Helen Ireland

Hi

Would somebody be able to give me a rough idea about winter on the Costa Blanca please.e.g. temperatures, sunshine, rain etc. I am thinking of buying there in the next couple of months and compared to Turkey, the winters seem to be far better. Every weather site that I look at says different though. So I figured, why not ask the people who live there.

Thank you in advance
Helen

Dick Dasterdly

How long is a piece of string ?
Yes, it is different, almost every Winter.

It can often be dry and sunny most of the Winter with temps up to 20c mid winter and the very occasional frost.
Expect a bad spell around late Oct, (the Gota Fria), and also April can often be unsettled and wet.
Otherwise generally reasonable and comfortable, except when the weather comes down over the mountains to the North with a cold wind at times.

Hope this helps, though if a consistently mild Winter climate is the most important factor I would suggest looking at S.Tenerife.

jonboy

It sounds a bit unhelpful but here we are again, you don't know what the weather is like and you are "thinking of buying there". Renting seems such a good idea for you to consider.
I have been there in the winter and have been snowed upon whilst on the beach. I have sat in the flat and wondered if the walls were porous as it was so cold I found it was less unpleasant out on the street. Then again there are lovely blue skies and sunshine but in the shadows it is 5 or more degrees cooler or should I say colder. I guess by and large it is not as wet as some parts of the world, dare I mention Ireland, Helen?
This is just my personal experience in north Costa Blanca.

uk1357

Id agree...if its long term winter sun/warmth you are looking for in "Spain" , Id consider the canary islands.

Kenwoodlad

We had our first experience of Costa Blanca winter in November (2 weeks), December (3 weeks) and March (3 weeks). I have never been so cold in my life. We did not realise how hopelessly inadequate our house was to deal with cold. In the summer heat, it's fine. But we now need to look at ways of making it habitable when the wind swings in from the North. Better fitting doors and windows will be a start. But it's an old traditional house with walls three feet thick so once that lot cools down, it's a bit like living in a meat locker and nigh impossible to heat up. So a lot of how you find the winter will be down to the accommodation you end up living in.

HeikeundAlan

Well we been in our caravan for the last 4 winters and as it heats up with a gasheater realy quickly, I can say spain is great in winter,
there allways a wind blowing here on the coast but the sun is wonderful.
We hired a wooden hut a couple of times but with windows and doors being build for the summer the heating bill was just crazy. So we happier in our Van.
I say try Rent and see what you thing, loads of places are deserted in winter so you could get lonely too.
There is a Hotel in Denia that cost under 40euros a night for two all exclu.
Good place to start maybe
as for weather forecast after 4 years I swear by En.Eltiempo.es

agoreira

A rare touch of realism, telling it like it is! I have felt much, much colder in Spain than I ever have in UK, huddled around an estufa in your overcoat ain't much fun. Give it 6 months and wait for the threads on electric blankets, damp, mould, going to bed in all manner of kit! ;-) As has been said, if you want guaranteed warmth and winter sun you're looking at the wrong place, try the islands.

spainrico

Depends on type of property, how much sun it gets (ie its orientation) and which part of the Costa Blanca (it is a big area).

Whilst I understand the importance to you of 'sun' I would say the whole issue of Spain vs Turkey also has many other important considerations -

eg: Law (Spain is EU) regarding property ownership/renting, culture, food, travel times/distances/costs. etc etc.

But maybe you already know/love Turkey........

Longlegpete

We spend around 10 weeks of the year between November and March on the Northen Costa Blanca over the last five years and most of the time the weather is (by UK standards) great, we have a lot of sunny days with temperatures between 15-22 deg c, if it is a colder 15c sunny day we just sit in the sun during the days as it feels warm or we go walking by the beach or in the mountains, we find winter in the mountains is the best time to walk as you don't get so hot and great sunsets, if it's a cold wet/cloudy day and you are at home you will need some heat in the house, as has been said they can be a bit chilly.

We spend most of our time in Spain outside the summer simply because we prefer the weather, I think it depends where you are from when the weather question pops up and if you are from UK/Ireland you will thinks its great for 85% of the time, we are in the south east of UK and the last 4 winters have been dire, we are just getting leaves on the trees now!

Formentera

Having visited costa blanca in January and a week in April I now accept that you will be cold in apartments in the early months. April was great and we did not need heating. We installed efficient electric rads any set them to 20* a must for January. Blue skies but freezing in the morning. As said here the canaries would be better but you will cook in the summer nights! Can sell you a Cape Verde apartment if you want perfection 25* average all year!
£100 two and half hour flights are a no brainer for us from NI.

Nigeljay

We have a place in Moraira. We are not there through the whole winter but spend January there. We used to go in February but experienced cold rainy days. For some climatic reason January has been a lovely month for several years. It is often cold at night and heating is required, but lovely during the day when the sun shines.
It rarely is as cold as the UK at night but can seem so because of the design of most homes to have cool surfaces for the summer heat. We are lucky as we have central heating (gas bottles) and aircon. heaters but it isn't economical as the house isn't built for cold climate.

You can find parts of Spain and the Canaries which are warmer in the winter but then you may have to sacrifice the lush green countryside that the Northern Costa Blanca offers (though I know that pars of the Canaries are green and lovely)

Dick Dasterdly

I was curious to compare the C.B. with Turkey in the Wintertime.
Turkey definitely seems no better, but in most cases worse than C.B.
To be expected I suppose, being more of a Continental climate than Spain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Turkey

Sandra Wolfe

Hi Helen,

I have lived on the Costa Blanca for more than 30 years, and yes the winters are cold, specially as houses here are not prepared for the bad weather!! however, most of the cold days the sun still shines and that makes a difference

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary