Costa de la Luz Map
This is the only coast in this collection that is not Mediterranean. The Costa de la Luz faces the Atlantic, from the Portuguese border round to the Strait of Gibraltar, and everything follows from that: bigger surf, stronger wind, wider beaches, cooler water and far fewer high-rise blocks. Tarifa at the southern tip is the windsurfing capital of Europe for the same reason.
What is plotted on the Costa de la Luz map
The map carries 17 places on this coast: 7 historic sites, 3 beaches, 2 natural parks, 2 museums, 2 towns, 1 viewpoint. They span roughly 143 km in a straight line, from Doñana National Park in the north to Tarifa in the south.
The Costa de la Luz coast, north to south
Every marker on the map, in the order you would meet it driving south. The distance is a straight line from the place above it.
| Place | Type | From previous |
|---|---|---|
| Doñana National Park Doñana National Park is a natural reserve of marshes, shallow streams and sand dunes in the delta where the Guadalquivir | Natural park | — |
| Chipiona Lighthouse Chipiona Lighthouse is an active 19th-century lighthouse on Punta del Perro in Chipiona, about 6 kilometres southwest of the Guadalquivir | Viewpoint | 36 km |
| Museo Arqueológico de Jerez The Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Jerez de la Frontera occupies an 18th-century building on the Plaza del Mercado and opened | Museum | 27 km |
| Jerez de la Frontera Cathedral The Cathedral of the Holy Saviour, seat of the Diocese of Asidonia-Jerez, was built in the 17th century in a | Historic site | 0 km |
| Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera The Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera is a former Moorish alcázar whose first fortress was probably built in the | Historic site | 0 km |
| Doña Blanca Doña Blanca is a 200-hectare archaeological site in El Puerto de Santa María, a tell containing walls, dwellings, a Punic | Historic site | 6 km |
| Castle of San Marcos The Castle of San Marcos, also called Castillo de Alfonso X El Sabio, is a medieval castle in El Puerto | Historic site | 7 km |
| Museum of Cádiz The Museum of Cádiz was founded in 1970 from the merger of the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts with the | Museum | 9 km |
| La Caleta La Caleta is a beach in the historical centre of Cádiz, a natural harbour used historically by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and | Beach | 1 km |
| Cádiz Cathedral The Cathedral of the Holy Cross over the Waters in Cádiz, seat of the Diocese of Cádiz y Ceuta, was | Historic site | 1 km |
| Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park is a 10,522-hectare natural park established in 1989 at the mouth of the Guadalete river, | Natural park | 13 km |
| Castle of Sancti Petri The Castle of Sancti Petri is a 13th-century Moorish-style stronghold on the little island of Sancti Petri, once one of | Historic site | 11 km |
| Playa de la Barrosa Playa de la Barrosa is a six-kilometre-long beach in Chiclana de la Frontera, separated from the Playa de Sancti Petri | Beach | 4 km |
| Vejer de la Frontera A white town on a ridge about 190 metres above the Atlantic plain, its Moorish street plan protected as a | Town | 23 km |
| Baelo Claudia A Roman town founded on fish sauce in the late 2nd century BC, with its forum, theatre, basilica and garum | Historic site | 25 km |
| Playa de Bolonia A white-sand Atlantic bay backed by a live dune over 30 metres high, protected since 2001, with Roman ruins at | Beach | 1 km |
| Tarifa Mainland Europe’s southernmost town, where the Strait of Gibraltar narrows to 14.2 km and the Levante wind made a kitesurfing | Town | 16 km |
By what you are looking for
Historic site (7): Jerez de la Frontera Cathedral, Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera, Doña Blanca, Castle of San Marcos, Cádiz Cathedral, Castle of Sancti Petri, Baelo Claudia
Beach (3): La Caleta, Playa de la Barrosa, Playa de Bolonia
Natural park (2): Doñana National Park, Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park
Museum (2): Museo Arqueológico de Jerez, Museum of Cádiz
Town (2): Vejer de la Frontera, Tarifa
Viewpoint (1): Chipiona Lighthouse
How to read the map
Each marker is coloured by place type, so a glance tells you whether a point is a beach, a town or a natural park. Clicking a marker opens its name, type and a link to the full page. The checkbox bar above the map filters by type: untick everything except beaches to see only the coastline, or leave only historic sites to plan a day inland. Markers cluster when zoomed out, so a number in a circle means several places sit close together — zoom in and the cluster splits.
For the coast written up as a single read, see the Costa de la Luz guide or the region page.
How to use this map
The map is scoped to this coast: the pins are the destinations on it, not the whole of Spain. The filters above narrow it further — show only beaches, or only coves, viewpoints, castles, museums or natural parks.
