September in Almería: the month Cabo de Gata gives itself back

Almería is the driest province in Spain and the one that notices September least. Highs go from about 29°C on the 1st to 26°C on the 30th — the gentlest decline of the eight provinces. The sea sits at 22.5–23°C, the warmest water in Andalucía, and stays swimmable well into October.

What actually changes here is not the weather. It is access.

What the weather actually does

Almería airport averages 28.4°C by day and 20.0°C at night in September, with 14mm of rain. The chance of a wet day runs from 2% to 7% across the month.

That near-zero rainfall carries a specific risk. Almería is the Andalusian coast most exposed to the gota fría, and because the normal totals are so low, a single September or October storm can deliver a year’s rain in hours. The hazard is flash flooding in dry ramblas, which look like nothing until they are not. It is rare. It is worth knowing about.

Inland and up: the Filabres and the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada sit above 1,000 metres, so subtract roughly 6°C per thousand.

What is on in September 2026

This is the province’s thinnest month for events — the Feria de Almería runs 21–29 August and is over before September starts.

• 6–10 September — Feria y Fiestas Patronales de Adra.
• 8 September — Romería de la Virgen del Saliente, Albox. A fixed local holiday.
• Third week, official day Monday 21 September — Santo Cristo de la Luz, Dalías. Reported to draw around 300,000 people across the week, which makes it the biggest thing in the province this month and almost unknown outside it.
• 24–26 September — Feria de Vera for San Cleofás, with free concerts at El Palmeral.

One correction worth making, because it is wrong in a lot of listings: the Almería Western Film Festival is 8–12 October, not September.

What life is like

The Campo de Dalías greenhouses restart their main cycle in September — this is transplanting month, and the province’s migrant workforce returns. It is the least picturesque and most economically important thing happening here.

Almonds come off in Los Vélez and the Filabres. On the coast, the beach bars around San José and La Isleta wind down fast after the first week, which is exactly what makes the rest of the month good.

The one thing to do in September

Cabo de Gata in the second half of the month. Mónsul, Genoveses and the Playazo de Rodalquilar are the best beaches in Andalucía and arguably in mainland Spain — volcanic rock, no development, water you can see the bottom of.

In July and August they are capacity-capped: you need a booked shuttle or a parking permit, and both go early. By mid-September the restrictions lift or ease, the sea is still at its annual peak, and the beaches are close to empty. That combination exists in exactly one month.

Where to go next

• The Almería province guide
• September across Andalucía
• Renting a car — Cabo de Gata needs one
• Driving in Andalucía
• The fiesta calendar