Playa de los Lances is the most central beach in Tarifa and, together with its neighbour Playa de Valdevaqueros, it’s where the action is! The strong easterly and westerly winds that funnel through the narrow Strait of Gibraltar have earned Tarifa the status of Spain’s surfing capital and the waters (and skies) around here are alive with kite and wind surfers showing off their aquatic and aerial acrobatics. But despite being a magnet for surfers, this 7km-long and 120m-wide stretch of fine, sun-bleached sand backed by the Parque Natural del Estrecho can easily absorb the crowds and has more than enough space for water sports enthusiasts, sunseekers and bathers, even in peak season. Just be prepared to be buffeted by the winds!
Watched over by the atmospheric ruins of Castillo de Santa Catalina, this beach bar is just across from the causeway that leads to Tarifa’s Isla de las Palomas (Island of Doves). It’s a beautiful setting with indoor and outdoor seating and fresh Mediterranean cuisine – with front row seats for watching the surfers and the crashing Atlantic surf!
Just the other side of the castle ruins, this beachfront eatery offers more than your standard beach bar burgers. You can enjoy fresh seasonal ingredients sourced from local producers with a varied menu for seafood lovers, carnivores and vegetarians, including tapas and sharing platters. You’ll find a decent wine list and a comprehensive selection of beers and spirits, as well as your staple cocktails – perfect for watching the sun set in those larger-than-life skies. Let your hair down and, as their website says, “let the wind mess up your hair”!
Further up Los Lances, this popular chiringuito serves beach fare and more, alongside aperitif, classic and alcohol-free cocktails and healthy smoothies and mocktails with the option of adding your tipple of choice… Waikiki invites you to drop anchor and relax to the sound of crashing waves mingling with their summer playlists, DJ sets and live music events.
A bohemian beachfront restaurant and bar where you can enjoy Mediterranean dishes in a relaxed setting, either inside where picture windows frame the ocean vistas, on the outside deck, or lounging on daybeds with your toes in the sand. The perfect locale for sipping on a cocktail, spending time with friends, and letting summer sounds wash over you whilst you watch the kitesurfers ride the waves.
This 5km stretch of sand northwest of Playa de Los Lances is the surfer beach par excellence. Arcing around from the Punta de la Peña headland (near the Hurricane Hotel) to Punta Paloma, and backed by vegetation, dunes and little else, this beach buzzes with kite and wind surfers and those that simply like to soak up the action. There are designated zones for waters sports and swimming and although the conditions here are ideal for seasoned surfers, the bay is sheltered enough for beginners to try out the waters without getting into trouble. Not surprisingly, Valdevaqueros is the beach of choice for well-known water sports competitions such as GWA Tarifa Wing Pro and Full Power Tarifa.
If you want to immerse yourself in the surfer scene, Tumbao and the neighbouring Valdevaqueros Beach Bar are the places to be. But if you’d rather boho-chic and tastefully trendy, head further up the beach to the Dani García Group’s BiBo Beach House.
BiBo Beach House Tarifa: A globe-trotting-inspired concept with a hip menu that caters to vegetarians, pescatarians and carnivores alike. Dishes include the sweet-sounding Cherry Gazpacho, the delightfully named Bipolar Tuna Tartare, and raw bar treats such as Yellow Ceviche and Scallop Carpaccio. Their innovative offer includes DJ sets and live music and a surf school where you can work up an appetite or refuel after catching those waves. “Passports at the ready” – as they say on their website – time to embark on a culinary journey around the world!
