Tarifa

Tarifa blows year-round because the Strait of Gibraltar acts as a funnel. The good season runs April to October, with July and August peaking for both wind and crowds. Two winds rule. Levante comes from the east: strong, gusty and cross-offshore at Los Lances. It turns the sea white and scares beginners, and it often sticks for days. Poniente comes from the west: cleaner, onshore, better organised sea. That is the wind almost every lesson uses. On hot days land heating boosts the strait effect and the wind builds through the afternoon. Winter still blows, but the water is cold and the weather unstable. Bring a 4/3 and patience.

Yes. Tarifa caters to beginners, with choppy water and high crowds in high season.

Gibraltar (GIB) is the closest airport, about a 45-minute drive. Málaga (AGP) has far more flights: 2 hours by car or direct bus. Jerez (XRY) is 1h30 away and Seville (SVQ) about 2 hours. Rent a car. The spots sit along roughly 10 km of coast (Los Lances, Valdevaqueros, Balneario) and the wind picks which one works that day.

A windless day in Tarifa is rare. When it hits: ferry to Tangier in one hour, another continent before lunch. Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia at Bolonia. Whale and orca watching in the strait. Or just the old town: tapas, the lookout over both seas, coffee. If there is swell, surf El Palmar, 40 minutes north.