A dozen or so kilometres on from Vejer de la Frontera, CONIL is an increasingly popular resort. Outside July and August, though, it's still a good place to relax, and in mid-season the only real drawback is trying to find a room. Conil town, once a poor fishing village, now seems entirely modern as you look back from the beach, though when you're actually in the streets you find many older buildings too. The majority of the tourists are Spanish , so there's an enjoyable atmosphere, and if you are here in mid-season, a very lively nightlife.

The beach , Conil's raison d'être , is a wide bay of brilliant yellow stretching for miles to either side of town and lapped by an amazingly, not to say disarmingly, gentle Atlantic - you have to walk halfway to Panama before it reaches waist height. The area immediately in front of town is the family beach; up to the northwest you can walk to some more sheltered coves, while across the river to the southeast is a topless and nudist area. Walking along the coast in this direction the beach is virtually unbroken until it reaches the cape, the familiar-sounding Cabo de trafalgar , off which Lord Nelson achieved victory and met his death on October 21, 1805. If the winds are blowing, this is one of the most sheltered beaches in the area. It can be reached by road, save for the last 400 metres across the sands to the rock.

Most buses use the transportes Comes station on Calle Carretera; walk towards the sea and you'll find yourself in the centre of town. There's a helpful turismo (Mon-Sat 9.30am-1.30pm & 6-9pm, Sun 9.30am-1.30pm; tel 956 440 501) along the way at the junction of Calle Carretera and Calle Menendez Pidal - it's worth picking up a copy of their useful free booklet Conil en su Bolsillo , which details all the town's tapas bars, restaurants, and much more. Accommodation needs are served by numerous hotels and hostales . Conil also has private rooms for rent; the easiest way to find one of these is to go to the first "supermarket" on the right-hand side of the road to Playa fontanilla (the road opposite the Rinkon Way open-air disco), where they have a complete list - there are good ones at Calle Velásquez 1. Campsites include Fuente del Gallo in the nearby urbanizacion , Fuente del Gallo ( tel 956 440 137; March-Oct ), a 3km walk despite all signs to the contrary.

Seafood is king here and Conil has lots of good restaurants along the front; try the ortiguillas - deep-fried sea anemones - which you see only in the Cádiz area. Two of the best restaurants, Francisco and La fontanilla , are to be found side by side on the Playa de la fontanilla, the town's northernmost beach. During the summer, Conil's great nightlife attraction is Las Carpas ("the tents"), a huge triple entertainment complex on the beach which caters for all ages and features techno, salsa, dance bands and flamenco shows, often all in action at the same time in the separate venues. It's all provided by the town council and, best of all, it's absolutely free.