Tarifa Old Town and Beaches

Tarifa is the point where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, and the 13-km-wide strait gives both the constant wind that makes it Europe's kitesurfing capital and clear views of the Moroccan coast from the causeway to Isla de las Palomas. Inside the walls, entered through the 13th-century Puerta de Jerez, is a small, lively old town of tapas bars and surf shops around the Castillo de Guzmán; outside it, Los Lances and Valdevaqueros beaches stretch for kilometers of white sand. It is 90 minutes from Marbella along the A-7 past Gibraltar, and whale-watching boats leave from the port from April to October.