What's on in Cádiz (Costa de la Luz), Spain through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Spain, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Busy — Carnaval de Cadiz, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Carnaval de Cadiz

  12–22 FebCarnivalCrowdedBook early

  Ten days of satirical choirs singing in the streets of the old town, judged first in a month-long contest at the Gran Teatro Falla. Rooms in the old town go before Christmas. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Semana Santa, Semana Santa (Easter) holidays in Spain

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedClosures

  Brotherhoods take the narrow streets of the casco antiguo every night of the week and traffic stops with them. Seville is the spectacle; here it is closer and easier to stand in. Source ↗

Still on: Carnaval de Cadiz (12–22 Feb)

Peak crowds — Semana Santa, Semana Santa (Easter) holidays in Spain

• Nature

  Almadraba tuna season

  20 Apr – 15 Jun · usuallyForaging season

  Bluefin are trapped in fixed nets off Barbate and Zahara for a few weeks in late spring, and every restaurant down the coast builds its menu on it until the quota runs out. Source ↗

Still on: Semana Santa (29 Mar – 5 Apr)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  The levante

  1 May – 30 Sep · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  The easterly can blow for three or four days without pause, which strips the beaches and is exactly why the kitesurfers are down at Tarifa. Poniente days are the calm ones.

Still on: Almadraba tuna season (20 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Spain, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  25 Jun – 10 Oct · usually

  This is the Atlantic, not the Mediterranean, and it stays a few degrees behind the east coast all summer. La Caleta is sheltered; La Victoria is not.

Still on: Almadraba tuna season (20 Apr – 15 Jun (usually)), The levante (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Spain, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: The levante (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (25 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Andalusian August, Summer holidays in Spain

• Holiday

  Andalusian August

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Seville and Madrid empty onto this coast for the month and the beach towns south of the city run at capacity. The old town itself stays more liveable than the resorts around it. Source ↗

Still on: The levante (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (25 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Spain, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: The levante (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (25 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (25 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Busy — Christmas holidays in Spain, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.