Month: September 2021

Last update: January 9, 2022
Part I: 7 minutes read | Part II: 6 minutes

This post is the second part of the article about the beauty of the Chiclana coast, whose first part you can read here. And remember that I do not pretend just to proclaim the excellence of this place; I would like to offer information that may be useful for you and that you can not find easily on the Internet.

I can choose the Chiclana's part to go to. Which part do you recommend for me?

If you asked me which area of ​​Chiclana I recommend you go, I would tell you that it depends. Perhaps you would like a traditional tourism with reservation, for example, flights, accommodation and transfers between hotel and airport. In this case, let me suggest that you opt for the hotel and apartment offer of Novo Sancti Petri. You will have all the no excessively crowded comforts of a tourist complex, without giving up a natural environment.

If you are going to have a vehicle, either own or of rental, you will have ease to move around the area and you will be able to taste the best of every part of the Chiclana coast.

In case you are looking for bars, restaurants, shopping or relaxed walking and without further complications for a promenade I would suggest you La Barrosa beach, between the First Pista (track) and the second one. It is the liveliest part, especially in summer.

The part of La Barrosa that is between the Second Pista and the third one is a trade-off area between the Novo Sancti Petri tourist complex and the animation of the promenade. I recommend you this part if you are not looking for an excessively hotel environment and in case you do not want so much noise.

If what you want is to see impressive views from a rugged cliff, I would recommend that you move along the Farallón de Laja Bermeja, either along the shore -at low tide- or from the top of the cliff.

At the top of the cliff I would suggest you visit the Hercules viewpoint (see on the map). You can contemplate from here the same natural setting that the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans could see more than two millennia ago.

Hercules viewpoint. The Castle of Sancti Petri is at the background

Also, if you visit this viewpoint on the March and September equinoxes you will see the Sun setting exactly in the Castle of Sancti Petri.

Sunset on the Northern Hemisphere fall equinox, September 21, 2021. The Sun sets in the Castle of Sancti Petri

Lavaculos beach is a semi urban and intermediate area, alternating sand and rocks. It may not be comfortable for you to walk along the shore because there are many stones and rocks, especially when you are approaching to the cliff, but if you are looking for tranquility it is the ideal place.

The area of ​​the mouth of the Caño de Sancti Petri is usually quite lively in summer. Personally, it is not my favorite area from the point of view of natural beauty. On the other hand, it is a very appropriate area if you are looking to carry out nautical activities. I will talk about them in the next section.

What nautical activities can I practice, when to do them and where?

The Chiclana coast is an amazing setting for practicing nautical activities. Here are some of my suggestions in this regard.

Nautical activities one day in July in the Caño de Sancti Petri

The surf and bodyboard are on La Barrosa beach, because on Sancti Petri beach, especially in the Caño area, you don't have good waves. For surfing I suggest the area near the Second Track or Pista (see on the map). Besides, surf lessons are usually taught in this area. There is parking next to the Spanish Red Cross, although in summer it is difficult to find a place to park there. You can also practice surf in Novo Sancti Petri, between the Third Pista (see on the map) and the Torre del Puerco (see on the map).

The best conditions for surfing in La Barrosa are with West South West swell, in combination with East North East winds. The waves break left and right here.

You can also practice paddle surfin La Barrosa beach, although it can be dangerous with east winds -Levante-. Also watch out for the waves and the breaker.

I do not recommend surfing or any nautical activity in the Lavaculos beach, because of the rocks near the Farallón de Laja Bermeja.

You can practice windsurf or kitesurf in La Barrosa beach, although it's not frequent to do these activities here, since the shore break can be big. People usually navigate at the mouth of the CAÑO DE SANCTI PETRI, but please, BE CAUTIOUS. When the TIDE is GOING DOWN, the pipe is emptying and there are streams in the direction of the open sea. It can be DANGEROUS, especially with high tidal coefficients (coefficient greater than 0.70). It can be even more dangerous when, in addition, the prevailing wind has an important NORTH component.

East winds -Levante- can also be dangerous; a certain level is required to get back to where you started. If you are going to sail with Levante, I recommend that you stay inside the Caño. Anyway East winds do not have the best directions here with respect to the shore. With strong Levante the local experts usually go between the Castle (see on the map) and the breakwater (see on the map), since there are good waves to jump there, but if you do not have enough skills or know little about the area, I do not recommend it.

On the opposite side, towards the inside of the Caño, you also have to be careful with the mud on the banks. It is very soft and it can be difficult to get out of it.

