Find yourself in Tarifa for a weekend of fun, not sure what to do? Tarifa has drawn so many people to its lush, cultural town. As Spain, and Europe’s most southern area, you can even see Africa across the ocean. Here are my 8 top things to do for free in Tarifa.
Have some beach time
There are plenty of beautiful beaches along Tarifa’s coast. Even though it is very windy, in the hot seasons you can chill out at one of Tarifa’s beaches or sit at a bar. The biggest and most common beach is Los Lances, which is also the most common kitesurfing spot. If it’s one of the colder seasons of the year, you don’t have to swim at the beach, but you should definitely still go to the water. I was in Tarifa in November and we just walked along the beach because it was a little too chilly to swim, but it was still beautiful!
Kitesurfing
Tarifa is the capital of kitesurfing in all of Europe because of its strong winds. If you’ve got experience, and a kitesurf board, then Tarifa is a great destination for you! As it’s not free to rent a board, obviously, then you can watch and take pictures of this amazing sport. You’ll most likely always see someone in the water kitesurfing!
Watch the sunset
We all love a good sunset, am I right? Tarifa’s sunset is so spectacular. You can sit or walk along the beach and watch the sun fall behind the ocean as the waves roll in. Plus there’s normally kitesurfers still out so you can watch these two things at once! Maybe if you’re out for dinner at one of the beach side restaurants, you’ll be able to watch it while eating! Be careful though, make sure sand doesn’t blow into your camera lense while taking pictures on the beach.
Stroll through old town
Old town in Tarifa has quite an interesting history that you can learn about while exploring. It used to be surrounded by walls from the castle. You can head in through the main entrance, which is the only one of 4 entrances that is still there. Stroll through old town’s windy alleys and experience the culture, while getting to look at shops and try the cuisine. Apparently the nightlife is very exiting there too.
Walk to Isla de Tarifa
Have you ever wanted to visit the Mediterranean sea and Atlantic ocean? Here’s your chance to do both at once. The little island has a path right to it from Tarifa. We didn’t get to walk through the island, because there was a gate blocking the road, but we did get to walk beside 2 amazing oceans! On one side of the path is the Atlantic Ocean, where all the kitesurfers are, and the other is where the Mediterranean sea is, coming out on the little beach of Playa Chica.
Guzmán El Bueno Castle
Guzmán castle dates back to 960 AD and was a roman fortress. It is known as Guzman El Bueno’s castle because of the heroic gesture of Guzman El Bueno, who sacrificed his son instead of giving the muslims his castle. There used to be walls that began at the castle and went around old town. Now the walls are gone, but the castle remains with parts of it’s sandstone wall, well preserved. You can walk right to the castle in old town and read more about this cool historical monument.
Hike
Because Tarifa is just below a mountain range, and in between 2 parks, it has lots of great hikes. You can do everything from hiking along the straight of Gibraltar to trekking in the mountains. You can enjoy hiking in the countryside while having that breeze coming from the beach to cool you off. That being said, if you’re in Tarifa in the winter it will be cold, but you can still get out for a good hike even all bundled up!
Bolonia
Technically this is not free, because you’ll need a car to get to Bolonia (unless you would want to walk 4 hours to get there), but if you have a car take a few hours to go explore Bolonia. Bolonia is a costal village, and in 2011 had a population of 117 people. Bolonia was originally a commercial and fishing port to Tangier, Morocco. In the town you can go to the Baelo Claudia ruins right next to the ocean, which are the most complete roman town ruins in Spain. You can also spend some time at the Bolonia beach.
