Hello All!
I am about to book flights to go to Tarifa with the family (wife and 3 small squirts). We will be staying for up to 3 months. (starting in early July) Anybody been? Any tips on houses to rent? Any tips on local spots opposed to Tarifa's main area near the town? Anybody been down to the Canaries? Any tips their on accomodation? Kiting spots etc? Any info very much welcomed!
your going to need a car, for some reason they're not that into hitch hikers. It gets packed, even in the off season I counted 150 kites on a week day, not much room for loops or boosting, and the windsurfers can get a bit weird...
check out DAKHLA....i know ...marocco ..bit out of the way ..but not inpossible!
Tarifa in July/August is the most crowded Kite zone on the planet. Absolute Euro chaos.
El palmar has waves, less crowded. Actually OK surf in winter, 1 hour up the coast from Tarifa.
Accomadation- book now, what ever you can. All the good stuff will have gone. Do not turn up without a reservation.
il be there in june with my girlfriend. prices are expensive although search as many websites as possible and you will find something for your needs.
We are expecting it to be real busy so we are only going for a week just to get a taste. then head up to portugal to find some places to ourselves.
Canary islands looks very windy, and from all research i could find your going to be blow off the water more than sitting waiting for wind..
anyway we are staying with highflyers in tarifa. check them out. enjoy
Been to Spain many many times. However never actually been to Tarifa. But I can certainly give you some tips for Spain in general.
For some beautiful beaches and picturesque little towns go to the Costa Brava, north of Barcelona. In my opinion the most beautiful nature/culture in Spain. Catalunya in general has some absolutely stunning cities and towns with beautiful Gaudi architecture. To name a few: Sitges, Cadaques, Cambrils, Pals and of course Barcelona.
For Barcelona I'd recommend renting a scooted/moped and ride to all the sights and just soak up the atmosphere while cruising around. It is the fastest most fun way of getting around town.
Any question about some touristy sights, do's and don't just let me know
I lived in Tarifa for 3 years so here goes. If you are looking for somewhere to stay book early, the last two weeks of July and whole of August is bedlam, tarifa swells from 15,000 to over 60,000. Whole of spain is on holiday in August. Even though spain is bankrupt and unemployment is about 25% it does seem to effect tarifa nor its prices. Try some friends of mine for accommodation tarifabeachhouse.com/ it is more on the pricey side but worth it. You will definitely need a car to get about especially as the wind will depend where you can kite. If you are kiting in Valdavaqueros in this six week period be prepared to be stuck in traffic jams heading to tarifa and further to Algercias every day from 4 onwards so i would suggest you stay anywhere north of Tarifa, either near Valdavaqueros or perhaps Facinas. Then you are always counter flow. There are lots of restaurants away from tarifa not to bother going into town much. There are two winds in tarifa a pointe (seabreeze) and lavante (serious wind from the med). Kiting is restricted to certain areas during the holiday period so it can get very busy and frustrating with parking. September is a better time time in tarifa, wind is still good, crowds are gone and all restrictions are lifted. I was there last year in June 10 days (only 5 days wind) and Sept 6 days with 5 windy days. Dont get me wrong Tarifa is an awesome place, everyone if friendly, millions of events, cool bars, great kiting yadda yadda. If the wind blows too hard in tarifa you can go kite near gibraltar (not in august) or north in el palmar. Levante can blow upto 30-45 knots so bring a 6-7m as it may blow for 10 days solidly. Pointe anywhere from 14-23knots. Have a ball.
We stayed in Golf de roses one august a few years ago at a campsite called la ballena alegre(happy whale)- there is a mistral centre on the beach in front of the campsite- lots of different accomodation arrangements within the campsite- brilliant for kids- we went with our 2 - kids club , swimming pools, etc - if you are interested check out the mistral website spot info for golf de roses-
wow - I have never joined a forum before and I am so glad I did! Thanks so much to everyone for the information! I will be spending the next week going through all the tips, great start to our trip! About to book flights - very exciting!
I love the idea of camping and the kids club etc. So will the wife! Thanks again to all - greatly appreciated!
