Tarifa Old Town

Tarifa sits at the narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar, fourteen kilometres from Africa, and the causeway to Isla de las Palomas marks the notional dividing line between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, with a beach on each side. The old town is enclosed by Moorish and later walls entered through the Puerta de Jerez, with narrow whitewashed lanes, the church of San Mateo, and the tenth-century Castillo de Guzman el Bueno above the port. The name comes from Tarif ibn Malik, who landed here in 710. Constant wind made the town a world capital of kitesurfing and windsurfing from the 1980s, which shaped its current character, and ferries cross to Tangier in under an hour.

What you actually see

• The two seas - Atlantic and Mediterranean beaches either side of the causeway.
• Castillo de Guzman - a tenth-century castle above the port.
• The walled lanes - a whitewashed Moorish quarter behind the Puerta de Jerez.
• The Africa view - the Moroccan coast fourteen kilometres across the strait.

When to go

April to June and September to October for the best combination of warmth and manageable wind; July and August are crowded. The levante wind blows for days at a time and defines the experience.

Honest expectations

The wind is relentless and can make beach time impossible, which is exactly why kitesurfers come. Parking in the old town is very limited. Ferry crossings to Tangier are frequently cancelled in strong wind.

Nearby

Bolonia and Baelo Claudia lie northwest; Algeciras and Gibraltar are east along the strait.