The next beach along is a true contender for the title of most beautiful beach in Spain and beyond! Playa de Bolonia is 4km long and 70m wide, with fine golden sand, a sheltered bay and shallow waters. While Los Lances and Valdevaqueros are surfer territory, the unspoilt Bolonia Beach is for sunbathers, swimmers and nature lovers seeking quieter shores. But Playa de Bolonia is more than “just” a beach – it has a few surprises in store… At the western end you can’t miss the impressive Duna de Bolonia, a 30m-high and 200m-wide moving sand dune – one of the largest in Europe – which you can hike to the top of for amazing panoramic views. As the dune shifts inland, it has unearthed buried treasures, including the 2000-year-old ruins of Baelo Claudia, one of Spain’s best preserved Roman settlements. Step back in time as you make your way through the Roman streets revealing ancient baths and aqueducts, a public square, temples, a theatre, and many more features of a typical Roman town. Amazingly this open-air museum is free, at least for EU citizens… Snorkellers and scuba divers can also explore the submerged Roman and Phoenician ruins and shipwrecks around Bolonia reef, not forgetting the huge diversity of marine life that inhabits the El Estrecho Natural Park.
At the eastern end of the beach are the Piscinas Naturales de Bolonia, natural rock pools that fill with the rising tide. This is nature’s very own spa, where you can smother yourself in skin-cleansing clay and let the healing power of salt water rejuvenate you.
Oh, and one more thing: don’t be alarmed by the sight of huge beasts on the beach… The resident retinto cows are a familiar sight along this stretch of the coast, and they just love to wade in the sea and graze on the vegetation around the dunes. Luckily, there’s moo-re than enough space on Playa de Bolonia for everyone!
At the southeastern end of the beach are two bright and breezy beachfront eateries where you can retreat from the sun and wind, grab a bite or take your time to savour local delights.
Enjoy locally sourced products from land and sea, prepared in traditional Cádiz style with a pinch of Japanese artistry, either al fresco in their beach garden or inside, sheltered from the elements. A place with a relaxed, friendly vibe where the Scirocco staff will make you feel at home.
The ambience at this neighbouring chiringuito is a blend of chilled beach vibe and Tarifa buzz. Traditional Mediterranean cuisine intermingles with a taste of the exotic, and their cocktails are a mix of fresh juices with a Brazilian touch. Sip your sundowners to the sound of live music and enjoy an authentic chiringuito experience.
Our luxury villas in Atlanterra are idyllic holiday retreats set in a stunning natural landscape and offering complete privacy and luxurious modern comforts. Whether you wish to spend lazy days by the pool or on the beach just steps from your villa or try out the myriad activities on offer along this part of the coast, Atlanterra is a great base for rest or play. From here you can also explore the Costa de la Luz or the beautiful white villages of Cádiz and Huelva province. And if you’d like to visit another continent, a mere one-hour ferry ride from nearby Tarifa will have you in Tangier, where you can experience the Medina, Grand Socco and exotic souks and immerse yourself in yet more culture.
Continuing around the Punta de Camarinal headland and the smaller Punta de Gracia, you reach the glorious beach of Playa de los Alemanes, backed by vegetation and gently sloping hills, with crystal-clear waters made for swimming and snorkelling. At just 1,500m long and 50m wide, it’s more bijou than its neighbours, but peace reigns here, with not a beach bar or water sports school in sight. The Camarinal lighthouse and the low-rise luxury villas dotted around the exclusive Atlanterra residential area overlooking the beach are the only human-made features in these beautiful natural surroundings. If you’re on the hunt for a secluded cove, take one of the trails past the lighthouse and climb down to Playa de El Cañuelo. It’s not the easiest route, but if you’re willing and able to make the effort, you’ll likely have the place to yourself! If you’re in need of refreshment after your dose of unadulterated nature, head towards the next marvel of a beach: Playa de Zahara.
On the other side of the rocky outcrop of Cabo de Plata with its WWII bunker, is Playa de Zahara, an almost untouched 8km expanse of Blue Flag beach bordering the traditional fishing village of Zahara de los Atunes. Although visitors flock to these white sandy shores reminiscent of Caribbean isles, Playa de Zahara retains its tranquil atmosphere even in high season. In contrast to Playa de los Alemanes, this smoke-free beach has all the facilities for bathers and water sports enthusiasts, mostly concentrated around the village, including accessible boardwalks leading from the dunes to the beach. If you’d prefer some privacy, stick to either end of the beach, towards Cabo de Plata to the south or beyond the village to the northwest.
