A guide to Spain, place by place and month by month

48 places in Spain compared month by month, every number with a source.

Pick your months

Pick what you like

Up to three. They shape the order of your results.

How it works

1Say when you can goPick your months, or say you are flexible. Add the city you fly from and who is coming.
2See what fitsWe compare warmth, sea, sun, rain, crowds and direct flights, and show why each place fits.
3Plan what to do thereEach place lists what to see and eat, from walks and food to beaches and culture.

How we know. Climate from AEMET, sea from NOAA satellites, crowds from INE hotel figures, flights from Eurostat. Sea and crowds are estimates and say so.

How we earn. Some links go to partners and are marked Partner. They never change which places we show or their order.

Guide · Comunitat Valenciana

From the field

Alacant/Alicante

Stand on Postiguet beach in the morning and look up. The rock above the city has a profile, and Alicante calls it the face of the Moor.

Read the Alacant/Alicante guide
Puerto deportivo de Benalmádena - Provincia de Málaga - Andalucía - panoramio · LANOEL, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · Andalucía

Benalmádena

A town of about 78,000 between Torremolinos and Fuengirola, in three parts: an old village 241 m up, a commercial centre with a train station, and a coast of hotels, beaches and a marina.

Cala Tío Ximo, Benidorm, España, 2014-07-02, DD 69 · Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · Comunitat Valenciana

Benidorm

A resort city of about 77,000 on the Costa Blanca, built upward since the 1950s, with an old town between two beaches and a coastal path into the Serra Gelada.

Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, in depth

Fourteen places we cover closely. Guide means reported, fact-checked text; Data means figures only, for now.

Marbella Beach, Costa Del Sol, Spain - Sept 2008 · Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

MarbellaGuide

Good months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Playa del Bajondillo, Torremolinos · Jl FilpoC, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

TorremolinosGuide

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct, Nov
Castillo Sohail (Fuengirola) · José Luis Filpo Cabana, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

FuengirolaGuide

Good months: Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct
Puerto deportivo de Benalmádena - Provincia de Málaga - Andalucía - panoramio · LANOEL, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

BenalmádenaGuide

Good months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Castillo de San Luis (Estepona) · ANAGSPC, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

EsteponaGuide

Good months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
Mijas Pueblo from the south (Mijas, Dec 2012) · Alan Grant, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

MijasData

Good months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Alcazaba de Málaga overview · Fernando, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

MálagaGuide

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
Nerja, view from the Balcón de Europa to the beach "Playa de Calahonda" · Dguendel, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

NerjaGuide

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct, Nov
Castillo de Santa Bárbara, Alicante, España, 2014-07-04, DD 82 · Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Alacant/AlicanteGuide

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
Cala Tío Ximo, Benidorm, España, 2014-07-02, DD 69 · Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

BenidormGuide

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
Beach Torrevieja 16 January 2017 · Drefer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

TorreviejaGuide

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct, Nov
View on Peñon de Ifach, Calpe beach · Jorghé Van Hecke, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

CalpData

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct
Vista de Denia desde el castillo, España, 2022-07-13, DD 16-23 PAN · Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

DéniaData

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct
Cala de la Granadella de Xàbia, Marina Alta · Joanbanjo, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Xàbia/JáveaData

Good months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct, Nov

Good months come from our scoring of sea, air, sun and crowds, the same for every place. Photo credits are shown under each image.

How we know

Every figure on this site comes from an open source. Estimates say so.

  • AEMET climate normalsAir temperature, rain and sun hours, averaged over many years.
  • NOAA sea temperatures (estimate)Satellite readings, averaged per month and matched to the nearest coast.
  • INE hotel occupancy (estimate)How full hotels are by month, used as a sign of how busy a place feels.
  • Eurostat flightsWhich Nordic cities have direct flights to Spain, by month.
  • Wikipedia and WikivoyageBackground text and photo credits, with the source linked.
  • Editor checkedGuides are published only after a person has checked each claim against its source.
  • Not coveredWe do not know prices, availability or reviews. For those, go to the provider.

Ready when you are

Pick a month and a few things you like, and see which places fit. Nothing is booked here.

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