Best Beaches in Cadiz
Cadiz province has one of the best coastlines in Spain. Spaniards know this well, as they flock to the best beaches in Cadiz to cool down and enjoy the relaxing area in summer. The coast of Cadiz province is part of the Costa de la Luz, or the Light Coast. The area is aptly named – this area gets the most hours of light in the country!
Unlike the Costa del Sol, which is busy and loud with the number of people there, the Costa de la Luz still has many natural and peaceful beaches. In fact, 80% of Cadiz province is designated as Natural Park.
However, not every beach is the same. We have created our list of our favourite beaches in Cadiz province. Each of these beaches has something special that makes it a great place to spend the day. If you want to learn about what to visit in Cadiz province, please look at our other blogs posts.
Playa de Bolonia (Bolonia Beach)
Best beach for: A full day of activities
Bolonia beach has several things that make it stand out as an excellent beach. While it’s a lovely beach to relax on, there are so many activities to do to fill an entire day. Next to Bolonia Beach is Baelo Claudia, ruins of a coastal Roman city.
Baelo Claudia is well worth a visit! It was an important town economically for its tuna fishing and production of garum, a fermented fish sauce popular throughout the Roman empire. The site has the most comprehensive remains of a Roman town in the entire Iberian peninsula. The site has a great museum and it is free to enter for EU citizens (only €1.50 for non-EU residents in 2020).
Aside from Baelo Claudia, you can climb the Duna de Bolonia, one of the largest shifting sand dunes in Europe. The dune is 30m high and 200m wide. The dune was declared a national monument in 2001. From the top of the dune you have a great view of the beach, Baelo Claudia and across the water of the coast of Morocco!
If you go for a long walk away down the beach from the dune to the east, you will find the natural mud baths. You will find people putting mud on their skin. Natural Mud baths are known for its beneficial properties and to protect your skin if you have sunburnt. You can coat yourself in the mud, let it dry on your skin and then wash it off in the water.
The beach itself has fine sand, clear water and is a lovely place to relax during the entire day. There are several restaurants along the coast where you can enjoy a relaxing lunch. The only thing to note however, is that Bolonia can get busy in the summer months. There is only one main road in and out of the village from the national road, so plan some extra time!
Playa de El Palmar (Beach El Palmar)
Best beach for: Surfing
El Palmar is a continuous long, virgin beach paradise. It is also known as one of the best places in Andalusia and Spain for surfing. Whether you are just learning or an expert, you can enjoy yourself surfing here. If you are looking for lessons or to rent a board, there are lots of surf schools to learn from offering lessons in Spanish and English. The autumn and winter have the best surf waves, but you can find consistently good waves throughout the entire year in El Palmar.
El Palmar is a nice beach to spend with the family or as just adults. Families tend to plant themselves near the boardwalk access, but if you want some quiet time, you can always walk farther down as well. You can also find some areas of the beach farther down that are popular with nudists.
Just down the road from El Palmar is Vejer de la Frontera. This is a great place to base yourself for a beach trip to El Palmar, only a 10 minute drive away. It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Spain, with its twisting labyrinth of streets and white facade. You can get the perfect balance between sunny beach days and beautiful romantic evenings. Find out more about Vejer de la Frontera.
Playa de los Alemanes (Beach of the Germans)
Best beach for: When the strong Levante winds from the Mediterranean comes
The Playa de los Alemanes is another of the best beaches in Cádiz. It translates to the German Beach and is a beautiful beach below the hills to enjoy on a normal day. But it also becomes the perfect hide out from the Levante winds when they come. The Levante are the winds that come from the east in the Mediterranean Sea. As the wind is funneled through the Strait of Gibraltar, it can create strong winds at times along the Cádiz coast.
Since Playa de los Alemanes is in a cove, El Cabo de la Plata, it is protected from the winds by the hills surrounding it on either side. Aside from protection, the beach has fine golden sand and clear waters that make it a great beach on any day.
The name Playa de los Alemanes comes from the number of Germans that moved here in the 1940s. The area is still popular with foreign and national tourists due to the beautiful landscape and perfect beach.
