Valdevaqueros
Tarifa's headline beach. A long arc of sand under the big dune, Africa on the horizon, and when the Levante kicks in it's one of the windiest places in Europe.
Working wind (blowing from)
Season
Typical wind
15–35 knWater
Chop, shorebreakLevel
Intermediate+Directions
36.0668, -5.6844Wind
Valdevaqueros is a Levante spot first. The easterly funnels through the Strait, comes over the land side-shore to side-off and regularly nukes 25–35 kn, gusty near the beach and cleaner further out. On a big Levante day a 7–9 m is plenty for most riders. With Poniente (W/SW) the wind turns side-onshore, smoother and lighter, and the water gets a bit of swell. Tarifa is windy most of the year. Late spring to early autumn is the most reliable stretch.
Water & level
Sandy bottom, chop and a short shorebreak. It gets deep fairly quickly. On Levante this is not a beginner spot: if you can't ride upwind, side-off wind will take you out towards the shipping lane. Schools teach here on the lighter days and use boats.
Launch & rules
From 15 June to 15 September kiting is restricted to buoyed kite zones, and the rest of the beach belongs to swimmers. Launch and land only inside the zone, keep lines off the walkway and ask a local or a school which corridor is open that day. Parking along the N-340 fills up early in summer.
Watch out
Gusty Levante near the dune, side-off drift, crowded launch on summer weekends, and windsurfers sharing the water. Never self-launch on the sand by the parking with people walking downwind.
Live wind
Live readings come straight from the station owners via the embedded widgets. Stations go offline sometimes; if a reading looks frozen, check the time stamp.
Forecast
Open on Windguru ↗Wind map
Conditions, rules and access change. Always check on the beach, ask local schools and ride within your level.