Located on the Atlanterra side of the beach, and guarded by the ever-watchful Mermaid statues, La Lola offers creative Mediterranean cuisine and the perfect location for Atlantic vistas. Sit under Tiki parasols or on their glass-fronted interior terrace to enjoy beach bites, seafood tapas and paellas, and spit-roasted meats and fish washed down with a jug of refreshing sangría. At dusk, you can sip on sundowners accompanied by summer playlists in this idyllic informal setting.
Just a hop, skip and jump away is the popular Zokarrá Playa, a beach bar serving signature dishes featuring local favourites such as their award-winning tuna “bombón”, as well as Mexican-Cádiz tacos and Vietnamese-style tuna rolls. Live resident DJ sets start as the sun sets and go on into the night for those who fancy a boogie on the beach.
Further up, next to Zahara de los Atunes village, La Luna is a place where food and flamenco go hand in hand. Winner of the national award for Best Tapas Chiringuito in 2023 and Best National Chiringuito in 2022 (by Forbes Magazine), it’s a popular venue where you can treat your senses to a blend of gastronomic goodies and Flamenco shows featuring well-known national artists.
Northwest of Zahara, the municipality of Barbate boasts yet more superb beaches. Playa del Cañillo stretches 5km towards Barbate town, where the river meets the ocean. It’s a secluded, rural beach with few facilities – perfect for those who like their playas private. Next along is the most central and popular Playa de Nuestra Señora del Carmen (or just El Carmen for short!), 1.3km of beach running up to Barbate port and backed by a promenade with first-rate facilities. It’s also a favourite spot for scuba diving, angling and windsurfing. To the west of the port is Playa de la Hierbabuena, a wild 900m arc of pristine waters, white sands and dunes that form part of La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Natural Park. Perfect for peaceful sea bathing and sunbathing, and with hiking trails leading into the park. As you head west past Punta del Tajo, you’ll get to the beaches of Los Caños de Meca – 2.8 km of fine golden sand stretching between the cliffs of the natural park and the Faro de Trafalgar. The eastern end of Playa Caños de Meca is for the adventurers and naturists, with caves to explore and secluded coves to discover; for everyone else, the main beach bordering Los Caños de Meca village has basic facilities and is popular with surfers for its winds and with divers for its reefs. At the western end, one of the coast’s iconic landmarks rises from the dunes – the Faro de Trafalgar – a 34m-tall lighthouse commemorating the 1805 naval Battle of Trafalgar. This area is also the site of many an archaeological find, including a bronze age burial site and several Roman ruins.
Accessed by steps leading from Playa El Pirata, La Jaima is part Moroccan tent, part performance space, part restaurant with a sweeping terrace overlooking the ocean and the Faro lighthouse. A place that reflects Los Caños de Meca’s alternative, hedonistic past where visitors can be themselves, where cultures meet, and where local cuisine can be enjoyed to the sound of live music against the backdrop of stunning Costa de la Luz scenery.
More restaurant than chiringuito, but with its prime location on the rocks, Cádiz-inspired menu with a generous serving of the exotic, organic Andalusian and Jerez wines and international cocktails, La Quilla is an inviting proposition any day, open from lunch till late.
Right next to the lighthouse, away from the crowds, is this unpretentious boho beach bar where you can disconnect and reconnect with like-minded people. Tapas and simple beach fare and a drink amongst friends is Faro Beach’s simple offer, alongside an enviable location and the sounds and sights of nature in all its unblemished beauty.
If you’d like more information on any of the places mentioned here, or recommendations for restaurants, activities and cultural visits in the area, the team at Marbella Mountain Resorts would be delighted to help. Contact us to find out what we can do for you!
