when its dark) to 11pm or so. Dont see why I would have issues

 

[Dano Sverige]

In Spanish holiday resorts the Guardia civil (local militia) are always mooching around, and some can be a pain. Do NOT cross them or argue! If they say leave then leave. It's not unknown for argumentative types to be thrown into a police van and taken up into the hills for "a lesson".
The other thing there is that the nightlife doesn't really kick off until around 11pm - 5am (or longer), so people may be still on the beaches for much longer into dark. 5am to 9am may be the best detecting time, and you'll avoid all the drunken Brit's with luck lol.

If you have an Excal II or other water detector? then you may benefit as you can spend time in the sea where you're not annoying sunbathers, and it'll be harder for the police to spot you lol.

 

[Acquisitor]

Im mainly going to detect in the sea indeed. Got an excl 2 1000...