Bring your Tarifa Dream to Life with Tarifa Adventure

The magic of Tarifa begins with your arrival in Tarifa. The road to the town winds over a low mountain range that runs parallel to the Strait of Gibraltar and Moroccan coastline. After the last bend, a panoramic sweep of rugged natural landscape, twelve miles of white sandy beach and the Atlantic Ocean stretching as far as the horizon, comes into view, a scene of awe-inspiring beauty that’s a small taste of the many qualities that make Tarifa unique.   

Tarifa is much more than a town, a rugged enclave on the most southern point of Spain, it’s a way of life, an attitude, a place to hide, feel free, disconnect and escape the rat race of city life. Surrounded by mountains, pine forests and sea, this Spanish coastline is protected and unspoiled, giving Tarifa the feel of a different world, like stepping back in time. It doesn’t provoke subtle responses in visitors. People either love or hate it. But those who love it never leave. 

As a port town it attracts all sorts of people from the richest to the poorest, where flip-flops are the great equalizer – everybody wears them to the beach and to dinner. Leave all pretentions and status symbols at the door, there’s no place for them in Tarifa. What matters here is what you’re made of because here, your real neighbour is nature; she’s all around you and whatever your age, she’ll keep you on your toes. 

THE TARIFA DREAM 

Picture this: You step out onto the balcony of your private villa to enjoy your morning coffee. Above you, wisps of clouds dot a blazing blue sky. The sea breeze is refreshing and fills the air with the scent of jasmine from the garden. After breakfast, you head to the beach to spend a high-adrenalin day on the water. For dinner, a table at one of Tarifa’s restaurants awaits you, where you have a magical view of the Strait of Gibraltar and a sumptuous meal of fresh lobster. 

This is just one version of the Tarifa dream but it’s the one that drew Tony (Cass) Cassidy, founder of Tarifa Direct and Tarifa Adventure, to the town more than forty-five years ago. Back then, Cass ran a busy real estate agency in Marbella and prior to that had spent some years living in the Middle East where he was an avid wind-surfer. He heard about Tarifa, and on his first visit was spellbound to see wind-surfers out on the choppy water windsurfing on the waves. 

He started coming to Tarifa every weekend, leaving Marbella late on a Friday night, packing his equipment, wife and daughter into the car so that he could spend two full days windsurfing. So enchanted with Tarifa, in 2000, he opened the first Tarifa Direct office, and in 2006, moved here full-time. At the age of 65, he qualified as a kite-surf instructor, and is an avid mountain-biker. One of the things he appreciates most about Tarifa is that it “keeps you young.” 

GET ACTIVE IN TARIFA 

Tarifa is all about getting outdoors and being at one with the majesty of nature. Which is exactly what the doctor ordered, in a post-Pandemic world where your health and self-care have never been so important. Its unique geographical location and landscape makes it a treasure trove of outdoor activities but it also has an alternative side, an ethereal energy that attracts an esoteric crowd including creative types, yoga teachers and healers. 

Two winds, Levante and Poniente, torment this coastline all year round, making Tarifa one of the hottest wind and kite surf capitals in the world. Wing-foiling, scuba-diving, paddle-boarding, whale watching, body-boarding and sailing are just some of the other watersport activities on offer. Off the water, Tarifa’s low range of mountains makes for excellent mountain-bike and hiking routes but there’s also land-karting, horse-riding and motorcross, in short, something for everyone. And don’t worry if you’re not the outdoors type, Tarifa will tease you outside.

But it also offers lots of indoor activities such as yoga, Pilates, language and dance classes as well as an eclectic café, restaurant and beach bar scene. In essence, Tarifa is all about letting go, shelving the trappings of urban life, surrendering to the wisdom of nature and reconnecting to self. For all these reasons and more, Tarifa not only keeps your joints limber and your heart young, it feeds your soul, giving you a new zest for and attitude towards life. 

LIVE YOUR TARIFA DREAM ADVENTURE

To make your Tarifa adventure stress-free so that you can totally de-stress, you will need support. Remember, there are no city conveniences here, making the old adage, it’s not what but whom you know, ten times more important. This makes the personalized concierge service provided by Tarifa Adventure essential. Whatever you need to make your time in Tarifa a smooth experience, Tarifa Adventure can help. 

In 2024, Cass’s daughter, Liz, took over the operation, ushering in a new generation of love for Tarifa. Liz was the daughter coming to Tarifa all those years ago, giving her unique insight into the workings of the town. Between them, they not only have an unrivalled knowledge of the area, they also have an extensive referral network that includes everyone from kite-schools, hotels, property-owners, contractors, carpenters and even baby-sitters. 

Always ready to go the extra mile to keep clients happy, under Liz’s management Tarifa Adventure provides a full concierge service as well as access to a suite of water and land activities for individuals and groups. She also hosts events and can even help you plan a wedding in Tarifa. That’s just one of the qualities that gives Tarifa Adventure an edge. Liz doesn’t just provide clients with attention, she makes sure that queries get answered and problems are solved so that you can get on with making your Tarifa dream adventure a reality.