Costa de la Luz beaches, Spain
Stretching 200 km shore along the coastline between Huelva and Cadiz in the far south west of the country, Costa de la Luz has some of Spain's finest, least crowded beaches. The coast is spacious with a hot climate, warm, clear seas and abundant champagne-colour sand, making Costa de la Luz a winner for beach holidays any time of the year. However, some beaches can be uncomfortably exposed and windy, with the result that some of beaches are among Europe's best wind-surfing and kite-surfing destinations. Costa de la Luz also embraces the Biological Reserve at Doñana National Park where thousands of migratory birds nest among the dunes [including golden eagles].
Bajo de Guía Beach is known for its annual horse races.
Tarifa residents enjoying lunch
Tarifa Beaches
Located at the junction of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, Tarifa is one of Europe's most acclaimed wind and kite surfing sites with strong, reliable, side winds. Its climate and lengthy stretch of sand makes Tarifa beaches a popular watersports playground, though the wind can be intrusive. Tarifa is also a fine place for whale/dolphin watching around the month of July.
Playa de los Lances Natural Area- 10 km of unspoilt white sandy bay and Tarifa's longest beach, Los Lances is a short drive from the west of the town. The beach and the surrounding pine woods are protected as a nature reserve. It is a hot kite surfing site with an excellent kite surf school.
For windsurfers Playa de Valdevaqueros, the location of annual world wind surfing championships, is the place. It's a huge sandy beach with dunes stretching from headland to headland where Punta Paloma Beach is another famous kite-surfing spot.
Looking for sheltered beach? Try the golden sand Playa Chica, Tarifa's smallest beach, located to the west of the town, popular with locals and ideal for families.
Bolonia Beach,
The white dune beach at the sleepy fishing village of Bolonia, 15 km north of Tarifa, is an uncrowded strand with low-key facilities and clear aquamarine waters, though it usually has stronger wind and higher waves than in Tarifa due to its location.
Playa Zahar, near Tarifa
Playa Zahara, Zahara de los Atunes
Also known as Playa del Carmen, the town beach of Zahara village near Tarifa offers good facilities and a local ambience with lively beach bars. It also has panoramic views of the African coast and is especially favoured as a sunset-viewing location.
Caños de Meca
One of Cadiz region's most picturesque beaches is the vast Caños de Meca, curving inland from the Cape Trafalgar, where Admiral Nelson defeated Napoleon over 200 years ago. This unspoilt beach, part of the Parque Natural del Acantilado, has been a happy hippy retreat and nudist paradise for years but is becoming a wind-related sports playpen.
La Caleta beach, Cadiz
Cadiz Beaches
Cadiz is the Iberian Peninsula's oldest inhabited city, if not Europe's, and home to some of Spain's most stunning beaches.
If you like urban beaches, these two are agreeable: La Caleta, framed by the two castles of Santa Catalina and San Sebastian, is the best in Cadiz and used in some scenes in the James Bond movie, 'Die Another Day'.
Spacious La Playa de la Victoria on the west side of the town offers a a superb promenade, the Paseo Maritimo, stretching from one end of the city to another. It's lined with chiringuitos [beach bars] that serve perfect tapas in a seductive atmosphere that makes la Victoria beach a fashionable evening hangout.
Playa de La Barrosa, Chiclana de la Frontera
This urban beach, loved by both locals and Spanish tourists, hosts a pleasant seafront promenade lined with shops, cafés and fresh seafood restaurants. La Barrosa is an 8 km long, white sandy beach with some totally untouched stretches. The area's development is restrained, with low-rise buildings and plenty of trees. It's near not far from Cadiz.
Playa de los Bateles, Conil de la Frontera
Los Bateles is the premier beach on the 14 kms of Conil de la Frontera's beaches, backed by a wide swathe of grassland and popular with surf enthusiasts.
12 km long Playa de El Palmar, just a few kilometres south, is a less crowded windsurfing and kite surfing spot while Playa La Fontanilla is a massive beach better suited to swimming.
Playa Isla Canela, Ayamonte
Isla Canela is a 5 km long, 60m wide beach with fine golden sand backed by dunes, 40 km east of Huelva. It is excellent for families as its water is protected by the offshore sand bar that becomes an island at low tide. The beach zone is great for various sports including walking, biking and inline skating on the adjacent, dedicated lanes.
Mazagón
Mazagón, in the region of Huelva and near the border with Portugal, has natural sandy beaches with picturesque rocks and cliffs, such as 3 km long Playa del Rompeculos [Bottom-breaker Beach!] in the Arenas Gordas [fat sands area]. This beach is off-the-beaten track and will require private transport and a walk down the cliff from the car park. It's 33km from the town of Mazagón and the nearest airport is in Seville.
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