All the towns dotted along the Costa de
la Luz, including Conil, have retained
their original charm and character.
Building and development restrictions
are enforced to help maintain the
‘untouched’ feel of the coast. Many
people believe this coast is one of
Spain’s best-kept secrets, as it’s a
world apart from the Costa del Sol’s
mass tourism and over-development.
Outside of the summer months you can
walk the length of one of Conil’s
beaches and barely encounter a soul.
During the summer the town is popular
with Spanish tourists and the ambience
is lively yet pleasant. You’ll be hard
pushed to find any drunkenness and you
definitely won’t see any signs for ‘Full
English Breakfast!’ Instead you’ll find
the Spanish meandering through the town,
stopping for a tapas and a small beer,
or poking around in one of the many
small handicraft shops.
Conil de la Frontera is a picturesque
seaside town, located on the Costa de la
Luz, in the province of Cadiz. Situated
on the Atlantic coast in the
southwestern part of Spain, Conil has a
population of 19,000 inhabitants but
this can double or triple during the
summer.
The Costa de la Luz (Coast of light)
receives more than 3,200 hours of
sunshine a year. It’s an ideal place to
enjoy all year-round with warm winters
and hot summers, with the average
temperature in December at 17ºC and in
July at 28ºC.
Conil has remained a typical
Andalucian town with narrow cobbled
streets, tapas bars and open-air markets
during the weekends and pavement cafes
around the main plazas. The old town
centre of Conil is a small area with
plenty of tapas bars and fish
restaurants as well as pizzerias.
Walking up from the seafront along
Avenida. de la Playa you arrive at Plaza
Santa Catalina where you will see a
variety of places that offer local
specialties such as atún encebollado
(tuna cooked in onion) and chocos con
patatas (cuttlefish with potatoes). Tuna
is a delicacy in this area as it is
caught fresh in the Atlantic waters off
Cadiz.
There is an endless list of local
fiestas and ferias (fairs) in the area.
The locals of Conil keep true to the
stereotype of the Andalucian people and
their celebration loving nature. During
ferias women don their flamenco dresses
and you’ll hear the lively clapping and
dancing to traditional music. At
carnival and Christmas it’s traditional
for the local children of Conil to
Parade through the streets in costume!
At Easter there are many religious
processions, more sombre in their mood
but breath taking to watch. In summer
there are a number of fiestas, including
the celebration of the Patron Saint of
Fisherman, where a huge flotilla of
fishing boats carries a statue of the
Virgin Mary out to sea.
The nightlife in Conil is lively in
the summer, with most people on the
streets rather than inside! Tapas bars
and restaurants stay open until the
small hours, whilst the bars and clubs
close at around 4am. You’ll often find
live bands or flamenco playing inside a
small bar. There are also a few clubs
with dance music for the real party
animals!
