January
- New Year and Three Kings celebrations
Three Kings in Tarifa – throwing sweets to the children
Because in Spain, it is not the Baby Jesus, Santa Claus or St. Nicholas who brings gifts on Christmas Day, but rather the Three Kings, whose generosity is put to the test on January 6. Dia de Los Reyes in Spanish – is as important as Christmas itself, especially for kids, as this is the day when they get their presents! The fun starts the evening before, when the three kings lead their procession through the streets, throwing sweets to the children. The next morning, the children wake up to find their presents have been left overnight (rumors that Santa moonlights as the Three Kings when times are hard are unfounded). A popular tradition is to eat a Roscón, a sweet, donut-shaped bread (though much bigger than a donut) covered in glacier cherries and sugar. A plastic toy is buried inside the mixture, so don’t dive in too quickly. He or she who finds the toy gets good luck for the next year (double the luck if they also ate the grapes on New Year’s Eve!)
- Beaches deserted
- Constant Poniente wind
- Cheap accommodation – For 4 person (2 bedrooms) apartment, averege price is 50-60 euros per night in luxury apartments. (check out: www.tarifadirect.com)
February
- Beaches deserted
- Poniente wind – a clean, constant, side onshore wind witch blows west from the Atlantic sea and Portugal is dominant wind in the winter (more onshore and with more waves then the rest of the year) . Average poniente wind is around 10-20 knots, in winter often stronger. The best spot for riding in the winter on Poniente is Tarifa town, by the football stadium (Campo de fútbol).
- Carnaval – The Carnaval in Tarifa usually takes place the last weekend in February. The town gets dressed in bright colours and amusing costumes and during these days everything is permitted. You can get more details about Carnaval of Tarifa here: http://www.todotarifa.com/en/blog/c…
- 28 February – Dia de Andalucia Public Holiday
- Cheap accommodation
March
- The Almadraba starts as local fisherman follow the tradition started by the Phoenicians catching Tuna. Over thousands of years, from Phoenicians times, several civilizations settled here, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and facing the Strait of Gibraltar, for only one reason: the annual migration of the great blue fin tuna to the Mediterranean. Such was the importance of this fact, that entire cities were created and devoted exclusively to the tuna fishing and it commerce, contributing this way to the development and expansion of the main cultures and empires of the ancient known world: The Mediterranean Sea, the “Mare Nostrum”. (Nature Tarifa). Contact us for info visits to the traditional “levantas” (tuna catch) in the Almadraba.
- Chiringuitos and restaurants are getting open. Usually this happens when ‘’Semana Santa’’ starts (the Easter week). This is normally end of March or beginning of April. All local business are starting to wake up and getting ready for new season.
- Birdwatching. Tarifa is the birdwatcher’s paradise and attracts ornithologists from all over the world The best time of the year is spring .30 million birds start to cross the Straits on their return migration to breed in Europe (contact us for more info about Birdwatching).
- Cheap accommodation
April
- Semana Santa (it means Holy week); Easter celebrations (can be also in the end of March). This week Tarifa becomes like in the high season – appartments close to the beach gets full, local businesses and bars gets open (the ones who were resting during the winter), restaurants are full… Tarifa gets full of people looking for fun and tradition. All over the Easter week in Tarifa there is traditional Easter processions in the town.
Procession in front of the church
- Spring is in the air and there are wild flower everywhere
SPRING in Tarifa
Spring in Adventure Capital of Europe – Tarifa
- Hire a quad, jump on your bike or go for a walk in the countryside and don’t forget your camera.
- Full moon rock climbing
May
- Now we really start to feel the heat – finally.
- There’s still plenty of space on the beach. It’s perfect for yoga on the beach for example!
- Winds switch to Levante. Levante is strong, gusty and comes from the East and it can blows night and day and can last for weeks. Because it blows from the land it is warmer and does not generally form waves, it is perfect the begginers (kiters and windsurfers) and water starts.
