Tarifa Tourist Information

Tarifa

Tarifa is situated just past Gibraltar and where the Costa del Sol ends and the Costa de la Luz begins. It is on the Atlantic coast and has spectacular view across to Africa. Tarifa is a haven for water sport enthusiasts and attracts windsurfers, kite surfers and surfers from all over the world. Arriving in Tarifa is a spectacular site as you look out towards the ocean and see the sky totally filled with the multi-coloured kites of the kite surfers and the many windsurfers enjoying the buzz of Tarifa.

How to get to Tarifa
To get to Tarifa from Malaga Airport is simple. You leave the airport and head for the N-340 / A7 to Algeciras / Cadiz. Just stay on this road and follow all the way down past the main resorts of Fuengirola, Marbella, San Pedro, Estepona and skirting around Gibraltar and through Algeciras. The next stop is Tarifa. A slightly quicker route that will cut out a lot of the bottlenecks such as Fuengirola and San Pedro is to take the toll road or the AP7 (Peaje). It is easy to distinguish the toll road from the normal road by the round sign bordered in red with the word "peaje" written across the middle. You will not get to the poll road until just before Fuengirola where the road will split off to the right for the N-340 / A7 or continue straight ahead for the toll road. If taking the toll road you will eventually join the N340 again at Marbella but it will split off to the right for the N340 or straight on to join the toll road again. If you do not take the toll road at this point be prepared to sit in traffic from Puerto Banus to the other side of San Pedro. In the height of the summer these few kilometres can take you a good 30 to 40 minutes. If you have stayed on the toll road you will rejoin the N340 just past Sotogrande. Now you just keep heading towards Algeciras and stay on the N340. Once you have gone past Algeciras you will start to climb (taking note of the magnificent wind farms on the hills). Be prepared as the road gets quite windy. Eventually you will see a sign that will guide you into the town of Tarifa.

The town of Tarifa, like many towns in Andalucia has an old town and a new town. As you arrive you will see that there is an industrial centre at the beginning of the town. Once in the town there is a historic section heavily influenced by the Mors that once occupied much od Andalucia. The town might not be the prettiest Andalucia has to offer but it is by far one of the funkiest and most trendy resorts for lovers of watersports.

You will find some trendy boutique hotels in the town and a whole host of little bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. As you head out of the main town along the original N340n coast road you will see some of the whitest, sandiest beaches Spain has to offer. Along this stretch there are a number of popular hotels on both sides of the road.

Click here for information on hotels and holiday accommodation in Tarifa together with some reviews.

A useful website about Tarifa can be found here.