Marbella → Tarifa by car

Marbella → Estepona → Tarifa

Head west out of Marbella on the A-7. If you leave early, stop first in Estepona, whose flower-pot-lined old town is one of the prettiest on the coast, then continue past the golf courses and marina of Sotogrande. Beyond San Roque the Rock of Gibraltar dominates the bay — there are good photo stops as the road swings around Algeciras and climbs into the hills. Just before Tarifa, pull into the signed Mirador del Estrecho, where Morocco sits barely 14 km away across the Strait; on clear days you can pick out buildings on the African shore. Park outside Tarifa's walls and walk through the Puerta de Jerez into the whitewashed old town, mainland Europe's southernmost, a compact maze of Moorish lanes and laid-back cafés. West of the centre stretches Playa de Los Lances, a vast white-sand beach usually streaked with kitesurfers — Tarifa is famously one of the windiest spots in Europe, so hold your car doors firmly when you open them. With time to spare, drive twenty minutes further to Bolonia, where the Roman town of Baelo Claudia lies right behind the beach beside a giant sand dune, then cruise back to Marbella on the A-7 as the light softens over the Strait.

Driving note: The toll-free A-7 is fast but busy around Algeciras, and strong crosswinds are normal on the final stretch into Tarifa — keep both hands on the wheel and expect gusts.