The warmest place in Spain in winter is the Canary Islands: from November to March, the four big holiday islands average 22.0°C to 22.9°C by day and about 16°C at night, within 0.9°C of each other. On the mainland it is a near tie along the south and south-east: Murcia, Seville, Almería, Alicante and Málaga all average between 18.3°C and 18.7°C by day, about 3°C or more below the Canaries. Of those, Almería has the mildest nights, the least rain and the most sun.
So the honest answer has two parts. If you want warm, the Canaries are the only part of Spain that stays in the 20s all winter. If you want mild and sunny, the Almería and Alicante coast is as warm by day as the better-known Costa del Sol, much drier and at least as sunny. Below: 14 places compared on Spain's official climate averages, a month-by-month answer, and how to choose.
The Warmest Places in Spain, November to March
These figures are AEMET's official climate normals, the long-term averages published by Spain's state weather agency (AEMET), for 1981-2010 (Murcia 1984-2010) at one weather station per place, mostly airports. "Day high" and "night low" are the average daily maximum and minimum. Sun is the average hours of sunshine a day. The linked weather pages use a different source, a 10-year model average for each resort area, so their figures differ by a few tenths of a degree.
| Place | Area | Day high | Night low | Rain, Nov to Mar | Sun a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife (south) | Canary Islands | 22.9°C | 16.1°C | 108 mm | 6.6 h |
| Lanzarote | Canary Islands | 22.2°C | 15.2°C | 90 mm | 6.9 h |
| Gran Canaria | Canary Islands | 22.1°C | 16.0°C | 114 mm | 6.4 h |
| Fuerteventura | Canary Islands | 22.0°C | 15.7°C | 81 mm | 6.6 h |
| Murcia | Region of Murcia (inland city) | 18.7°C | 6.6°C | 145 mm | 6.3 h |
| Seville | Andalusia (inland city) | 18.6°C | 7.8°C | 342 mm | 6.1 h |
| Almería | Costa de Almería | 18.5°C | 10.0°C | 123 mm | 6.5 h |
| Alicante | Costa Blanca | 18.5°C | 8.0°C | 129 mm | 6.1 h |
| Málaga | Costa del Sol | 18.3°C | 9.1°C | 381 mm | 6.0 h |
| Valencia | Valencia coast | 17.9°C | 8.7°C | 201 mm | 5.8 h |
| Cádiz | Costa de la Luz | 17.6°C | 11.3°C | 352 mm | 6.4 h |
| Palma, Majorca | Balearic Islands | 16.6°C | 5.3°C | 198 mm | 5.6 h |
| Barcelona | Catalonia | 15.1°C | 6.4°C | 207 mm | 5.3 h |
| Madrid | Central Spain | 12.3°C | 4.5°C | 201 mm | 5.2 h |
Three things stand out. The four Canary Islands in the table sit together at the top, within 0.9°C of each other. The mainland's warm south is flat too: the top 5 are within 0.3°C by day, so choose by nights, rain and sun instead. And Madrid, at 12.3°C, shows how much colder the centre of the country is.
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The Warmest Place in Spain, Month by Month
November: Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 24.8°C by day. On the mainland, Almería, Alicante, Murcia, Seville and Málaga are level at 20.1°C to 20.5°C.
December: Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 22.8°C by day. On the mainland, Almería, Alicante and Málaga are level at 17.5°C to 17.9°C.
January: Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 21.7°C by day. On the mainland, Alicante, Almería, Málaga and Murcia are level at 16.6°C to 17.0°C.
February: Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 22.0°C by day. On the mainland, Murcia and Seville are level at 18.1°C to 18.4°C.
March: The Canary Islands are the warmest part of Spain, with Tenerife (south) and Lanzarote level at 22.9°C to 23.1°C by day. On the mainland, Seville is warmest at 21.9°C.
A note on the airports: an airport station on a flat coastal plain is a fair guide to a resort nearby, but a sheltered south-facing beach can feel warmer at midday and a breezy one cooler. Treat differences of a few tenths of a degree as a tie.
December
| Place | Day high | Night low | Rain | Sun a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife (south) | 22.8°C | 16.5°C | 30 mm | 6.3 h |
| Gran Canaria | 22.2°C | 16.2°C | 31 mm | 5.8 h |
| Fuerteventura | 22.0°C | 15.9°C | 26 mm | 6.0 h |
| Lanzarote | 21.8°C | 15.4°C | 29 mm | 6.3 h |
| Almería | 17.9°C | 9.6°C | 30 mm | 5.7 h |
| Alicante | 17.7°C | 7.4°C | 25 mm | 5.3 h |
| Málaga | 17.5°C | 8.9°C | 100 mm | 5.2 h |
| Murcia | 17.2°C | 5.8°C | 29 mm | 5.5 h |
December days on the mainland are mild, not warm. Almería averages 17.9°C by day, Málaga 17.5°C and Seville 16.6°C, while the Canaries are in the low 20s. For Christmas specifically, our Christmas sun holidays guide compares the Canaries with Madeira, Egypt, Cape Verde and long haul.
January
| Place | Day high | Night low | Rain | Sun a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife (south) | 21.7°C | 15.2°C | 17 mm | 6.2 h |
| Gran Canaria | 20.8°C | 15.0°C | 25 mm | 5.9 h |
| Lanzarote | 20.7°C | 14.0°C | 16 mm | 6.5 h |
| Fuerteventura | 20.6°C | 14.7°C | 14 mm | 6.1 h |
| Alicante | 17.0°C | 6.3°C | 23 mm | 5.8 h |
| Almería | 16.9°C | 8.3°C | 24 mm | 6.3 h |
| Málaga | 16.8°C | 7.4°C | 69 mm | 5.8 h |
| Murcia | 16.6°C | 4.7°C | 27 mm | 6.1 h |
January has the coolest days of the year in every place in the table. Across the warm mainland group that means 16.0°C to 17.0°C by day and nights of 4.7°C to 8.3°C. For warmer options further afield, see January holidays from the UK and where is hot in January in Europe.
