Travel

October in Almería: Cabo de Gata without the access restrictions, at 21°C

The summer vehicle restriction lifted on 28 September. Mónsul and Los Genoveses are drivable again, the sea is at 21.1°C, and it rains on fewer than three days.

By The Guide to Andalucía teamPublished 21 Sept 20265 min read

On 28 September 2026 the summer vehicle restriction at Cabo de Gata lifted. From that date until next June you can drive to Los Genoveses, Mónsul and Cala Carbón again — no shuttle bus, no capacity cap, no booking. Combine that with a sea still at 21°C and the emptiest beaches of the year, and October is arguably the best month Almería has.

It is also the driest province in the region by a distance: 27mm of rain across 2.8 rain days, against Córdoba’s 86mm. Almería in October is a beach month that the rest of Europe has already written off.

What the weather actually does

Almería airport averages 24.5°C by day and 16.3°C at night in October, with 27mm of rain over 2.8 rain days.

Put October between its neighbours and the case makes itself. September runs 28.4/20.0; November drops to 20.5°C by day. October sits clearly on the summer side of that line — four degrees warmer than November and still under three rainy days. It is the last month of the year here that works as a beach holiday without qualification.

The sea backs it up. The Cabo de Gata buoy averages 21.1°C through October, from about 22.2°C in the first ten days to 20.1°C in the last. That is warmer than the Costa del Sol, two provinces west, which surprises people — Málaga’s coast runs nearer 19.8°C because of upwelling that Cabo de Gata does not get.

The desert interior around Tabernas behaves differently again: hotter by day, colder at night, and drier than anywhere else in Europe. Clocks go back on Sunday 25 October.

Which week to book

The first half for the warmest water, the second for the emptiest beaches.

The exception is 8–12 October. The Almería Western Film Festival runs Thursday to Monday at Tabernas and ends on the 12 October national holiday, which makes that five-day stretch the busiest configuration the province sees all autumn. If you want Tabernas or a room near it that weekend, book now; if you do not, that is the week to be at Cabo de Gata instead.

What is on in October 2026

  • 8–12 October (confirmed) — Almería Western Film Festival, 16th edition, Tabernas. It plays across the Teatro de Tabernas for the opening and closing galas and at Oasys MiniHollywood and Fort Bravo Texas Hollywood — the actual spaghetti-western sets, in Europe’s only desert. More than fifty activities: feature and short competitions, tributes, the Premio Tabernas de Cine, masterclasses and concerts. The 2025 edition drew around 8,000 people across five days.
  • From 28 September (confirmed) — the Cabo de Gata summer access restriction is lifted. It ran 20 June to 27 September 2026 under a published regional resolution, limiting vehicle access to the natural beaches west of San José and restricting group kayak and paddle activity. All of that is off for October.
  • Monday 12 October (fixed every year) — Fiesta Nacional de España.
  • 16 and 20 October (confirmed holidays, feria run expected) — Feria de Huércal-Overa, the big October feria of the Almerían Levante, with pasacalles, a midday feria and concerts. The town takes two local holidays bracketing the run, but the ayuntamiento’s detailed 2026 programme was not published when this was written.
  • Through the month (confirmed) — Almería has the richest October fiesta calendar of any province, with sixteen municipalities taking an October holiday: Turre on the 2nd and 5th, near Mojácar; Alcóntar, Lubrín and Santa Fé de Mondújar on the 5th; Armuña de Almanzora, Bayarque, Enix, Macael, Roquetas de Mar and Somontín on the 7th for the Virgen del Rosario; Gádor on the 9th; Castro de Filabres on the 13th; Las Tres Villas on the 15th; Viator on the 23rd and 26th; Albox on the 30th.

Two traps. Almería has two film festivals and they are constantly confused: the Western Film Festival is October, in Tabernas; FICAL, the Festival Internacional de Cine de Almería run by the Diputación, is a November event in Almería city. They are not the same thing. And the Virgen del Mar festivities are in August — the Feria de Almería in honour of the city’s patron runs 22–30 August 2026. Nothing Virgen del Mar happens in October.

What life is like

Almería is the least visited province on the Mediterranean coast of Spain and October strips out even the people who do come. Mojácar, Roquetas and San José go quiet. The Cabo de Gata beaches, which in August need a shuttle bus and a booking, are places you drive to and park at.

The natural park is the point of the province and October is its month. The volcanic coast between San José and Las Negras — Los Genoveses, Mónsul, Playa de los Muertos, the Rodalquilar valley — is a landscape that does not exist anywhere else in Europe, and in summer the access controls exist precisely because too many people want it. Now they do not.

Inland, the Tabernas desert and the Sierra de los Filabres are walkable again after a summer that makes them hostile. The marble quarries at Macael take their fiesta on the 7th. The Almanzora valley runs its ferias through the middle of the month. None of it is set up for foreign visitors, which is rather the appeal.

The one thing to do in October

Drive to Mónsul and Los Genoveses. That is the whole recommendation, and it is entirely a matter of timing.

Between late June and late September you cannot do it — access to the natural beaches west of San José is restricted, capped and bussed. From 28 September the road is open to anyone, the water is still above 21°C, and the two best beaches in Andalucía are close to empty on a weekday. Mónsul’s volcanic dune and the long sweep of Genoveses are what people picture when they picture Cabo de Gata, and October is the first month in four that you can simply turn up.

Common questions

Is October still beach weather in Almería?

Yes, and more convincingly than anywhere else in Andalucía. 24.5°C by day, under three rain days on average, and a sea at 21.1°C. November is where it stops.

Do I need to book to get into Cabo de Gata beaches in October?

No. The summer restriction ended on 27 September 2026 and does not apply again until next summer. You can drive and park.

Which Almería film festival is in October?

The Almería Western Film Festival, 8–12 October, at Tabernas. FICAL, the bigger general festival in Almería city, is in November.

Where to go next

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