Altafulla beach: the complete guide

Altafulla beach is a village beach: long, open, with fine golden sand, the little white houses of Les Botigues de Mar behind it and Tamarit Castle closing off the horizon to the south. There is no concrete promenade and no high-rise on the seafront, and that, which sounds like a small thing, is what brings people back every summer.

Photo pendingAltafulla beach from Cap Gros, with Les Botigues de Mar and Tamarit in the background

What it is like

• 1,100 metres long and about 20 wide, with fine sand. It runs from Cap Gros, to the north, to the Club Marítim, to the south. From there the sand carries on, now within the municipality of Tarragona, past the Roca del Gaià and the mouth of the river to the castle rock.
• Calm water. It is an open but sheltered bay, with no rocks at the shoreline, the kind where you can swim parallel to the beach.
• A Blue Flag every year, lifeguards in season and adapted access for people with reduced mobility.
• The Club Marítim Altafulla, founded on 30 July 1973, is at the southern end. It is the village sailing school and the place to go if you want to get out on the water.

Where to set up

It depends on what you are after:

• In front of Les Botigues de Mar, in the central section, is where the life is: the white houses behind you, the promenade for a vermouth and the village locals. It is also where it gets busiest in August.
• Towards Cap Gros, to the north, the beach empties out and the sand is just as good. It is the stretch we choose when we come with a bigger group or with small children.
• Towards the Gaià, to the south, beyond the Club Marítim, the beach turns wild: reeds, low dunes and the river mouth, which is a protected area. No facilities, and the castle getting closer all the time.

Getting there

• By train, the best option. Altafulla-Tamarit station is next to the seafront quarter, a short walk from the sand. Trains run every half hour (the RT2 Rodalies line of the Camp de Tarragona and Media Distancia regional services): five minutes from Tarragona, under an hour from Barcelona and half an hour from Salou and PortAventura.
• By car, exit 32 of the AP-7, which also connects with the A-7 and the N-340. From Tarragona it is ten minutes; from Barcelona, an hour. In July and August it is best to arrive before eleven or come by train: the parking spaces in the seafront quarter run out early.
• On foot from the Vila Closa it is a fifteen-minute walk down the path that crosses the railway.

All the details are in how to get to Altafulla.

What to do besides swimming

• The walk to Tamarit Castle. Half an hour along the sand to the south, crossing the mouth of the Gaià and ending at the foot of the 12th-century fortress. At sunset, with the castle in silhouette, it is the photo of Altafulla. We tell the story in Tamarit Castle and Cala Jovera.
• Sailing at the Club Marítim, the village sailing school since 1973.
• The Roman villa of Els Munts, a step from the beach on Passeig del Fortí: a 1st-century luxury villa, a World Heritage Site as part of Tàrraco. Open all year except Mondays.
• A vermouth at Les Botigues and dinner in the Vila Closa, which is how you fill a whole day without touching the car.

The coves next door

If the main beach is not enough, there are two coves within walking distance:

• Cala Jovera, at the foot of Tamarit Castle: small, with calm water and surrounded by vegetation, with showers and toilets. You get down by steps and paths, so it is not for pushchairs.
• Cala del Canyadell, to the north, on the boundary with Torredembarra: 60 metres long and 35 wide, sheltered by the Roquer and classed as an unspoilt beach. No facilities and very clear water.

Further on, already on the Tarragona coast, are Platja de la Mora, Cala Fonda (the one everybody calls Waikiki, a nudist cove reachable only on foot) and Platja Llarga.

Photo pendingCala Jovera at the foot of Tamarit Castle, early in the morning

When to come

• June and September are the best months: the water is warm, the sun is out and there are half as many people as in August. September also brings La Petita, the village’s smaller Festa Major.
• July and August are high season. The beach is long and there is room for everyone, but the parking is not: take the train or get up early.
• From October to May the beach is for walking, running and, for the brave, swimming. The coastal path to Tamarit, with nobody on it, is a different place altogether.

Eating by the beach

The seafront quarter has restaurants with terraces a step from the sand, from rice dishes to tapas and Japanese food, and the Vila Closa, fifteen minutes’ walk away, has the village’s most refined cooking. The list is in where to eat in Altafulla.

And if you are staying the night, where to stay in Altafulla explains which area to choose to be a step from the beach.