Going for a holiday there in August/september.
Does any know of a reasonable place to stay
And what 2 kite sizes to take?
The Hurricane Hotel is very good, away from the town on the beach. The old town is stunning with the high walls and the like. We also stayed at a nice hotel on the beach had a bungalow room, Cant remember name but it had a kite centre attached.
Its a trully great spot enjoy
Im 70kg and took a 7 and 10, depending on which wind, have been significantly overpowered on the 7 on several occasions.
Www.kiteworldmag/travel/tarifa
Everything you need to know
Make sure to check the old part of town
7 / 10 / 17
Your covered
Saying that it's the Mecca of kiting so gear rentals / demo
Shops are the size of supermarkets
Tarrifa is an amazing place. So much history, plenty of amazing sights to see when you are not kiting. It does however get crowded. Really crowded. But you have to go. It is soooo worth it. I had a 7 10 and 14 and was fully covered.
There are two winds in Tarifa. The Levante (from the east) can blow up to 40knots non stop for up to two weeks, so a small kite is worth it and the Poinente (sea breeze never gets more than 21knots.
In August it is super crazy with people. (Spanish holidays) Staying near the kite spots will save you sitting in the car for hours in traffic jams trying to get back and forth from tarifa town. The old town is great if you want to party alot, but the locals don't start drinking till 11pm so there is no rush to be in town. All the outlying hotels near Valdavaqueos(main kite spot) have good food and ambience.
I concur with others it is an amazing place. Lived there for 3+ years
I have a flat there (in the old town) which I rent out. If you PM me I can send you some pictures and also give you some general info about the place.
hey guys
with respect to the alleged extreme crowds, when you look at tarifa on google maps it looks like there are a lot of beaches to the north, which I assume would get similar seabreeze conditions (probably not favourable for Levante (east) winds).
My question is that if it is really crowded in the main kite spots, what is stopping people from driving a few km's north to where there are presumably less crowds?
Select to expand quoteCJ2478 said..
hey guys
with respect to the alleged extreme crowds, when you look at tarifa on google maps it looks like there are a lot of beaches to the north, which I assume would get similar seabreeze conditions (probably not favourable for Levante (east) winds).
My question is that if it is really crowded in the main kite spots, what is stopping people from driving a few km's north to where there are presumably less crowds?
cause kiters are show offs :)
There's about 10km of almost uninterrupted sandy beaches between Tarifa and Paloma, so even if there are a lot (hundreds) of kiters it is always possible to find an empty spot if you go a bit up- or downwind of the popular places (where the chiringuitos = beach bars are). I like to go upwind in Valdevaqueros during a levante or in Arte Vida / Dos Mares during a poniente. The beaches in Zahara de los Atunes (25km north) are supposed to be great for waves but I haven't been there yet.
Select to expand quoteKozzie said..CJ2478 said..
hey guys
with respect to the alleged extreme crowds, when you look at tarifa on google maps it looks like there are a lot of beaches to the north, which I assume would get similar seabreeze conditions (probably not favourable for Levante (east) winds).
My question is that if it is really crowded in the main kite spots, what is stopping people from driving a few km's north to where there are presumably less crowds?
cause kiters are show offs :)
in summer there are kite zones so it limits the space of the kiters a lot. best to go in mid season!
better brush up on your Spanish,
they don't speak a lot of english in the old town.
I had a crap time kiting there
but I'd go back for the food
but the octopus and san gria were great
I should go there, it's a short trip from my work, but i can't bring myself to. Nothing worse than crowded kite spots.
I'll be in Spain in mid-July but won't be taking my kites with me. Is there plenty of places that hire gear there?
Habla un poco de espanol.
Buenos días, I think grouchy tiger pretty much hit it on the nail, tarifa in summer is kite madness you will find over a thousand kiters out on a windy day and although the beach from tarifa to Las dunas, the sand dunes, is over ten km long, in the summer alot of it has restricted access which is very strongly inforced with a six hundred euro fine, as far as the beach's north of tarifa, first you hit a amazing beach, worth going to see called bolonia, but be aware it also has 100% ban on kiting in the summer, as you head further north and away from tarifa and the straights of Gibraltar the wind dies of and can be offshore if levanté, easterly, but if it's really strong go to canos de meca, really good waves, get there early though as can get crowded, if levanté blowing for a few days stay there in the camp sites. If the wind is blowing westerly, poniente and you want to get away from the madness drive about an hour on to the Mediterranean side just past estepona to heaven beach as really good kiting there. As far as places to stay try the camp sites on the beach, some have bungalows as well, for best food go to El Frances in the center of town. Good luck
Sorry it was trigger happy I mean not grouchy tiger, oh and don't stay at the hurricane hotel as it has no beach, if you not on a budget try dos mares or arte vida, I got married there!! But as I said can get really busy and arte vida turn into party central on the weekends. Good luck and if you need anymore advice pm me as I live near by
All good advice from trigger happy and Hotracer. I was there last week and I took my 10 and 7. Could have done with a 12 but still had a good time. My favourite beach is Bolonia and last week there were more kiters there than I have ever seen. Last year I kited there in a Levante and I was the only kiter there.
Going back at the end of May and will also be taking my 5 to cope with the Levante on my SB.
Select to expand quotepsychojoe said..
better brush up on your Spanish,
they don't speak a lot of english in the old town.
I had a crap time kiting there
but I'd go back for the food
but the octopus and san gria were great
I kind of agree. Although I wasn't super amped on the food tbh.
Kiting there can be really crowded and usually the conditions aren't anything special. It's an experience for sure, but if you're searching for Kiteboarding conditions on par with the best AUS locations (or want a beach break/ spot to yourself like is possible along most of our coasts), you're looking in the wrong spot.
If you want to party in an overseas location it can be pretty good, or if you want to smoke a lot of hash haha.
quick Spanish lesson...
HOLA hi
COMO ESTAS how are you
BIEN GRACIAS good thanks
COMO ESTA EL VIENTO how is the wind
GRACIAS thank you
HASTA LUEGO until next time
CHAO bye
CERVEZA beer
VINO wine
COMIDA food
VOLANTIN kite
LIÑAS lines (the 'ñ' sound like a nnyaa)
