November in Almería: 28mm of rain, and Cabo de Gata to yourself

Almería gets 28 millimetres of rain in November. Málaga, three provinces west, gets 100. That single comparison is most of the case for coming here this month — and the rest of it is a line in the regional gazette.

Between 20 June and 27 September it is illegal to drive to the natural beaches west of San José without authorisation. From 28 September the restriction lapses, and it does not come back until the following summer. So in November you can drive to Los Genoveses and the coves along that stretch of the Cabo de Gata coast, legally, with no shuttle bus, no daily cap and no booking — and almost nobody there.

What the weather actually does

Almería airport averages 20.5°C by day and 12.3°C at night in November, with 28mm of rain across 3.6 rain days and no frost. Those are AEMET’s 1981–2010 normals.

Almería is the warmest capital in Andalucía by day in November and the second-warmest at night, and it is drier than everywhere else by a factor of two to three. It is also the only capital whose rainfall barely moves between October and November — up one millimetre, against Málaga’s 43 and Cádiz’s 31. While the rest of the region turns into autumn, Almería largely does not.

The number that deserves a warning is the distribution. Almería’s wettest single November day on record is 65.8mm, on 11 November 2012 — more than twice the entire monthly average, and the most skewed figure of any station in the region. This is a desert climate: it almost never rains, and when it does, a month’s worth can arrive in an afternoon. The practical risk is flash flooding in dry riverbeds rather than a wet holiday. Never park in a rambla, and check the forecast before driving the back roads of the Tabernas or the Filabres.

On the sea we will not give you a figure. We published Puertos del Estado buoy temperatures for October but could not source November figures from their own data, and we would rather leave a gap than repeat a number from a holiday-weather site.

Which week to book

The third week, which is when the film festival is running and the beaches are still empty. FICAL occupies 13–22 November and puts more than a hundred free events into the city and province, which makes it the ideal wet-weather insurance for a trip built around the coast.

The All Saints long weekend at the start — Saturday 31 October to Monday 2 November, the holiday falling on the Monday because the 1st is a Sunday — brings Spanish visitors, and this is the one weekend when Cabo de Gata will feel busy.

What is on in November 2026

Monday 2 November (confirmed) — the transferred All Saints holiday, closing shops, offices and many municipal museums.
Tuesday 3 November, 17:00 and 19:00 (confirmed) — “Almería, tierra de cortometrajes”, sessions three and four: twenty-eight short films by Almería filmmakers at the Biblioteca Pública Francisco Villaespesa. Free entry until the room fills.
From Wednesday 11 November, 17:00 (confirmed) — the patronal fiestas of San Diego de Alcalá at Cuevas del Almanzora, in the north-east of the province. The feast day itself is Friday 13 November, which is also the town’s local holiday; the main acts are held on the 13th every year regardless of which day it falls on.
13–22 November (confirmed) — FICAL, the 25th Festival Internacional de Cine de Almería. Ten days, more than a hundred free activities across the city and the province. The silver anniversary edition. The day-by-day programme had not been published when this was written.
16 November (confirmed) — local holiday in Olula de Castro.
All month (confirmed) — no vehicle restriction at Cabo de Gata. The 2026 resolution limited access to the natural beaches between Los Genoveses and Cala Carbón from 20 June to 27 September only.
Around 25 November (expected, not officially confirmed) — the Christmas lights switch-on in the capital. Local reporting describes the council’s plan — roughly fifty streets, two eighteen-metre trees, and the ice rink moved to Las Almadrabillas — but we could not verify the date on the city’s own site, which blocks automated access. Check before relying on it.

What to ignore

Almond blossom is not a November thing. It is the most common mistake made about Almería’s calendar, presumably because the almond groves are the province’s signature landscape. The blossom season runs February to March — the Diputación’s own guided routes through the Filabres and the Sierra Alhamilla ran from 8 February to 22 March in 2026, with the almond gastronomy days alongside them. In November the trees are bare.