Town guides on this coast
- Algeciras — the historic Plaza Alta, Getares beach, Strait of Gibraltar views
- Aljaraque — On the edge of the Odiel marshes biosphere reserve
- Almonte — gateway to Doñana National Park and the El Rocío pilgrimage
- Arcos de la Frontera — a clifftop white town above the Guadalete, with a cliff-edge square
- Ayamonte — a Guadiana border town facing Portugal, whitewashed streets
- Barbate — an Atlantic tuna port
- Cartaya — the sandbar beaches of El Rompido
- Chiclana de la Frontera — What Chiclana de la Frontera is really like
- Chipiona — Spain’s tallest lighthouse, the long Playa de Regla
- Conil de la Frontera — a white old town, Atlantic beaches
- Cádiz — Western Europe’s oldest city, a walled seafront old town, La Caleta beach
- El Campillo — a Riotinto mining town in Huelva, gateway to the red Río Tinto
- El Puerto de Santa María — What El Puerto de Santa María is really like
- Huelva — Columbus history, the Muelle del Tinto
- Isla Cristina — a great Atlantic fishing port, a famous carnival
- La Línea de la Concepción — sandy beaches with Rock-of-Gibraltar views
- Lepe — a Huelva strawberry town on the Costa de la Luz
- Los Barrios — gateway to the Los Alcornocales cork forest and Palmones estuary
- Moguer — home of Nobel poet Juan Ramón Jiménez and a Columbus port town
- Olvera — a hilltop white town crowned by a Moorish castle and church
- Palos de la Frontera — the port where Columbus sailed in 1492
- Puerto Real — a royal-founded town on the Bay of Cádiz
- Punta Umbría — a sandy spit between ocean and estuary
- Rota — wide Bay of Cadiz beaches, the Castillo de Luna
- San Fernando — Camposoto beach, salt flats
- San Roque — a Campo de Gibraltar town founded by Gibraltar exiles
- Sanlúcar de Barrameda — What Sanlúcar de Barrameda is really like
- Setenil de las Bodegas — white houses built into and under the cliffs of the Trejo gorge
- Tarifa — kitesurf beaches, the southern tip of mainland Europe
- Ubrique — the leather-making pueblo blanco of the Sierra de Cádiz between the Grazalema
- Vejer de la Frontera — a walled white town on a hill above the Costa de la
For the coast in words, see the full guide, or the region page for its destinations by area. Every Spanish coast is on the main CostaMap map.
Every place we have mapped on the Costa de la Luz
65 towns, beaches, coves and landmarks, kept up to date automatically.
- Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera
- Algeciras: Port, Plaza Alta and the Strait of Gibraltar
- Aljaraque: Huelva Costa de la Luz Town Guide
- Almonte: Doñana, El Rocío and Matalascañas
- Arcos de la Frontera: Clifftop White Town
- Ayamonte: Guadiana Border Town and Beaches
- Baelo Claudia
- Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park
- Barbate: Tuna, Cliffs and Atlantic Beaches
- Bollullos Par del Condado: Wine Capital of the Condado de Huelva
- Cabo de Trafalgar
- Cádiz: Old Town, Beaches and Carnival
- Cádiz Cathedral
- Cartaya: El Rompido and Atlantic Beaches
- Castle of San Marcos
- Castle of Sancti Petri
- Chiclana de la Frontera
- Chipiona: Lighthouse, Beaches and Moscatel Wine
- Chipiona Lighthouse
- Conil de la Frontera: Beaches and Atlantic Coast
- Doña Blanca
- Doñana National Park
- El Campillo: gateway to the Riotinto mines and the red river of Huelva
- El Puerto de Santa María
- Flecha del Rompido
- Huelva
- Isla Cristina: Fishing Port, Carnival and Beaches
- Jerez de la Frontera
- Jerez de la Frontera Cathedral
- La Caleta
- La Línea de la Concepción
- Lepe: Strawberries and Costa de la Luz Beaches
- Los Barrios: Cork Forests and the Gibraltar Strait
- Los Caños de Meca
- Marismas del Odiel
- Moguer: Nobel Poetry and Columbus History
- Museo Arqueológico de Jerez
- Museum of Cádiz
- Olvera: White Village and Sierra Greenway
- Palos de la Frontera: Where Columbus Set Sail
- Playa de Bolonia
- Playa de Islantilla
- Playa de la Barrosa
- Playa de la Bota
- Playa de la Fontanilla
- Playa de la Victoria
- Playa de los Lances
- Playa de Matalascañas
- Playa de Mazagón
- Playa de Valdevaqueros
- Playa de Zahara de los Atunes
- Playa El Palmar
- Puerto Real: Bay of Cadiz Royal Port
- Punta Umbría: Beaches, Dunes and Odiel Marshes
- Rota
- San Fernando
- San Roque: Sotogrande and Gibraltar Gateway
- Sanlúcar de Barrameda
- Setenil de las Bodegas: Cave Houses Under the Rock
- Tarifa
- Ubrique: White Town of the Sierra de Cádiz Leather Trade
- Vejer de la Frontera
- Costa de la Luz Travel Guide: Beaches, Towns and Where to Stay
- Tarifa
- Vejer de la Frontera: White Hilltop Town
