Kitesurf in Tarifa – Book a perfect trip to the wind

Kitesurf in Tarifa – Book a perfect trip to the wind

19.05.2012

After a couple of weeks with bad winds you might want to travel to a place where there with no doubt is gonna be windy. One of the windiest places in Europe is “the capital of wind“, Tarifa. So if you want to be sure of getting some wind, and want to travel cheap inside europe, a kitesurfing trip to Tarifa in Spain is probably one of the best solutions, almost all year around. Here is some massive information about kitesurfing in Tarifa, be prepared to scroll, it is a long post:

The best things with kitesurfing in Tarifa:

Awesome kitebeaches

In Tarifa the kitebeach is forbidden for swimmers, so you do not need to care for them.

Tarifa kitebeach. view from the sand dunes
Tarifa kitebeach. view from the sand dunes

Tarifa is always windy

It is always windy, even if it the eastern wind “Levante” often is quite gusty. The wind from the sea, from west, the “Poniente” is just awesome. Side-onshore and stable. The Poniente is the most common wind in Tarifa.

Huge beaches

The beach is really big, the areas for kitesurfing as well.

The kitebeach in Tarifa
The kitebeach in Tarifa

The same amount of surfshops as in heaven

There are a huge amount of surfshops there if you want to check new gear. I saw at least 20 shops when I was there.

Surfshops in Tarifa
Surfshops in Tarifa

Great aftersurf in Tarifa Old City

The after-surf in the old city or on the beach is great. Nice surfers everywhere.

A lot to see near Tarifa

There are a lot to see. The old city of Tarifa is awesome, there are great sand dunes to climb on, the beach is very long. And if you are tired of kiting one day, you can take an hour drive for checking the monkeys at Gibraltar.

Affordable living

It is quite cheap to live there, hotels are quite cheap, the airline tickets to Malaga are cheap as well.

The worst things with kitesurfing in Tarifa

  • In high-season during summer it can be a little crowdy.
  • You do not really know the difference between the kite-zones and windsurf zones, and be prepared to hear that you are worthless from some windsurfers if/when you are in the wrong zone. But it is nothing to care about, they are also in the kite-zone all the time.
  • The wind from the east, “Levante” that is blowing half of the year are almost off-shore, and quite gusty. But it is totally kite-able anyway. The wind “Poniente” that comes from the west is totally awesome though.

Despite the few negative things, Tarifa is still one of the best spots for kitesurfing in Europe. There are always windy, and you will often see pro´s riding there, perfect for copying them and learning new tricks.

How to book a successful trip for kitesurfing in Tarifa?

1. Airline tickets

Book airline tickets to Malaga, tickets to Malaga are always very cheap from the most cities in Europe.

2. A rental car

Rent a car at the airport in Malaga.

Rent a car that you pick up at Malaga airport, then load it up with the kitegear and start driving towards Tarifa
Rent a car that you pick up at Malaga airport, then load it up with the kitegear and start driving towards Tarifa

Tip, order the car already before the trip, order it online from a site where you can compare rental cars, then you will get a cheap price. The trip from Malaga to Tarifa is 150 kilometers, so you will easily drive it in two hours along the coast of sun in southern Spain.

The road from Malaga to Tarifa
The road from Malaga to Tarifa

3. A hotel

Book a hotel in Tarifa through for example booking.com. Tip, order a hotel in the tarifa city, not near the real kitebeach where you are gonna kitesurf (probably the beach valdevaqueros). The kitebeaches are located a few kilometers north from the city, and there are a few hotels as well near the kitebeaches, but there are nothing to do there after the kiting. And you will have a car, so you can easily drive the few kilometers in the mornings  for getting to the kitebeach anyway. Or take a bus. In the Tarifa city there is a lot of nice restaurants and surfbars and surfshops where you can spend the evenings. You can also skip the hotel booking part before the trip, and book a hotel when you get there, there are a lot of them, and if you are there during off-season you will always find a nice one anyway.

Then just wait for the day when you are gonna fly away to Tarifa for kitesurfing. Pick up the car at the airport, drive to your hotel in Tarifa, sleep a good night, and prepare for some action.

Chill at the free surfcenter Tangana when you are too tired for kitesurfing
Chill at the free surfcenter Tangana when you are too tired for kitesurfing

4. How to do in Tarifa?

When in Tarifa, just take the car or bus to the beach Valdevaqueros every morning, buy your breakfast there and pump your kites. Chill in the bag-chairs with other surfers whenever you are too tired to ride. You will probably be eating your lunch there too, “Bocadillas” or hamburgers, cause you do not really want to leave the awesome place until it gets dark.

Tangana kite and surf center
Tangana kite and surf center

What more? Go ahed and book a kitesurfing trip to Tarifa!

Okay, I am convinced, I want to kitesurf in Tarifa, how do I proceed?

Here is what you need, a hotel, flight tickets (remember the extra luggage, kite stuff), and a rental car:

Search for a hotel in Tarifa right here:

Rental cars in Malaga

You can rent cars for your kitesurfing trip already before the trip. For example here: Rentalcars.com

Flight tickets to Malaga

You can easily order your flight tickets to Malaga online, from Ebookers for example: Flights to Malaga

Tarifa Questions and answers

What are good kite spots in Tarifa?

Good kite spots in Tarifa that’s worth mentioning is Valdevaqueros, Palmones, Los Caños de Meca, and Balneario. Depending on wind direction, different spots will be recommended. To learn more about that, check this video and article showcasing kite spots in Tarifa.

What kite size should I bring to Tarifa?

Bring all you have, but you might not need the largest. If the Levante wind is blowing when you are there, you most likely need small kites, like a 7 m2. If Poniente wind is on, then something like 12 m2 will probably work. Of course this depend on your skill and weight and many more factors too.

What else than kiteboarding is there to be done in Tarifa?

There is a lot more. The beaches are awesome. The mountains are awesome for mountainbiking or hiking. There are amazing restaurants and night life in Tarifa. You are also close to Gibraltar, Cadiz, Sevilla and Malaga and all of Andalusia, which you easily reach on day trips with car. You can also go to Morocco for a day or a few. You will not be bored even if you’re not into kitesurfing.

Thank you for reading about kitesurfing in Tarifa and how to book a trip to Tarifa. Do you have any questions? Do not hesitate to drop some in the comment section below!

6 thoughts on “Kitesurf in Tarifa – Book a perfect trip to the wind

  1. Pol Dej says:

    Good article, but I would like to add a few words about Tarifa. We spent there two wonderful weeks! The beaches are just amazing! People are always positive, there basically hang kite lovers and evening class party. The report of this place http://djanga.ru/2013/08/tarifa/… If I were asked to describe the Tarifа in a nutshell, it is very simple: the Windy City and romantics! Good luck))

  2. Hi everyone!!! With Kiteandrolltarifa you can find the best Kitesurf holidays packages. We offer Kitesurf rent, storage, lesson and also SUP, Surf, Windsurf. Scooter rental, mountain bike. We can provide airport transfer and of course accommodation for all kind of exigence. More info@kiteandrolltarifa.com http://www.kiteandrolltarifa.com

  3. Kathrin says:

    Also good to know, when you come to Tarifa for Kitesurfing 🙂 Know how to read the wind forecast in this very specific area.
    http://freeyourmindexperience.com/use-windguru-tarifa-like-local/

  4. tarifa is the very best!

  5. Me ha gustado la publicacion,efectivamente buena,
    muchas muchas gracias estoy planeando visitar al sudeste asiático en un par
    meses. Me quedo fizgoneando por la pagina aleer
    mas cosillas informativas, chas gracias again.

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