Costa del Sol weather

Costa del Sol Weather averages and climate information

Costa del Sol enjoys the Mediterranean climate with four distinct seasons.  The region lives up to its name and receives 325 days of sunshine in the year.

July and August are the hottest months in the region, with the average daily max temperatures around 31 °C. January is the coldest time of the year, with the average daily temperatures at around 17 °C.

Average daily max (°C)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
17.0	17.8	19.5	21.8	24.6	28.4	30.8	31.3	28.1	24.1	20.1	17.5	23.4

Average relative humidity (%)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
71	69	69	64	63	61	61	62	65	71	71	72	67

Average rainfall (mm)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
73	56	52	43	22	3	3	3	32	56	77	112

Average daily sunshine (hrs)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
5	6	7	8	9	10	11	11	9	7	6	5	8

Average wind speed (mph)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
9.3	8.9	8.2	8.2	7.7	7.7	7.6	7.3	7.0	6.8	8.4	9.2	8.1

When is the best time to visit the Costa del Sol

If you are a heat lover, the best time to visit the Costa del Sol is summer, when the weather is guaranteed to be hot and visitors can benefit from 11 hours of daily sunshine. Spring and autumn are also very popular months to visit the resort with pleasant temperatures and a fair amount of sunlight each day.

Summer

The Costa Del Sol summer lasts from June through to late September and experience average daily highs of around 28 - 31 °C, but temperatures have been known to soar up to the highs of 40  °C+ during a heatwave. Thanks to the cool sea breeze, which is a constant feature of the Costa del Sol, the heat is never too intense. The chances of rainfall are non-existent in July and low in June, August and September. The average daily amount of sunshine is at its peak with 11 hours of sunlight in July and 10 hours in June and August.    

Winter

Winter is the coldest season in the Costa del Sol, but despite this, it’s still a lot warmer than any other parts of Northern Europe. The temperatures between December and February are about 14 °C. Winter is a wet season for the resort with December being the wettest month of the year with an average rainfall at 100mm. The Costa del Sol receives between 5 and 7 hours of daily sunshine in the winter.

Spring & Autumn

The Costa del Sol enjoys comfortable and warm temperatures in the spring and autumn. Daytime highs range between 20 - 24 °C. The average rainfall is between 20 - 50 mm in spring and 60 - 100 mm in autumn. The average daily sunshine in spring and autumn ranges between 6 hours in November to 8 hours in May.

Extremes

Due to its close proximity to North Africa, the Costa del Sol is subject to dust storms, which are caused by winds blown across the Sahara Desert. These dust storms bring with them high temperatures and are known to reduce visibility, often to 200 m or less.

Costa del Sol tourist information

The name 'Costa del Sol' is a form of tourist branding created to promote the Province of Malaga's coastline following a huge upsurge in tourism throughout the 1960s and '70s, retaining its popularity to the present day.

The Costa del Sol area stretches for over 160km on the Andalucía coast and contains a vast number of renowned resorts, each with individual characteristics: Malaga, Nerja, Marbella, Torremolinos, Mijas, Fuengirola, Puerto Banus and Benalmadena are some of the bigger names.

The weather in the Costa del Sol is some of the most reliable in mainland Spain due to its southerly position. It is also somewhat sheltered from the wind by the Sierras behind the resorts. This means sun seekers love the area and often prefer it to the more northerly resorts that line the east coast. Afternoon temperatures can be in the late teens even in the winter months, so strolling around a tourist hotspot like Marbella Old Town is a pleasure even in December or January.

Tourists will often arrive at the Costa del Sol via Malaga or Granada Airports, and the resorts in general are very well-connected to the wider Andalucía region.

The city of Malaga has a successful football team who ply their trade in La Liga. Malaga CF reached the quarter finals of the 2013 Champions League under Manuel Pellegrini. Their home ground, La Rosaleda, has entertained many of European football's biggest names over the last few years.

Malaga is the metropolitan hub of the Costa del Sol and enjoys much of the wealth generated by the financial markets. Its most famous residents include Pablo Picasso and Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas.

The Costa del Sol is one of the most favoured locations of British expats and a fair amount of British influence and culture has filtered into the area.