A second one: anything implying you need a permit or a shuttle for Cabo de Gata in autumn is wrong. The restriction is a summer measure with published start and end dates and November sits well outside it. Note that the gazette’s wording covers the beaches west of San José between Los Genoveses and Cala Carbón — Mónsul is in that stretch but is not named in the resolution, so if that specific beach is the point of your trip, check for signage on the day.

What life is like

Almería in November is a province that does not really have an autumn. The capital carries on, the coast empties of tourists without getting cold, and the economy underneath it all is working flat out — just under plastic.

The greenhouse belt around El Ejido and the Campo de Níjar covers more than 30,000 hectares and makes this the undisputed leader of intensive horticulture in Europe. It produces year-round, exports more than three million tonnes of fruit and vegetables annually, and accounts for around 30% of Andalucía’s agricultural exports and some 15% of Spain’s. It is not a seasonal spectacle, and we will not claim November is its peak, because the figures do not break down by month. What is true is that the autumn and winter crop is in full production precisely while northern Europe’s has stopped — the whole economic point of the place, and visible from any road west of the capital.

Inland, the Tabernas desert and the Sierra de los Filabres are at their best walking temperature of the year. Hunting runs on a Friday-to-Sunday pattern here rather than the Thursday-and-weekend pattern used elsewhere in Andalucía, worth knowing if you are out on the hills. In the city, FICAL turns the back half of the month into a free film festival.

Coast or interior

Coast — specifically the Cabo de Gata-Níjar natural park, which is the reason this province exists on a travel map. November gives you the two things that never otherwise coincide: legal vehicle access and nobody there. The interior is the better half of a longer trip; Tabernas, the film sets, Los Vélez and the Alpujarra almeriense are all more comfortable now than at any point since spring, and November light on that landscape is the reason so many films were shot in it.

The one thing to do in November

Drive to Los Genoveses and have it to yourself.

The window is defined by law rather than by taste, which is what makes this recommendation unusually defensible. From 20 June to 27 September you cannot legally drive there without authorisation — and through those months it is crowded anyway. October still carries holiday traffic. By January the shorter days and the wind take the edge off it. November gives you a legally open road, the driest and sunniest corner of Europe, twenty degrees in the afternoon, and a beach in a natural park with no one on it.

Take water and fuel — there is very little out there — and keep an eye on the sky, because this is the one province where a month of rain can arrive in a single afternoon. If it does, FICAL has a hundred free screenings running in the city.

Common questions

Is November a good time to visit Almería?

It is the best month in Andalucía for warm, dry weather — the warmest capital by day, 28mm of rain, 3.6 rain days — and Cabo de Gata is legally driveable and nearly empty. If you want a southern-Spain trip in late autumn, this is where to take it.

Do I need a permit for Cabo de Gata’s beaches?

Not in November. The vehicle restriction on the natural beaches ran from 20 June to 27 September 2026 and nothing more. Check for signage at Mónsul specifically, which is not named in the resolution.

Can you swim?

Some people do. We could not source a November sea temperature from Puertos del Estado’s own data, so we are not publishing one — any figure you see for this coast this month is likely an estimate rather than a measurement.

Is the almond blossom out?

No. That is February and March. The province runs organised blossom routes then; in November the trees have no leaves, let alone flowers.

Where to go next

The Almería province guide
November across Andalucía — how the province compares with the other seven
October in Almería, if you are choosing between the two months
Playa de San Miguel de Cabo de Gata and Las Salinas
The Feria de Almería, for a summer return
Christmas lights in Almería and the fiesta calendar
What to pack

Sources

Weather: AEMET, Valores climatológicos normales 1981–2010, Almería Aeropuerto; extremes from AEMET’s Valores extremos series. Cabo de Gata access dates: Junta de Andalucía resolution published in BOJA no. 58 of 2026. FICAL and the short-film sessions: Festival Internacional de Cine de Almería. San Diego de Alcalá: Ayuntamiento de Cuevas del Almanzora and the Junta de Andalucía cultural agenda. Local holidays: Resolución de 6 de octubre de 2025, BOJA no. 197. Greenhouse figures: Junta de Andalucía. Almond blossom routes: Diputación de Almería. Hunting periods: Junta de Andalucía 2026/27 season.