Why you should visit Tarifa
Tarifa is Spain’s southernmost city (you can catch a 45 minute ferry from Tarifa to Tangier, Morocco) and it’s located right where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Tarifa is the perfect setting for a weekend getaway during Spring and Summer with a great night life scene, beautiful beaches, adorable shops, and it’s pet friendly!
Can you tell this is a surfers’ town? Surf stickers EVERYWHERE!
Pic taken from Trip&Travel
Where to stay in Tarifa
When we arrived to town we parked in the second parking lot of the port (free parking all weekend!), and picked up the keys to our apartment. We’d rented the piso from a friend of a friend; it was smack dab in the center located next to the castle. It was well priced, cutely decorated, and we were able to bring Pumba too (our 80+ lbs chocolate lab) – if you want the contact details for the apartment just let me know (it’s perfect for a couple, there’s also a pullout bed in the living room so 4 people could stay there comfortably – and obviously they allow pets too!). I would recommend trying to find a place in the Casco Antiguo (“Old Town”) or near the castle.
Our apartment was in the yellow and white building directly behind the castle!
Ruta del Atún – good eats!
Our first tapa of the ruta!
The first weekend of June was the second annual Ruta del Atun; the ruta consists of restaurants all over town creating special tapas featuring tuna. You get a map with all the restaurants participating in the event with photos of each tapa they’re serving. Both nights we were in Tarfia we made our way around town tasting tapas at each spot. We also stopped at one restaurant which is worth a visit even if the Ruta del Atún isn’t going on– El Otro Melli – DEFINITELY get the tuna meatballs (albondigas de atún). Everything that comes out of that kitchen is amazing. You’ll need to try to get there right around 9pm otherwise you wont be able to grab a seat – a lot people order a drink and chill out while they wait for a table to open up.
Tarifa was packed over the weekend!
3rd stop on the ruta and it keeps getting better!
Nightlife
Tarifa is completely packed on the weekends during Spring and Summer – there are tons of surfers (kite & wind) from all over the world, locals, Spanish tourists, etc. It’s a pretty cool mix of people and the streets are full of young adults to mingle with 😉
There’s one part of town in the center with 2 or 3 streets full of bars, this is where you need to go at night – near Calle San Francisco; you can just wander around Casco Antiguo (“Old Town”) until you hear/see the crowds. If you try to ask locals for directions you’ll probably end up getting lost anyways because the streets are so tiny and random; it’s like a labyrinth! 🙂
Beaches
PUNTA PALOMA
We decided to go to Tarfia because we knew we’d be able to find a dog-friendly beach (now that it’s warm here in Spain we can’t bring Pumba to the beach – too many people and dogs aren’t allowed). We took a car up to Punto Paloma (10 – 15 min drive from Tarifa center), crossed the giant dune, and went all the way up the mountain. There’s a chirignuito (beach bar) called El Mirlo at the top where you can park your car (its 5 euros to park but if you eat at the chiringuito parking is free). We grabbed our beach chairs and made our way down to the chiringuito then followed the dirt paths down to the beach. It’s a decent hike to the beach so we figured it wouldn’t be too crowded and the people who made it there (probably other young adults) wouldn’t mind a crazy Labrador running around and splashing in the water (plus there’s never any beach patrol there).
Cross the giant sand dune to get to the “secret beach”
“Secret” Beach in Punta Paloma – aka it’s just super hard to get to! 😉
Pumba!
When we reached the bottom it was easy to see the 10 minute hike was worth it – the beach was gorgeous and almost completely empty. We set ourselves up and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon there – the day was so clear we could see the mountains of Morocco in the distance…it was a perfect day!
You can see Morocco from here!
PLAYA CHICA
There are also beaches located in the town of Tarifa that you can walk to from the center. There are several chiringuitos lined up along the beach too (perfect for afternoon drinking) – if you don’t have a car the beaches of Tarifa are another great option!
Beach within walking distance of Tarfia center; the locals call this beach “Playa Chica”
You can walk to this beach from the city center
Pumba enjoying the beach in town
We all had an amazing weekend in “the windy city” of Spain! I will definitely be back again before summer ends!
Please would you send me the details of place you stayed? Want to travel Thursday. Thanks!
Hey Jennifer! I will send you an email right now with her contact details.
Did you take Pumba on the beaches close to town without a problem?
Hi Francine – actually we didn’t have a problem taking him to the beach in town! I think we went on a week day so there weren’t many people around, it was perfect! I think if the beaches aren’t crowded and it’s not the middle of tourist season (Aug/July) they are pretty relaxed with dogs on the beaches there.
thanks for that reply!! I was getting a little worried. The idea of camping close to those marvelous beaches and not playing with my pup was really worrying me!! Off there tomorrow
Thanks so much for your blog, it’s great. Could you let me have the details of the apartment owner? We do have two large dogs though.
Ros
Hi Ros – I’ll send you an email now! 🙂
i would really love to visit spain from senegal by road is it possible and how many days journey do u guys think it will be?
Hey Sandra, you can cross to Tarifa from Morocco. I’m not sure how long that journey would take you exactly (check with google maps!). I’ve got more info on the ferry in this post. Hope that helps!
Can I have the contact address for the apartment please. I have a chocolate and golden lab I want to take there who both love swimming. Was just worried that they might not be allowed on the beach just now. In Fuengirola they are not allowed on until October. Thank you
Hey Lesley – I can give you my friend’s phone number. Not sure if he’s managing that rental any more, think he’s working at a hostel now but should still know the owners! Let me know 🙂
Also – just got back from a weekend in Vejer de la Frontera. There is a beach there called La Mangueta…not the easiest to find, but it’s a nudist beach and everyone brings there dog. It’s hard to get to so the police don’t go, very unlikely you’d get a ticket for the dogs!
Hey Kate, we will be going there in Aug. and decided to take a day trip to Morocco from there. We will be going from Valencia and maybe rent a car and drive to there and drop off at the airport in Tarifa. I checked with couple car rental websites and didn’t find Tarifa. Do you know if there’s any car rental company there? Or do you have any other suggestion for me. I’m still planning the trip and really need some ideas. We will be going to Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia and since it’s so close to Morocco, so really want to make a stop there. Thank you so much!!!
Hey Charleen! I’m afraid I don’t know anything about rental companies/airport in Tarifa. You may want to consider taking the car with you to Morocco. If you do take the car you could visit Asilah from Tangier! You could also just leave the car in the port parking in Tarifa for the day while you’re gone. Here’s more info on the ferry/Asilah: https://katestraveltips.com/2015/05/31/how-to-get-from-spain-to-morocco-3-beautiful-cities-you-need-to-see/ Please let me know if you end up finding a good rental car solution there!