Winter stays · Tarifa
Winter in Tarifa
Calmer weeks, the wind stays
As of August 2026
If one detail decides it for you, ask us before you book. We know the apartment.
- What sets the day
- Levante or Poniente, not the calendar
- At home
- Fireplace · heating · kitchen · washing machine
- On the doorstep
- Supermarket opposite, 500 m to Los Lances
- For the car
- A reserved underground parking space
The town
In winter Tarifa is a place to live in again
Summer here is transient: people arrive for the wind and move on. In winter we find the same faces in the supermarket and more room in the old town's lanes.
How much is open and how busy it feels changes from week to week; in January some restaurants take a break, and the beach and old town are yours.
The wind
Levante or Poniente — decided on the day
Levante is the easterly and Poniente the westerly. Official information names them as the wind regimes that define the Strait, but neither name fixes a strength, a temperature or a season.
So plan the day, not the week. When it blows hard, the old town and the inland walking routes are the better choice than an open beach — and that is exactly the kind of day the fireplace is for.
In the evening
75 m² over two floors, with a real fire
Family & Surf has a wood-burning fireplace, heating and air conditioning that also heats — after a day in the wind, the evening belongs to the fire. The 75 m² are spread over two floors with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus a 12 m² balcony facing the Atlantic under a wooden canopy.
There are no steps outside and the lift goes to the apartment door. Inside, steps lead up to the bedrooms — worth knowing if stairs are a concern.
A real wood-burning fireplace is what makes winter evenings on the coast truly cosy. So you don't have to head straight out after arriving, the first firewood is ready for you. When you fetch more for the evenings that follow, the layout makes it easy: unload the wood sacks from the petrol station in the underground garage and take the lift straight to the apartment door — no stairs.
Fire & wood
The first fire is lit without any lifting
After kiting
Where to put the wet wetsuit
Anyone who goes out on the water in winter brings back a thick, soaking wetsuit. The covered, 12 m² balcony is made for exactly that: hang your gear here and let it drip. The clammy Atlantic damp stays right outside the door, and inside by the fire it stays pleasantly dry.
Staying longer
Equipped for several weeks
The kitchen is complete, and there is a washing machine and fast fibre Wi-Fi with a place to work and power sockets within reach. Everyday shopping is directly opposite the building, Los Lances beach is about 500 metres away and the old town is a walk, not a drive.
A reserved space in the underground garage comes with the apartment, so the daily hunt for parking disappears. From eight nights a direct booking also includes one cleaning around the middle of the stay.
In the village
Around Christmas there is more going on
Tarifa most recently published a municipal Christmas programme running from late November to 5 January. Whether and how it happens again is decided each year.
The same goes for restaurants and shops: some shorten their hours in winter. Send us your dates and we will tell you what is running that week.
Winter light
Plenty of sun, even in winter
Average hours of sunshine per day across the year — the winter months are highlighted.
In December the sun shines about 6 hours a day here — in London just 1.5.
Hours per day (avg, 1999–2019)
Longer afternoons
The sun sets later here
On the shortest day of the year, 21 December, the Costa del Sol stays light far longer than the north — Spain lies far west but keeps Central European Time.
15:53
London
more daylight
18:12
Tarifa
On 21 December the sun sets in Tarifa only at 18:12 — in London already at 15:53. That is about 2 h 20 min more afternoon.
Keep reading
Wind, coast and everyday Tarifa
Explore further
Where these details come from
The wind names come from official Junta information and the walking routes from Tarifa's tourism office. Everything about AMARA Family & Surf comes from us.
As of August 2026
Winter at AMARA
Tell us when you want to stay with us in Tarifa
If a calmer town, Atlantic air and space to settle in sound right, winter in Tarifa works. Send us your dates and we will tell you what is open that week.