Weather Overview for Nerja

The tourist town of Nerja is located on the Costa del Sol on Spain’s south coast, around 50kms east of city of Malaga. Costa del Sol translates as ‘coast of the sun’.

Not surprisingly, sunshine is in abundance in Nerja. There is a wonderful Mediterranean climate that sees long, hot, dry summers and mild winters. There are more than 300 days of sunshine a year in this part of Spain.

The Sierra Nevada Mountains rise up to heights of over 2000m behind Nerja. As the mountains lie to the north of Nerja they provide protection from the cooler weather that comes from the north. Combined with the warm surrounding seas, this is what keeps winters so mild in Nerja.

Summer

Summer in Nerja runs from June until September. Average highs in June and September are typically around 27°C or 28°C, while in the peak months they get up to around 30°C or 31°C. Night time lows sit around 20°C. It can get much hotter than this with highs pushing near to 40°C; the highest temperature recorded is 43°C. Mercifully, low humidity and cooling sea breezes offer relief on hot days.

Rainfall is almost non-existent in the main summer months of July and August, while June and September see very little. Sunshine is truly in abundance in summer, with summer days basking in an average of 11 or 12 hours of sunshine.

Winter

Winters are mild with average temperatures around 13°C or 14°C. The temperature can dip into single figures at night but never far and cold weather is extremely rare.

Daily highs in winter regularly rise into the high teens and can even climb into the 20s during particularly good weather. It is a popular place for those wishing to escape the cold winters elsewhere in Europe.

November to January is the year’s wettest period with between 80 and 90mm average rainfall. Much of this rainfall happens in short heavy downpours, meaning that sunny days are still frequent in winter. Winter days average more than 5 hours of sunshine. Stormy weather from the Atlantic can visit in winter bringing high winds and heavy rains, but this is not frequent and the storms are usually followed by good clear sunny weather.

Spring/Autumn

Spring and autumn are both very pleasant times to visit Nerja. Temperatures are warm without getting uncomfortably hot. Autumn is a little warmer than spring but also sees more rainfall, especially from late October.

October enjoys daily highs in the mid 20s and it still gets over 20°C often in November. Similar temperatures are enjoyed in spring and May especially is a month of great temperatures and plenty of sunshine – 10 hours per day on average.

November is a rainy month and sees the start of the wet period.

The sea temperature is warm enough for swimming late into autumn but you will find the water a bit chilly in spring.