COSTA DE LA LUZ - BEACHES


With over 125 miles of stunning coastline the Costa de la Luz stretches from Tarifa in the Cadiz province to Ayamonte in the Huelva province. The area has over 30 blue flag awards, you can choose between relaxing on long sandy beaches or in secluded coves with crystal clear waters and champagne colored sands. The beaches are definitely what attract visitors to the Costa de la Luz. The sand is finer and a more golden color than the neighboring Costa del Sol. The typical beaches here are more expansive and probably backed by sand dunes and pine trees. This part of the coast has not seen the high-rise hotel development of other areas. The temperatures are slightly milder and the often strong Atlantic winds and waves are favored by wind surfers and surfboarders alike. The stretches of cliffs and coves are generally found to the east near Barbate and around the Campo de Gibraltar.
Almonte and Matalascanas

The scenic coastline of Almonte borders the beautiful Doñana Natural Park and has two stunning beaches. The blue flag beach at Matalascañas Torre de Higuera has 2.5 miles of beautiful white sands and is named after the remains of the watchtower that still protrudes out of the sea. It`s superb for families and has excellent facilities. For some peace and tranquility try Castilla beach located within the Doñana Natural Park, it has over 12 miles of pure virgin sands.

Ayamonte, Isla Canela and Costa Esuri

Connected to Ayamonte is the beautiful new resort of Isla Canela. It has over 3 miles of pure white sands with rolling sand dunes. Perfect for families as it has great facilities such as cafes, showers and sun bed hire. This beach is also ideal for a variety of water sports including windsurfing and kitesurfing. You can also stroll around the marina or play a round of golf at Isla Canela`s 18 hole course with its stunning views.

Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes, Los Canos de Meca and Zahora

Barbate and the surrounding villages of Los Canos de Meca, Zahara de los Atunes and Zahora have six stunning beaches between them. The two town beaches of Barbate have great facilities and are wonderful for families. The laidback sands of Los Canos de Meca are a paradise for all water sports. Zaraha de los Atunes Beach is iithout doubt one of the best beaches in Cádiz, stretching from Zahara, to Cabo de Plata, it`s a great beach for water sport enthusiasts, with all the necessary equipment to practice sailing, windsurfing and fishing.

Bolonia

A lip of golden sand on the Atlantic; where the sea is clean, clear and aquamarine. Behind the dunes, the hills are sparsely inhabited. If you walk the full length of the beach, you reach a clutch of rock pools where you can chip soap-sized bars of mud from the cliffs, bash them into paste and coat yourself in the mud. Lie in the sun until the minerals have dried and then wash it all off in the sea: your skin will feel peachy-soft. A great family beach that is also good for surfing and close by are the remains of the Roman town Baelo Claudia.

Cadiz

Set on a peninsula and almost totally surrounded by water Cadiz has some fantastic beaches and three blue flag awards. Victoria beach with its champagne colored sands is lined with chiringuitos (beach cafes) in the summer months and floodlit at night, which makes it the perfect hangout for balmy summer evenings. La Caleta is a great family beach, famed for its beauty it was used as a location for the James Bond movie `Die Another Day.` La Victoria Beach is an immense beach in the city of Cádiz, with lots of sports and restaurant facilities.

Cartaya, Nuevo Portil and El Rompido

Belonging to Cartaya are the seaside resorts of El Rompido and Nuevo Portil who together have over 8.5 miles of pure whites sands. El Rompido is situated on the Río Piedras river estuary and has two beaches. The first is on the estuary side and the second is on a spit of land separated by the sea, known as the Flecha del Rompido, its reached via a regular boat service. Nuevo Portil`s long beautiful beach is superb for families and it has lots of amenities, including beach cafes, showers and sun bed hire.

