As much as I enjoy touring around the Province of Cadiz and exploring all of the fantastic historic cities and towns, some days you just want to relax and hit the beach. I’m not a huge fan of visiting busy beaches that are lined with hotels though. I prefer unique beaches that have a bit of history behind them and are more popular with locals than they are with tourists. Some of the best beaches in Cadiz are those you probably haven’t heard of yet, but this list aims to change that.
While Malaga is where most people fly to for a beach vacation, if you don’t mind taking a bit of a road trip in southern Spain you can find some of the best beaches in the Province of Cadiz less than 3 hours away. To get to most of these beaches I would recommend that you rent a car in Cadiz with DiscoverCars.com, or from whatever airport you’re flying into. That way you can plan your day to suit your own schedule.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Costa de la Luz, this section of the Andalusian coastline stretches all the way from Tarifa in the south to Huelva along the Portuguese border. It’s also the coastline that faces the Atlantic Ocean, so don’t let the hot Spanish sun fool you, because the water is freezing. The Costa de la Luz is one of the most unspoiled areas of Spain and it’s practically bursting with picture perfect beaches. I haven’t made it to all of them yet but here are my top choices for the best beaches in Cadiz.
The best beaches in Cadiz
Playa de Bolonia
One of the most beautiful and by far the cleanest beaches in Cadiz is Playa de Bolonia. It’s located only a 20 minute drive from Tarifa, which is very popular for kitesurfing and partying. The big draw to this beach, besides its crystal clear water and white sand, are the enormous sand dunes sitting at the far end. The Bolonia Dunes are a protected natural site and are surrounded by pine trees, which makes for a very unique landscape.
I would highly recommend walking up the dunes for a fantastic view of the coastline – but do it early before the sand gets unbearably hot! Bolonia is also home to Baelo Claudia Archaeological Site, which are the ruins of a 2nd century Roman city that quite literally sits on the beach. It’s not hard to see why this is considered to be one of the best beaches in Cadiz, as well as one of the best beaches in Spain.
Playa de los Alemanes
A short drive up the coast in the direction of Zahara de los Atunes will bring you to one of my all-time favourite Spanish beaches – Playa de los Alemanes (or Playa del Bunker). It doesn’t have the soft white sands of Bolonia but it’s set in a gorgeous location with a very dramatic entrance. Its clear water makes it the perfect beach to do some snorkelling and check out some of the fish swimming around as well.
Playa de los Alemanes translates to the German Beach, and gets its name from the rumour that Nazis were given land to build houses here by Franco. The beach is also home to a World War II bunker that was built for defensive purposes. In my opinion this is one of the best beaches in Cadiz to spend a day at.
Make sure you check the weather before visiting this beach. Its position between the cliffs means it can get extremely windy, and the hard sand hitting your skin can be quite painful. It is however, slightly protected from the wind by the cliffs, so it won’t be as windy as other beaches in Cadiz.
Playa del Faro de Trafalgar
Heading further up the Costa de la Luz will bring you to Playa del Faro de Trafalgar, a beach with quite a lot of history behind its name. The Romans once had a temple built where the lighthouse now stands, and later there was a Moorish watchtower in the same location. But probably the most well-known historic event to happen here was the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British fought off the combined Spanish-French fleets to become the world’s largest sea power for the next century.
Playa del Faro de Trafalgar is located between Los Caños de Meca and Zahora, and you’ll need a car to get to it as there are no options for public transportation. This is another unique spot in Andalusia, and one of the best beaches in Cadiz if you’re a fan of unspoiled Spanish coastlines.
Playa de Zahora
If you fancy walking this stunning stretch of the Costa de la Luz, you’ll eventually come to Playa de Zahora. It’s only a 15 minute drive from the lighthouse but make sure you have your GPS with you because the small streets leading up to the beach can be very confusing. This is one of the least well-known beaches in the area, and is more of a residential beach for people who live close by.
If you don’t have time to spend the day here, I would recommend visiting near sunset to see the sky light up in all sorts of colours. This is one of the more secret Costa de la Luz beaches and is very close to Conil de la Frontera, so if you happen to be nearby don’t forget to make your way to Playa de Zahora.
Cala del Pato
Speaking of Conil de la Frontera, if you want to visit a really dramatic Spanish beach I would recommend going to Cala del Pato. The name translates to “cove of the duck” which comes from the fact that one of the rocks is shaped like a duck. It’s one of Conil’s most impressive coves, with ice cold clear water and golden sand surrounded by cliffs that give off a reddish tone.
What impressed me the most was the views of the beach from atop the cliff, which is where you need to park before walking down to the beach. Anyone who’s been here before will understand why I consider it to be one of the best beaches in Cadiz. We arrived at sunrise and was unaware that the beach is covered in shadows until just before noon, but that meant we had the beach mostly to ourselves for a while.
Cala del Pato is a nudist beach in Cadiz (again, something we didn’t know), so don’t be alarmed if you see some naked people walking by!
Playa Sancti-Petri
Just under an hour from Conil, heading north towards the city of Cadiz, is Playa Sancti-Petri. It’s located in Chiclana de la Frontera and is a very long beach with lots of parking available. The sand isn’t as soft as the previous beaches I’ve mentioned, but it’s still a pleasant beach to visit and is one of the few beaches I’ve visited in the Province of Cadiz where the water isn’t freezing cold.
The reason why it’s made it on to my list of the best beaches in Cadiz is because there’s a castle sitting on an island that you’re able to access by boat or by paddling over. The island once held the most important temple in the West that was first built by the Phoenicians and later turned into a place to worship Hercules by the Romans (rumour has it that he’s buried here). Today, it’s home to an 18th century castle that played an important role in withstanding a Napoleonic invasion.
