Barbate – Playa del Carmen

Barbate · Cádiz and Huelva · Spain

Today’s forecast: the current surf forecast for Barbate – Playa del Carmen (wave height, swell, wind, tide and a 0–10 rating for every hour of the next 16 days) are only shown on SurfCams. They change every hour, so this text doesn’t contain them. To check today’s surf, open https://surf-cams.com/spot/barbate.

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Barbate's town beach sits east of the fishing port, which shelters it. It has several soft lefts and rights with slow, easy sections. It needs a strong south-west swell to break at all. That shelter makes it one of the best options on the Cádiz coast on stormy, windy days.

Level
Beginners
Break
Beach break, sand
Waves
Lefts and rights
Crowd
Some company
Season
winter
Boards
A longboard or foam board.

When it works

✓ A big south to south-west swell with a north to north-west wind, at any tide.

When it doesn't

✕ Most of the time it is too small; strong southerly wind spoils it.

Watch out for

  • pollution

Best months

November, December, January, February, March

Local tips

Save it for storm days, when the open beaches are too big and windy. The river mouth at the eastern end can also break left when it is big.

Getting there

In front of Barbate town, a short walk from the seafront.

Travel notes

How often it works
Inconsistent: it only breaks in a strong south-west swell, but then it is a good shelter from the wind.
Crowd and vibe
Usually 10–20 surfers and plenty of space. Mostly learners and locals.
Camping and vans
The nearest sourced campsites are in Los Caños de Meca and Zahora, about 8 km west.
Facilities
Town beach with bars, restaurants and surf schools nearby.
Water quality
Barbate's El Carmen beach was rated only sufficient in the latest EU bathing-water assessment and good in the two seasons before (EEA data from Náyade), lower than the open beaches nearby. Avoid it after heavy rain.

Ideal conditions

Swell
S–SW best, S–WSW works
Size
1.8–2.8 m offshore swell; starts at 1.5 m, holds to 4 m
Period
9 s minimum, best from 12 s
Wind
Offshore NNW–NNE; handles onshore up to 15 km/h
Tide
mid best
Faces
SSW (196°)

Live cam

No cam at this spot yet: the forecast and the guide are on the map.

In the guides

Nearby spots

All spots in Cádiz and Huelva · All spots

Sources