Chiclana, Novo Sancti Petri and La Barrosa

The coastline of Chiclana boasts five fabulous beaches with two blue flag awards. One of these is the excellent family beach at La Barrosa with 5 miles of fine golden sands, children`s play areas and a long promenade with several cafes and restaurants. The beach at Sancti Petri is beautiful, surrounded by natural vegetation; it`s great for windsurfing and fishing.

Chipiona

With over 7 miles of coastline, this traditional seaside resort has several fantastic beaches to choose from. Located in the town center La Regal beach with its wide open sands is perfect for families and has a great range of facilities including sun bed hire and beach side cafes. Camarón beach is over 1 mile long and has a blue flag award, it`s good for families and also has an excellent choice of water sports such as surfing, windsurfing and beach volleyball.

Conil de la Frontera and Roche

This beautiful place has lots of long stunning beaches and small secluded coves that are perfect for peace and tranquility. The town beach of Los Bateles has a blue flag and it`s fabulous for families with one long stretch of fine golden sands that shelves gently into the clear ocean. Further along is La Fontanilla, another great beach with superb restaurants right on the beautiful sands.

El Puerto de Santa Maria

This seaside town has over 9 miles of fine sandy beaches with crystal clear waters. Four of the beaches have blue flag awards including Fuentbravia situated next to the castle of San Marcos, it`s fabulous for families and has a good range of services. Valdelagrana beach with its long golden sands is also good for families and ideal for kitesurfing.

Isla Cristina and Istantilla

These two wonderful beach resorts have between them six stunning beaches and three blue flag awards. La Casita Azul is a long wide beach surrounded by dunes and pine forests. It`s a popular place for families due to its great amenities that include children`s play areas and picnic tables. Central beach, the town beach of Isla Cristina also has great facilities with a long promenade. Punta del Caimán Beach is great place for some peace and tranquillity, frequented by naturists it is surrounded by natural vegetation and reached via a wooden walkway.

Lepe and La Antilla

Close by to Lepe is the beautiful beach resort La Antilla with its wonderful blue flag beach, stretching for over 1.5 miles. These golden sands have everything you need, beautiful surroundings, great amenities and clean crystal waters. Just further along is Nueva Umbria beach, a natural paradise with 7.5 miles of virgin sands, surrounded by the Las Piedras estuary and the Flecha Nueva you can reach it by a ferry from Nuevo Portil beach or from El Terrón, in Lepe.

Punta Umbria

The four beautiful beaches in Punta Umbria have something for everybody from the wide urban family beaches to the more secluded sands surrounded by pine forests. The town beach Playa Urbana with its blue flag extends for 2.5 miles and its great range of amenities makes it excellent for families. For more escapism head for Los Enebrales beach, reached by wooden walkways through juniper trees and sand dunes, this is a popular beach with naturists.

Rota

This pristine coastline has six beautiful beaches with long golden sands. Two great family beaches are El Rompidillo and La Costilla, situated in the town they are connected together by a long promenade with lots of cafes and restaurants. For more escapism head to Punta Candor, it has over one mile of unspoiled golden sands surrounded by sand dunes and natural vegetation. The nearby resort of La Ballena has a long beach with great facilities and clear waters.

Sanlucar de Barrameda

This attractive resort has four beautiful beaches to choose from. A great family beach is La Calzada, it has long and wide fine golden sands with an excellent range of facilities and water sports. Over two weekends in August the beach is used for the world famous horse races. The more tranquil La Jara beach is protected by a series of rocks and has amazing view of the stunning Doñana Natural Park.

Tarifa

Situated on the most southern tip of Spain, Tarifa has some of the best beaches in Europe for surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. With over 6 miles of pure white sands there are eight perfect beaches to choose from.

Vejer de la Frontera and El Palmar

Only a five-minute drive from the beautiful town of Vejer is El Palmar with its fantastic beach. Surrounded by sand dunes and beautiful scenery these long white sands with its crystal clear waters are popular with surfers and families. Behind the beach are several laid back cafes and restaurants. If you want to learn to surf, young or old then El Palmar is the ideal place as there are many schools in the area.