There are several parking lots and accesses to the beach in the Caño de Sancti Petri area, from the one closest to the Poblado de Sancti Petri (see on the map) to the furthest one (see on the map).

With respect to ​​Punta del Boquerón (see on the map), windsurfing or kitesurfing there is not easy. You have to know the spot well and you have to go at the right times. To navigate there, I would recommend you have a good level and let the locals advise you.

The best conditions for windsurfing and kitesurfing in the Caño de Sancti Petri are with West Winds (Poniente), rising tide and small tidal coefficients (less than 0.70). Anyway, with any type of weather conditions, the water inside the Caño is flat.

Windsurfing in the foreground and kitesurfing in the background at the mouth of the Caño de Sancti Petri

In the Caño de Sancti Petri you can also sail in a canoe; it's very frequent here the practice of kayak. However, I have experience in windsurfing and sailing, but in kayak I cannot say the same. I would suggest you read this kayak website in Sancti Petri. As a summary of what you can read there, I will tell you that, due to the presence of important streams, it is advisable to plan routes based on the tides, especially with high tidal coefficients (greater than 0.70).

More information? References and Notes

In this section I provide you with clarifications in the form of observations and websites where you can find additional information about the Chiclana coast. I hope it can be useful to you.

Last update: January 9, 2022
Part I: 7 min read | Part II: 5 min

Is this just one more website about visiting places? No. This is what I am not pretending to do. I would like to offer you some additional information -about the coast of Chiclana de la Frontera, in this case- that could be useful to you and very difficult to find on the Internet. Did you know that Novo Sancti Petri is not in Sancti Petri? Would you like to now which zone in the coast of Chiclana and what weather conditions are the best to practice windsurf ? Do you want to know how protect yourself from the wind at the Chiclana's beaches? If you are interesting, I invite you to read this article that contains two parts. You will enjoy it, trust me and also I hope that it was useful for you.

Chiclana de la Frontera, La Barrosa beach, Novo Sancti Petri ...
Where are they and how do you recommend to get there?

With the search tools that are on the web today, it may not be too useful for you to tell you where is, for example, Novo Sancti Petri from Chiclana. I would like to offer some additional information and try to help you in your search for beautiful places for your leisure time, whether you are German, French, English or Spanish.
If you are Spanish -or you are not but you have been living in our country for a long time- I am not going to explain you where is Andalusia and how you can reach there, although you can always ask me through the comments.
If you are not Spanish and have read this far, you may be interested to know, for example, that Novo Sancti Petri in Chiclana is located in Andalusia. This region of southern Spain can offer you, among other things, nice and sunny weather, with very pleasant temperatures throughout the year.
To reach Chiclana the airport that may interest you the most is Jerez de la Frontera, which is about 60 km away, mostly by highway in very good condition. You can also consider the possibility of the important Malaga airport, just over 200 km away or the Seville one about 150 km away.
I do not extend more in this section since there are many and very good websites that can provide you with more information about it.

Sancti Petri, New Sancti Petri, Chiclana, la Barrosa
Differences? Are they the same?

To explain the different parts of the Chiclana coast, the following simplified map may be useful to you

The coast of Chiclana

Chiclana has two beaches (playas, in Spanish): Sancti Petri beach and La Barrosa beachBut beware: Novo Sancti Petri is not in Sancti Petri but in La Barrosa. El Novo is not itself a beach, but a tourist complex of 5 star exclusive hotels and also 4 star hotels, apartments, shopping centers and golf courses.

Hotel in Novo Sancti Petri

Golf course in Novo Sancti Petri

La Barrosa beach has many accesses, but the important ones are called pistas. Looking towards the sea, on the right you can see the beginning of a cliff called the Farallón de Laja Bermeja. Well then: the First Pista (see on the map) is at the beginning of the Farallón.

Farallón de Laja Bermeja, at low tide, seen from the First Pista or Track of La Barrosa beach

With respect to the Second Pista or Track (see on the map) you can easily locate it, since it is next to the Red Cross post in La Barrosa. The Third Pista (see on the map) may not be so easy to locate. If you asked me "where is the Third Pista?", I would tell you to look for Calle Vespasiano on your GPS navigator.
The area between the First Track and the second has a long promenade, gardens, shops, restaurants, bars and places for leisure. Without a doubt, I would tell you that it is the liveliest area of ​​La Barrosa.

Promenade of La Barrosa beach

Between the Second Track and the third you find mainly residential areas. From the Third Track to a 16th century tower -called Torre del Puerco (see on the map) -, you have La Barrosa at Novo Sancti Petri.

