For the autumn kitesurfing TRIP with KITEFORCE we went to Tarifa – the world mecca of kitesurfing. Apart from the great atmosphere and the overall organization of the event, both logistically and materially, we will discuss in the article a few points that we are primarily concerned with. It is the weather, the wind, the water, the different locations and the overall impression.

On Sunday we were picked up at Malaga airport by a KITEFORCE bus, which took us through more than 20 roundabouts to Tarifa after two hours, where we were provided with a spacious and well-equipped apartment with a large terrace in the city centre and a short walk from the beach. We also took the KITEFORCE bus in bulk to the various “spots” around Tarifa.

KITESURFING AROUND TARIFA

There are several places to go kitesurfing within an hour’s drive of Tarifa and each of them offers different conditions. The differences are mainly in terms of wind strength, wind orientation, wind gustiness, wave height, space on the beach, but also, for example, wind temperature. We had the opportunity to visit several of them during the week-long camp. There are 2 basic wind directions on Tarifa: Levante and Poniente. The Levante blows from east to west (from Gibraltar and coming off the mountains above Tarifa) and is much more frequent, stronger and generally more gusty than the Poniente. Often the Levante seems to be an offshore wind, but on the beaches (locations) of Valdevaqueros, Bolonia, or Los Canos de Meca it is sideshore and at Palmones or Getares even onshore. Palmones and Getares usually have much colder winds (Levante) than the Atlantic spots. When it blows Poniente it is onshore on the whole length of the Costa de la Luz, which is the long beach from Tarifa northwards. Poniente tends to be less gusty and much weaker than Levante.

The air temperatures and overall weather are very favourable at the beginning of November. In the shade around 25°C, water on a short or neoprene shirt, but of course a long wetsuit is also acceptable. The water is beautiful, clear and salty. We had sunshine (meaning azure) all week except for one rainy day, and out of seven days of the camp, six were ridden and there was no energy left for any frolicking in the evening. The kites we used ranged in size from 7qm to 17qm and the size we used most often was 9qm.

One day it was not windy, so we went on a trip to Gibraltar, which was a great experience except for the long wait at the border with Spain. As for Tarifa itself, you can tell we were there in the low season. The little town certainly doesn’t look empty, but you can see that it’s generally ready for a lot more activity (in season) than it was now. Beaches practically empty until the wind starts blowing, restaurants some already closed but many also open and offering Spanish Tapaz which we recommend trying. The city streets are pleasantly busy at this time of year. Our trip ended on Sunday, taking us back to Malaga in the evening for our flight to Prague.

You can find the whole photo gallery on our FB: HERE