Winds in Tarifa
- Perfect weather for MTB
June
- It’s getting hoter and hoter
- Starting to get busy everywhere
- More Levante
- San Juan – Bonfires on the beach – The summer solstice, also known in Spain as the night of San Juan, is one of the largest celebrations on Spanish calendars, and has been considered a magical night for as long as can be remembered. Every year, on the 23rd of July, bonfires and fireworks welcome in the beginning of summer. Traditionally, the night of San Juan in Tarifa is celebrated by lighting bonfires along almost all the beaches. The flames are reflected in the dark waters and light up the line of the coast. The fires become a meeting point for people to organise beach parties and sometimes even barbeques, in which sardines and meat are grilled. Obviously music, with drums and percussion groups, dancing and smiles, also play their part. After midnight, in Chica beach, opposite the Isla de las Palomas (Island of the Doves), “juanillos” are burned. Juanillosare cloth dolls, typical of the province of Cadiz, whose burning ensures good luck in the coming months. Although everybody can make their own juanillo, if you’re not feeling particularly artistic you can simply write a wish on paper and throw it into the bonfire. They say that they come true, you know…To attract good luck and keep the bad spirits away, kids (and big kids) often jump into the sea during the night of San Juan in Tarifa. The water might be a bit cold at this time of night, but who doesn’t enjoy an extra dose of fun and good luck!
And, when the bonfires on the beach are put out, the party continues in the bars and clubs of Tarifa. Almost all put on special events in order to celebrate this all-nighter, so don’t expect to get to bed before dawn… (source: http://www.freestylekitetarifa.com/about-tarifa/)
- More parties
July
- Hot
- Fiesta of Virgen de Carmen
- Mainly Levante and strong! A lot of people on the beach learning kitesurfing.
- Go whale watching – there is many chances to see Orkas in July! Contact us for booking and buying tickets 🙂
- A lot of parties – bars and discos are full of toursits.
August
- Hot
- Strong levante predominates.
- No room on the beach
- Traffic jams to get to Tarifa and all around
- Jam sessions in Bolonia – actually it happens once per week, all summer. For very little money you can buy a season ticket and participate all the concerts of Jam Session.
- We’ll be glad when it’s over!
September
- Feria – The year’s biggest event in Tarifa is Feria (The Fair). The fair of Tarifa is celebrated during the first days of September and its origin, like the majority of the Andalusian fairs, respond to a commercial necessity. As Tarifa was an important centre of agricultural production during the 19th century they established this fair/market where they presented and sold products of the area to all the visitors and other traders. During a whole week in Tarifa we’ll find plenty of mechanical rides and fast food stands, as well as fair huts, typical costumes and horses. The presence of the “Rebujito” is very common, which is sherry mixed with lime, as well as the typical wine of Jerez. There are a great number of events during the fair, like the election of the queens of the fair, the day of the horse or countryside lunches in the fair huts.
Feria Tarifa (foto http://www.freestylekitetarifa.com/)
- 30 million birds fly south to their winter habitat in Southern Africa (contact us for more info about Birdwatching).
- Starting to wind down
October
- Summer’s over…
- Time to chill, time for wellness
- 12 October – Dia de la Hispanidad, A Spanish Public Holiday to celebrate the two main events of 1492 Christopher Colombus’ discovery of the New World and the eviction of the Moors from Spain .
- Agricultural Fair
- Cheaper accomodation
November
- More chilling
- The water is still warm
Tarifa in November
- The locals take back their beaches – perfect time for horse-riding on the beach. (Call us for organized horse riding routes / lessons).
- Cheap accomodation
December
- Walk along the beaches for miles and miles and hardly see a soul
- Winter months are perfect for surfing in Tarifa – the Adventure Capital in Tarifa.
Surfing in December
- Cycle around the National Parks in freedom (or in groups 😉 )
- Look back on another fantastic year in Tarifa and celebrate Christmas (Noche buena) & New Year’s eve (Noche vieja).