You can reach Areoso in your own boat, but since 2023 anchoring off the islet has been regulated by the Xunta (Order of 27 June 2023, DOG no. 125). Here are the essentials: which authorization you need, how many boats fit, where to anchor and how to go ashore.
Do you need an authorization to anchor?
Yes. Access to the islet, anchoring and docking are activities that require authorization. You request it on the areoso.xunta.gal portal by choosing the “anchoring” access type, with one request per vessel listing everyone who will go ashore. The authorization is free; our permit guide walks you through it step by step.
How many boats can anchor: quotas per slot
The Xunta sets a maximum per time slot, and there are three a day: from sunrise to 13:00, from 13:00 to 17:00 and from 17:00 to sunset.
- High season (Easter week and 15 May to 30 September): 20 anchorings per slot.
- Low season (the rest of the year): 10 anchorings per slot.
- No more than 50 people per slot may be on the islet in high season, or 20 in low season, counting every way of getting there.
- Visits to the islet are daytime only, between sunrise and sunset.
Where to anchor
Only in the buoyed area set by the regional Environment Department together with the Harbour Master's Office of Vilagarcía de Arousa. Anchored boats cannot go up to the islet.
- Anchor only in the indicated area or on the indicated buoys.
- Enter and leave through the marked channel, between the green and the red buoy.
- Navigation through the channel between Rúa island and Pedregoso islet remains free: the order does not restrict it.
How to go ashore
With the boat at anchor, you land using a tender, which must return to the anchoring point as soon as the group is ashore: it cannot stay on the beach. Land in the permitted areas and avoid the isthmus, the most fragile part of the islet.
Fishing, diving and other limits
- No fishing within 200 metres of the islet.
- No scuba diving within that radius either; breath-hold snorkelling without weights is allowed.
- No animals may go ashore, except assistance dogs.
- No fires, no music devices and no litter of any kind.
Tides and weather
On very high tides the beach almost disappears and the Xunta does not authorize visits for those slots. Check the wind and sea state before setting off too; in an emergency, call 112.
No boat of your own?
You can go by kayak from A Illa de Arousa or on a boat trip with landing and pick-up. Either way, we process the Xunta authorization within the same booking.