What's the weather like in Costa Brava?
Sitting along Spain‘s north-eastern coast, the Costa Brava region is perhaps one of the country’s most famous holiday spots.
It’s home to crowd-favourite resorts like Barcelona and Lloret de Mar, but that’s not all – Costa Brava is also renowned for its gorgeous weather.
It falls in line with its Mediterranean counterparts, which means summers are hot and dry, while the winters are mild, though a little bit wetter than other Spanish regions.
Rugged charm
Costa Brava translates to ‘rough coast’, a sight you’ll soon be familiar with once you take in the rugged landscape.
It’s those same mountains that help bring in the winds that temper Costa Brava’s hot weather and make the climate here comfortable instead of stifling. If you’re headed this way soon for your next Spanish adventure, we’ve got the low down on what you should expect from Costa Brava’s weather.
Spring
Spring is when you’ll start to see an upturn in temperatures, and flowers on the bloom. This is also when rain starts to pick up ever so slightly, freshening up the rugged landscape Costa Brava is famous for.
The first half of spring can see blustery conditions thanks to the winds coming in from the Tramuntana mountains, with lows in the single digits, but temperatures steadily increase as the season continues. For example, highs can reach around 23°C in May.
As for sunshine hours, they too continue to lengthen as spring carries on, until they reach 11 hours a day in May. This is also when sea temperatures begin to hit comfortable levels, firmly putting swimming back on the agenda.
Summer
Ah, summer – Costa Brava’s high point, both temperature-wise and visitor-wise. Summer is undoubtedly Costa Brava’s peak season, as temperatures hit their yearly highs in July and August of up to 29°C.
This is when restaurants, beaches and activities are in full swing too, taking advantage of the warm weather, which generally sits in the mid 20s.
Evenings see the mercury dropping back into the teens, but this’ll still be comfortable if you’re planning for many a long night.
Rainfall is particularly low during the summer, hitting its lowest point in August, but the winds coming in from the southeast manage to help cool the heat off ever so slightly. Kind of remarkable, seeing as there are an average of 12 hours of sunshine per day.
Autumn
Autumn is Costa Brava’s dark horse season – while it might conjure up images of nippy evenings and shuttered restaurants, in Costa Brava, the holiday season is still in full swing until around October, and temperatures are still delightfully comfortable.
Temperatures are typically pretty warm in September, stretching up to 25°C and gradually cool off as winter comes into view, dropping from the low 20s in October to the high teens in November.
Sunshine levels also continue to drop as rainfall starts to rise again, with October as the wettest month of the year. In spite of the rain, the sea temperatures still remain comfortable enough for swimming, so you’ll still have all the same summertime amenities but without the crowds.
Winter
Winter as we Brits know it isn’t the same in Costa Brava, or is at least on a much lesser scale than we’re used to.
It’s definitely a mild time of year, with temperatures that can slip down into the low single digits after sundown, which means you might want to bring a coat just in case – especially in January, the coldest month of the year.
This time of year is also when you’re likely to see the odd splash of rain. During the day, temperatures here hover around the low teens, still making it a comfortable winter sun escape, though the sea temperatures are largely too cold for swimming.
Either way, hours of sunshine average from around five to eight as the season slips into spring, which is relatively high for the area.
When you think about it, there’s really no bad time to visit Costa Brava. It all depends on what kind of holiday you’re after.