Playa del Cañuelo (Canuelo Beach)
Best beach for: Quieter beach with a small hike
The little sister of Playa de los Alemanes is just around the corner. This beach is lovely as well and also protected from the wind. However, there are usually less people at this beach because it requires a short hike to get there. From the Faro de Camarinal, there are paths you can follow down to the beach. The walk is about 10 minutes.
Since it requires a short walk, you will find less families down at this beach than at Playa de los Alemanes. This beach is also a nice area to do some snorkelling. There are rocky areas in the calm water that you can explore with a mask and snorkel. Since it is less busy you’ll also find many people playing beach games like racket ball and football. Keep in mind as well that, like most quieter beaches, you may find some nude bathers on this beach.
Valdevaqueros beach
Best beach for: Kite surfing and water sports
Another one of the best beaches in Cadiz is Valdevaqueros. This beach has stunning white sand along the pine forests bordering the beach. The image makes for a perfect picture from the top of the sand dune on the west side of the beach. However, this beach can also get quite windy. The wind is what makes this beach one of the best in the entire world for kite surfing.
If you want to learn how to kite surf, there are kite surfing schools that offer courses. It is a challenging but incredibly thrilling and adventurous sport to learn. Aside from kite surfing, you can also find other water sports such as surfing, windsurfing and scuba diving.
Hidden Beach in Parque La Breña Natural Park
Best beach for: Nudists and tranquility
One of the most peaceful beaches in Spain requires a bit of a walk along the beach to get there. The beach is hidden below the cliffs of La Breña Natural Park, located between Caños de Meca and Bárbate. To reach the beach below the cliffs, the access is from Playa de los Castillejos in Caños de Meca. From there you walk along the beach, climbing over some rocky areas to below the cliffs.
Since the each is so far away from the popular areas, many of the people that come here are nudist bathers. There are rarely any children here and with so few people, it is a very quiet beach if you want to escape from it all.
If you prefer to do some walking, Parque La Breña is also a nice area to visit. Coastal hikes at the top of the cliffs and through pine forests, it is enjoyable to walk here. There is a route going from Caños de Meca to Bárbate. However you can’t access the park from the hidden beach due to the cliffs. You have to access it from Caños de Meca.
Playa en Cabo de Trafalgar (Cape Trafalgar beach)
Best beach for: Learning some history and relaxing
At this beach you can see the Lighthouse of Trafalgar. This point is famous for the Battle of Trafalgar that took place off the coast in 1805. This battle was an important point in history when the British fleet, led by Admiral Nelson, defeated the combined Spanish and French during the Napoleanic wars.
Much of this beach is part of the natural Park of la Breña. It has ntural, virgin sand and is quiet and peaceful. Our favourite area of this beach is towards Caños de Meca. There are several rocky areas where there are tide pools to explore at low tide. You can sit in the water of a tide pool and watch the crabs, fish and wildlife while relaxing in the sun.
Near this beach you will find chameleons, in case you enjoy herping. They were introduced by the Romans and they are now protected.
Playa de la Fontanilla (Fontanilla beach)
Best beach for: Families
This beach is popular with families who want to enjoy the beach with the kids. It is a long, expansive beach that is safe for swimming and playing. The beach as a gradually sloping shallow area, so you don’t have to worry about your kids playing in the shallows.
It is an easy beach to access, which makes the trek with umbrellas and beach toys much easier! It has toilets and facilities and there are also plenty of restaurants around where you can stop for some tapas and drinks! Overall, an enjoyable and easy beach day to make your life simple and relaxing.
Find the Best Beaches in Cadiz
To help you find the best beaches in Cádiz, we have created a map of their locations below.
Full day tours in Vejer de la Frontera and throughout Cadiz province
If you are looking for culinary food tours in Andalusia, cultural, Bluefin tuna and Sherry wine experiences in Cadiz, then check our website. You will be able to see the great food tours in Vejer de la Frontera and throughout Cadiz province that we do.
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