Costa de la Luz live webcams

The Atlantic side of Andalusia

The Costa de la Luz, the "coast of light", runs along the Atlantic shore of Andalusia, from the Portuguese border down to Tarifa and the Strait of Gibraltar. At its western end, Isla Canela looks across the mouth of the Guadiana to the Algarve. It is a different holiday from the Costa del Sol on the other side of the Strait: long beaches of fine golden sand backed by dunes and pine woods, white towns rather than high-rise blocks, a cooler and livelier sea, and wind. Plenty of wind, which is why Tarifa has become one of Europe's capitals of kitesurfing.

Webcams from surf schools to sand dunes

Most of the cameras on this coast belong to the people who live by the sea: windsurf and kite centres in Tarifa, a surf school at El Palmar, a local news and travel website that streams Conil, El Palmar, Barbate, La Barrosa, Sancti Petri and two beaches of El Puerto de Santa María, two estate agencies in Matalascañas, whose two live cameras watch the beach next to Doñana National Park, and a beach bar on Isla Canela that shares its view on Windy. Several of them stream live video, so you can count the kites on the water or the surfers waiting for a set as it happens.

When to watch the Costa de la Luz

Mainland Spain is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland all year, and Portugal, just across the river from Isla Canela, keeps UK time. The beaches face west, south-west and south, so the light is at its best in the afternoon and the sun sets over the ocean. The easterly levante can blow hard for days, sending sand along the beaches; the westerly poniente brings fresher air and choppier water.