The Canary Islands: Spain's Only Real Winter Warmth
The four big holiday islands all average about 22°C or more by day from November to March, with nights in the mid-teens and little rain. On these airport normals Tenerife (south) comes out first, because its station is in the dry south of the island, where most of the resorts are; the trade winds make the north greener and cloudier (Web Tenerife). On our 10-year resort-area data, Gran Canaria's Maspalomas edges ahead instead. Either way the islands are within about a degree of each other, so pick the island for the holiday you want. For the island-by-island comparison, including sea temperatures, read which Canary Island is warmest in winter.
The Canaries also keep UK time in winter, while mainland Spain and the Balearics are an hour ahead (Time in Spain).
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Mainland Spain: Where It Is Mildest
Almería and the south-east coast
Almería is the best all-rounder on the mainland in winter. It averages 18.5°C by day and 10.0°C at night from November to March, the mildest nights of the warm south and south-east, with 123 mm of rain over the five months and 6.5 hours of sun a day. East of the city, the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, created in 1987, was Andalusia's first natural park to protect both land and sea (Parque natural del Cabo de Gata-Níjar).
Alicante, on the Costa Blanca, is almost identical by day (18.5°C) with cooler nights (8.0°C), and Murcia, inland, is as warm at lunchtime (18.7°C) but much colder at night (6.6°C).
Málaga and the Costa del Sol
Málaga averages 18.3°C by day over the winter, level with Almería, but it gets 381 mm of rain in those five months, more than twice Almería's 123 mm, and 27 rainy days against 15. That makes it the wettest of the mainland places in this table over the winter. It is still mild, and a city suits a short break where a wet day is no disaster. See Málaga weather in January.
Seville and Cádiz
Seville is inland, so it has warm days and cold nights: 18.6°C by day and 7.8°C at night over the winter. By March it averages 21.9°C, the warmest on the mainland. Cádiz, on the Atlantic, has the reverse: mild nights (11.3°C) but cooler days (17.6°C) and 352 mm of rain. See Seville weather in February.
Valencia, Majorca, Barcelona and Madrid
Valencia averages 17.9°C by day, a little behind the south-east. Palma, Majorca (16.6°C) and Barcelona (15.1°C) are mild for city breaks but not for the beach, and Madrid averages 12.3°C with nights close to freezing in January (2.7°C). See Spain weather in December for the month in more detail.
How to Choose
- Warmest overall: the Canary Islands, any of the four big holiday islands, staying in the south of Tenerife or Gran Canaria.
- Warmest on the mainland by day: Murcia, Seville, Almería, Alicante and Málaga, all within 0.3°C.
- Mildest nights on the mainland: Cádiz, on the Atlantic, though its days are cooler and wetter; on the warm south-east coast, Almería.
- Driest on the mainland: Almería, with 123 mm from November to March.
- Sunniest on the mainland: Almería, with 6.5 hours a day.
- City break with mild weather: Seville in February or March, or Málaga at any point in the winter.
For warmer places beyond Spain, see our winter sun holidays from the UK guide and where is hot in December in Europe.
Plan It in Dream Trip
Choosing between Almería, Málaga and the Canaries usually means a pile of saved TikToks, Instagram posts and Google Maps pins. Dream Trip puts them on one map.
- Save what you find: send the beaches, tapas bars and hotels you see on TikTok, Instagram and Google Maps to one map.
- Compare places: see your Costa del Sol and Costa de Almería saves side by side before you book.
- Plan the days: once you have picked, let Dream Trip's AI draft a day-by-day plan on a live map, and share the trip with whoever you are going with.
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FAQ
Where is the warmest place in Spain in December?
Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 22.8°C by day. On the mainland, Almería, Alicante and Málaga are level at 17.5°C to 17.9°C.
Where is the warmest place in Spain in January?
Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 21.7°C by day. On the mainland, Alicante, Almería, Málaga and Murcia are level at 16.6°C to 17.0°C. January has the coolest days of the year everywhere in this table.
Where is the warmest place in Spain in November?
Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 24.8°C by day. On the mainland, Almería, Alicante, Murcia, Seville and Málaga are level at 20.1°C to 20.5°C. November and March are the mild ends of the winter: in November Almería still averages 20.5°C by day.
Where is the warmest place in Spain in February?
Tenerife (south) is the warmest place in Spain at 22.0°C by day. On the mainland, Murcia and Seville are level at 18.1°C to 18.4°C.
Where is the warmest place in Spain in March?
The Canary Islands are the warmest part of Spain, with Tenerife (south) and Lanzarote level at 22.9°C to 23.1°C by day. On the mainland, Seville is warmest at 21.9°C.
Is Málaga or Almería warmer in winter?
By day they are level: Málaga averages 18.3°C and Almería 18.5°C from November to March. Almería has milder nights (10.0°C against 9.1°C), much less rain and slightly more sun.
Is the Costa del Sol warm in winter?
Mild rather than warm. Málaga averages 18.3°C by day and 9.1°C at night from November to March, with its coolest days in January at 16.8°C. That is lunch-outside weather on a sunny day, but not sunbathing weather, and it is the wettest season of the year there.