Playa de la Barrosa. Novo Sancti Petri tourist complex

With respect to, not Novo Sancti Petri, but Sancti Petri, it is separated from La Barrosa beach by the cliffs of Farallón de Laja Bermeja.

Farallón de Laja Bermeja

At low tide you can walk from the Sancti Petri beach to the Barrosa beach and it is a hike that, personally, I really like.

Walk between Sancti Petri beach and La Barrosa beach

At Sancti Petri you have two different areas. From the Laja Bermeja cliff to an artificial breakwater (see on the map) there is a virgin beach that many people know as Lavaculos beach. In this, there seem to be discrepancies between those who call only this beach Lavaculos and those who call the entire Sancti Petri beach Lavaculos, including the northernmost area of ​​the breakwater.

Lavaculos beach views from the Farallón de Laja Bermeja

Beyond the breakwater you can find the mouth of a pipe -the Caño de Sancti Petri-, which you can also use as a beach, although I would recommend you to be careful with its STREAMS. The most DANGEROUS STREAMS are formed at high tidal coefficients and when the tide is lowing down.

At the mouth of the pipe you can find the Poblado de Sancti Petri -an old fishing village-, in which there is a marina as well as schools and rental sites for windsurfing, kitesurfing, kayaking and other nautical activities. In Part II of this article you can find more details of these nautical activities.

Sunset in the Caño de Sancti Petri

From the Caño you can also see an islet -the Islote de Sancti Petri-, about 2.5 miles from the coast of the fishing village, where you can find the Castillo de Sancti Petri (see on the map), a fortification dating from the 17th century.

Castillo de Sancti Petri, seen from the other bank of the Caño

One place that deserves special attention is the Punta del Boquerón (see on the map). This point is a cape located on the southern limit of Camposoto beach, which does not belong to Chiclana but to San Fernando (an adjoining municipality).

Punta del Boquerón, on the other bank of the Caño de Sancti Petri

The Caño de Sancti Petri has two banks: that one from Sancti Petri and the shore of Punta del Boquerón. Punta del Boquerón cannot be reached on foot from Sancti Petri; one way to get there is from Camposoto walking south. Another way to do it is by sea using some kind of boat.

Temperatures? Wind? What kind of weather can I find? ^[1]

If you are interested in knowing something about the temperature and the possibility of rain in these latitudes, I will tell you that you should not be too worry; instead: perhaps what you are looking for, above all, is sunny weather and pleasant temperatures. In Chiclana and its surroundings you will have this almost all year round.

During the summer you will rarely find a maximum temperature above 30 °C (86 °F) in the middle of the day. Even so, you already know how important it is to protect yourself from solar radiation, especially in these latitudes during the central hours of the day. At night, temperatures do not usually drop below 18 °C (65 °F, approximately).

Spring and fall are somewhat cooler - but not much cooler - with highs around 20 ° C (68 ° F) and lows around 14 ° C (57 ° F).

If you are used to winters in Germany, France or England, I don't think the weather factor will bother you too much even in winter, where temperatures range from approximately 16 °C (60 °F, approximately) to the 10°C at night (about 50°F). Of course: although here it is moderate, the cold and also the wind can harm your skin.

In this corner of Andalusia perhaps the windsurfing and kitesurfing, whether can be in frequency and intensity, is the most notable meteorological characteristic. Levante -East wind- is the predominant one in the area, followed by Poniente -western wind-. But don't worry: there are places where you can take shelter from the wind.

If you want to protect yourself from the Levante, I would suggest you at the foot of the Farallón de Laja Bermeja, yes: at low tide. If you are in La Barrosa, a good option is next to the First Track, as close as possible to the Farallón. In winter the north wind usually blows, which is cold compared to the usual temperatures of the Chiclana coast. With this wind, again, at the foot of the cliff is the best option.

Place to protect yourself from the Levante, at the foot of Laja Bermeja

To protect you from the Levant and the North calas (coves) of Conil, about 15 minutes by car, can be a good alternative. All these coves protect from the Levante, although there is one that can come in handy if it is Poniente blowing: if you go to the Cala del Aceite and you place yourself on the opposite sidesee on the map) of the access on foot, you will hardly notice the wind.

Outside of the summer season, I do not recommend going to the Cala del Aceite with Levante -or with Norte- or the rest of the coves in Conil with Poniente.

If you have a swimming pool, this may also be a good option, especially in summer and with Levante wind.

So far the part I of this article is dedicated to the beauty of the Chiclana coast. If you are still interested, I suggest you read the second part.