Why Spend a Week of Travel in Tarifa, Spain?

Sunset in Tarifa

To end my travel in Andalusia, I wanted to spend a week of travel in Tarifa, Spain since I had heard so much about it. Tarifa, Spain is a very small town on the very southern-most point of Europe with only about 35km distance to Africa’s coastline which you can actually see from the beach. It is split between the Mediterranean coast and the Atlantic on its opposite end across from the Straights of Gibraltar. While walking out towards the point, I came across this map which can help show you where this town is in relation to the rest of Spain if you’re still curious.

Map of Tarifa in relation to the Atlantic and Mediterranean

So what is Tarifa known for? Well, it’s a very popular tourist destination for Europeans on their holiday, especially Italians as I’d come to find out as it seemed more than 75% of all the people I met in my 8 days here were Italian. It’s also known for its strong and steady winds known as the ‘Levante’ winds which blow to the east as they move between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. Because of these winds, there are wind farms set up all along the mountainside and visible as a backdrop to many points within the town, especially along the beach side which is referred to as the Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light).

Wind Turbines along Mountainside

But what is Tarifa best known for?  Because of its strong and steady winds, Tarifa is considered to be Europe’s Kiteboarding  and Windsurfing capital and many travel here from all over to do just that during its peak season.

Kiting at Sunset

Because of my desire to always want to do this, I discovered the town of Tarifa while planning my trip and it was actually the main reason I had decided to travel to Spain in the first place.

Beach along Town's Edge

The beach itself is very wide with plenty of room for sunbathing and anything else you want to do and is at least a few miles long before it breaks into rock cliffs. However, the main section for Kiteboarding and Windsurfing is at the upper portion of the beach away from the town center. I walked it several times from the center of town but it was a hike. I guess it would help to use car hire in spain if you’re looking to get from town quickly to the main kiteboarding area instead of the 30-45 walk! Below are a couple shots of the scene you would find once you get there.

Literally hundreds of Kites in what some refer to as the 'War Zone'

The mountain range you see in the background is Morocco

But Kiteboarding is not all that this town is made up of as it has a very lively town center, which is simply referred to by locals as…. the ‘town centre’. Once inside, you won’t come across much traffic at all as it’s made up almost entirely of pedestrian traffic especially since some alleyways wouldn’t even fit a vehicle.

My welcoming message upon arrival ...And they spelled my name right!

It’s here that all the restaurants and bars and street performers gather at night in the streets, which, as is typical in Spain, starts late evening and stretches on into morning. Most places don’t even open until 12am. And because this town rests on the sea, it has some of the best seafood around at very affordable prices. Some of the seafood in the paella and tapas dishes included squid,

A few Friends in Tarifa

octopus, sardines, mussels, shrimp, calamari and a  variety of other things (I  wasn’t always sure what I was eating part of the time as I usually just go pot luck and take others’ recommendations). So far, it’s worked out.

So that is Tarifa in a nutshell… a place where you can (and I did) swim in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in the same day. Oh, and because it’s so close to Africa, you can make it to Morocco in less than 45 minutes by ferry but I’ll save that for another post….