Playa de Camposoto
Playa de Camposoto is another beach in Cadiz that has some interesting history behind it. It’s located along the outskirts of San Fernando, and is one of the longest beaches in southern Spain. Although it’s located in an urban setting, there are no commercial buildings near it due to its location within a military area, making it one of the few unspoiled beaches in the province.
It’s also one of the best beaches in Cadiz for surfers and paddleboarders. There are multiple entrances along the beach, all of which have wooden walkways for easy access, and plenty of parking available. Playa de Camposoto also has two war bunkers on its sands that date back to the Spanish Civil War.
La Caleta
The city of Cadiz itself has a couple of nice beaches, but the most popular one is La Caleta. The beach is located in the historic centre and is only a short walk from sites such as Cadiz Cathedral, making it very easy to add to any day trip to Cadiz. It’s completely isolated from other beaches in the city, making it the smallest one so it can get quite crowded in the summer.
For me, it’s one of the best beaches in the Province of Cadiz because you’ll find two castles sitting on either side of it. Castillo de San Sebastian and Castillo de Santa Catalina are both very easily accessible from La Caleta and are two of the best sites to visit in Cadiz. How can you say no to a beach with two castles?
Playa de Levante
We found a lovely spot to go cycling through a natural park, not too far from Cadiz, on the outskirts of El Puerto de Santa Maria. Parque Natural Los Toruños is a gorgeous area with a mixture of ecosystems that you can explore either by bike (which you can rent on site), or on foot. While we were biking, we found a path that took us right up to Playa de Levante a few hours before sunset. Although we didn’t have time to try this beach out, it’s one of the best beaches in Cadiz for windsurfing, and is very secluded with minimal services near it.
This is another nudist beach in Cadiz, but there is a specific area marked for the nudists.
Playa de Valdelagrana
Playa de Valdelagrana is one of the few beaches which I’ve included in my list of the best beaches in Cadiz that’s located in a very touristy area. It was one of the first beaches I visited in Cadiz and the water was very calm and warm which is a nice change from the freezing cold water at most beaches in the province. This area gets very busy in the summer, but when we stopped by there was plenty of room to spread out away from other groups of people. There are lots of apartments, restaurants, and shops along the promenade to enjoy as well.
Playa de La Muralla
One of my favourite spots, and well deserving of a place on my list of the best beaches in Cadiz is Playa de La Muralla, located in Puerto Sherry, El Puerto de Santa Maria. It’s a very small beach and remains relatively unknown to tourists but it’s very popular with locals and those who live in the surrounding area. This is another very calm beach with white sand and there are a number of restaurants and tapas bars along the promenade.
I would recommend trying out the pizza from Pizzeria Blanca Paloma at sunset so you can enjoy your meal with a gorgeous view. This beach may be small, but it’s home to the remains of a 16th century castle too – Castillo de Santa Catalina de El Puerto de Santa Maria.
Playa de Fuentebravia
Playa de Fuentebravia is another beach that’s in a built-up area but it’s quite a long beach so you should be able to find a spot that’s a bit more secluded. It’s also located in El Puerto de Santa Maria, which if you haven’t figured out by now has some of the best beaches in Andalusia around it. This beach is the perfect place to visit for watersports, although we had problems trying to jump on our inflatable flamingo with the small waves!
There’s a naval beach nearby, so part of the beach is restricted but it’s very obvious what part of the beach that is. This beach sits at the bottom of a cliff and it’s only accessible by walking down quite a lot of steps.
Playa de Punta Candor
Playa de Punta Candor is located less than a 20 minute drive from Playa de Fuentebravia. It’s one of the many beaches in Cadiz classified as a virgin beach, meaning there are relatively few buildings around it. Its clear water, sand dunes, and surrounding pine forest are a big draw for people, as is the beach’s orange sunsets. We didn’t get to enjoy this beach as much as we would have liked to because we forgot to check the wind speed before arriving.
Playa de La Ballena
Another fantastic golden sandy beach to visit is Playa de La Ballena, located in Rota. It was one of the closest beaches to where we were staying in Jerez de la Frontera, so we visited it quite a few times. I would definitely check the tide times for this beach, because at high tide there’s hardly any sand left and everyone is stuck very close to each other.
There are several wooden ramps crossing the sand dunes to allow for easy access, and there are restaurants and bars close by as well. Playa de La Ballena is known for its stunning sunsets and its beautiful natural landscape, which is why it’s one of the best beaches in Cadiz to spend a day at.
Playa de Las Piletas
Sanlucar de Barrameda is a huge draw for people because of its abundance of beaches. We visited Sanlucar on a day trip from Jerez, so we only had time to catch the sunset along Playa de Las Piletas. It’s the most central and busiest of the beaches in Sanlucar, which means it has a lot of facilities in and around it. Playa de Las Piletas is famous for its annual horse races, which have been held here since 1845. From the beach you can see the Doñana National Park on the other side of the Guadalquivir River. If this doesn’t make it one of the best beaches in Cadiz then I don’t know what will.
The Guadalquivir River is the only navigable river in Spain, and reaches all the way to Seville. In Roman times it was navigable up to Cordoba!
There are so many beautiful beaches in the Province of Cadiz to choose from, and this list only touches the very tip of them. But hopefully some of these beaches get added to your itinerary when you start planning a trip to southern Spain. The weather in Andalusia is nice all year round, so chances are if you visit in the off season you’ll have some of the best beaches in Cadiz almost all to yourself.
If you’ve ever visited Cadiz, I would love to hear your thoughts on the province itself and what you consider to be some of the best beaches in Cadiz as well. And remember, you can keep up to date on my recent travels by following me on Instagram!
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