Small town 50 km Down South from Cadiz isn’t a first choice for someone who’s looking for a surf spot in Europe. But after spending 5 days there all I can say is that I’m definitely coming back.

I won’t lie. I love Spain. That is way when planning this year’s first surf trip I wanted to combine surfing with another occasion to explore this amazing country. Together with Mrs_Edita we decided that we’re gonna hit the Atlantic coast of Andalusia first and then explore mysterious and tourists free Galicia.

For our first destination we chose Conil de la Frontera. A place that in my opinion is great for beginner and intermediate surfers who wants to see and experience more than just clean and long lefts on Fontanilla Beach. In this post I will point out why it’s worth to take it under consideration while planning your next surfing adventure in Europe.

Solid and uncrowded breaks

In words of Andy from Oceano Surf School “Conil is a really good destination because in the very short space there are different beaches with different sea floors and different orientation. You can have several different directions of wind and it’s always a spot in Conil that should be working. I would say that for beginner and intermediate surfers it’s absolutely perfect because you can walk out to sort of waves chest depth and you can still get really long rides. It’s a very gradual transition between shallow and deep. The weather is fantastic and it’s still very, very, very unexplored and uncrowded.”

A picture of powerful waves hitting the shore in Conil de la Frontera

During summer the habitual beach is between El Palmar and Conil. It is called the Playa del Castilnovo. It is a virgin structure beach with kilometers of interrupted sand and very nice learning to surf waves. Local surf schools also use Fontanilla beach but only early mornings and when the conditions are stronger.

A picture of Son of a Beach surfing on Fontanilla Beach in Conil de la Frontera

I visited Conil at the beginning of April, which brings solid and consistent surfing conditions to Conil. The air temperature was around 20-23 degrees Celsius and the water between 14-17. We didn’t experienced any rain during the whole 5-day stay. I was surfing on Fontanilla Beach using my 3/2 Hurley Fusion and Xcel 5 mm boots. In my opinion that kind of equipment is very adequate for this time of the year on Spanish coast especially when you get cold feet 😉

Picture of a surfer riding the wave in Conil, Spain

A picture of bar on la Fontanilla beach in Conil de la Frontera

Good sleep, good food

Finding a nice place to stay in this part of Spain in Spring wasn’t easy, especially when you look outside of Cadiz. It took us couple of days of searching and then monitoring the offers. Eventually Conil has had one of the best selection of apartments in the area. We stayed at Villa Flamenco Beach, which “bought” us with astonishing ocean view and a small private beach.

A picture of waves in Conil de la Frontera

A picture of waves in Conil de la Frontera

It occurred that one of the best restaurants in the area is in Conil. La Ola offers a great selection of tapas and tuna dishes – local delicacy.

A picture of beach in Conil de la Frontera near la Ola restaurant

A beach near la Ola restaurant in Conil de la Frontera

Perfect for explorers  

Conil de la Frontera lies 200 km West from Malaga airport and about 50 km Down South from Cadiz. Malaga is a big airport with excellent connection to cities in Northern and Central Europe as well as Great Britain. This makes this town a great location for different than surfing activities.

On your way from the airport you can visit a beautiful town of Estepona with amazing murals and unique city center full of flowers. Within 1,5 hour drive from Conil you can find yourself in Great Britain while visiting Gibraltar or try your hand at kite surfing while in Tarifa, which is one of the best locations for kite surfers in Europe.

A picture of fish mural in Estepona

A picture of street in Estepona

40 minutes drive north from Conil gets you to beautiful Cadiz, a city with great history and 300 sunny days a year. The best way to explore this city is to get lost in the small streets of the old town. You can’t miss the Park Genoves and the promenade which leads you to the part of the city that „played” Havana in one of the James Bond movies.

A picture of city beach in Cadiz with boats

Cadiz

A picture of old town in Cadiz

A picture of classic Spanish door in Cadiz

A picture of fancy trees in Park Genoves in Cadiz

A picture of a man standing in Park Genoves in Cadiz

After all day of walking I’m sure you’ll be hungry, so I recommend to grab some tapas in Restaurante El Destino. Excellent selection of Spanish specialties.

A picture of tuna salad in Restaurante El Destino in Cadiz

Thanks for reading. Now go surf!