Isla de Tarifa

The island was used from Antiquity by the Phoenicians, who had a trading point there: the remains of a port and at least five Phoenician-Punic funerary hypogea dated from the 6th to the 4th century BC have been found. The current military enclosure, still property of the Ministry of Defence, was built progressively from the 19th century onwards. In 2003, the island and the waters surrounding it were incorporated into the Parque Natural del Estrecho, adding a reserve status to its historic military function.

For the visitor, access is strictly controlled: only guided visits in limited numbers are allowed, by prior booking at the Tarifa tourist office. On the diving side, the waters around the island are among the richest on the Andalusian coast: rocky bottoms, intense currents, Mediterranean-Atlantic fauna. The northern face looks onto Playa Chica, a pocket Mediterranean beach appreciated by Tarifeña families and reachable in two minutes from the centre.