The Costa Blanca in January: the coldest month is also the sunniest of the winter

January has a bad name here that it does not deserve. It is indeed the coldest month of the year, with nights around six degrees. But it is also the driest month of the winter and, against expectation, the sunniest of the three. Come in January and you find a coast without tourists, mountains that never look better, and the first almond blossom. Below are the figures, what is open, and why this is the month to head inland.

The weather in figures, not in feel

The AEMET normals for 1981 to 2010, measured at Alicante airport:

Average maximum: 16.7 degrees
Average minimum: 6.5 degrees
Mean temperature: 11.6 degrees
Rainfall: 21 millimetres, over roughly 3.6 rain days
Sunshine: 184 hours
Humidity: 61 per cent

Sixteen degrees and sunshine sounds mild, and in the sun by day it is. The moment the sun goes, it is over: the gap between day and night here is ten degrees, and Spanish houses are built to keep heat out, not in.

January is the coldest month of the year. February is barely warmer, but January has the lowest nights.

The coldest month is also the sunniest of the winter

This is the figure this article turns on, and we have not seen it set out side by side anywhere else.

Sunshine hours by month, same station, same series:

November: 174 hours
December: 165 hours
January: 184 hours

January wins. Not narrowly over December but by almost twenty hours, and also over November, which is four degrees warmer.

Per day that works out at about 5.9 hours of sunshine in January, against 5.8 in November and 5.3 in December. The afternoons are already lengthening, and the air is clearer after the autumn storms.

Then the rain. At 21 millimetres January is the driest of the three winter months: December sits at 22, November at 34. Across the year 277 millimetres falls here, so January delivers less than a tenth of it.

Why that matters: the storm season is over. How that works and why autumn carries the risk is in our piece on the November storm season. In January that engine is off.

The sea lags behind the air

This is where newcomers get caught out. The air starts turning by late January; the sea does not.

Sea water off Alicante in January sits around 14 to 15 degrees. Sources differ: 14.4, 14.9 and 15.0 degrees on average, depending which monitoring service you take. We quote the range rather than a single figure, because that is what the data supports.

More important than the exact number: the sea is still cooling in January. The coldest water of the year comes in February and March, not now. Water takes months to respond to the air, and that lag works against you in winter and for you in autumn.

You can swim, with a wetsuit or with character. You do see swimmers here in January, and nearly all of them are the same people who were there in August.

What happens, and what stops happening after it

The first week of January is still entirely festive. After that it falls silent.

5 January is the evening of the Cabalgata de Reyes, with parades in almost every town and village. 6 January is Reyes itself, a public holiday and the day of the presents. Everything that goes with it, from the roscón to the twelve grapes before it, is in our piece on Christmas on the Costa Blanca.

And then, from about 7 January, nothing happens at all. Schools reopen, the family visits are done, the lights go off.

That is not a complaint. It is the quietest stretch of the year, and for anyone living here that is exactly the appeal: you get your village back. Restaurants booked three weeks ahead in August have a table free in January.

Do note: January is also the month when many coastal businesses take their annual closure.

The almond blossom begins

This is the reason to drive inland in January, and it is the month’s best-kept secret.

The almond trees in the hinterland start flowering in late January, white and pale pink, on bare terraces of ochre earth. Nothing else is in leaf yet, so the effect is blossom on a brown landscape.

The photo above was taken on 25 January, in the hills near Relleu. The notched peak on the right is the Puig Campana.

Two honest caveats. The flowering is not on the same date every year: it depends on the winter before it and can shift by a fortnight. And it usually peaks in February. At the end of January you see the beginning, not the height of it.

Take the CV roads inland, towards Relleu, Sella, Guadalest or the Vall de Pop. There is nothing to pay and nowhere to park.

This is the month for the interior

In August the interior here is too hot to do anything in. In January it is perfect.

Sixteen degrees and sunshine is walking weather. The air is clear, so the mountains are sharp to the horizon, and the paths are empty. On the highest summits, like the Aitana at just over 1,500 metres, there can be snow.

It is also the month to do Guadalest. That village is impassable in summer because of the coaches, but in January midweek you walk straight through. The photo of the empty village square in that article is from 19 January.

What you do need to know: the interior is colder than the coast. Reckon on five degrees less in the mountain villages, and on night frost in the highest. Take an extra layer, even if it was fifteen degrees on the beach.

And the days are short. It is dark by six, so a mountain walk starts in the morning.

What is open and what is shut

This is where January plans come apart.

1 and 6 January are holidays. On 1 January the whole country is flat and you will find breakfast nowhere.

Many beach restaurants and chiringuitos are shut. In the tourist resorts businesses take their annual closure in January or February, sometimes for weeks. Phone ahead, even if Google says they are open.

In the villages it is business as usual. Where people live all year the place keeps running: the baker, the market, the menu del día.

Museums and monuments run winter hours, which usually means closing earlier. Expect four or five hours instead of seven.

The markets go ahead, on their usual day, with fewer stalls and more local customers.

What to bring, and what your house needs

Short and practical, because this is the difference between a fine January and a miserable one.

Layers, not a thick coat. In the sun by day a jumper does it, in the shade you want a jacket, and in the evening it is six degrees.

A house you can heat. Spanish houses on the coast are built for heat: thick walls, tiled floors, often no insulation and sometimes single glazing. Indoors in January is regularly colder than outdoors in the sun.

Expect a higher electricity bill. Air conditioning on the heat setting and electric heaters are the most expensive way to warm a room. How to cut that is in our piece on the electricity bill.

Watch for damp. With 61 per cent humidity and cold walls you get condensation and mould in badly ventilated corners. Air the house briefly every day, even when it is cold.

What we do not know

Honest about what is not in here.

The exact sea temperature. Three monitoring services give 14.4, 14.9 and 15.0 degrees. These are measured averages rather than climate normals, and they differ by measuring point and by year.

Exactly when the almond blossom starts. It shifts by year and by altitude, and nobody can call it to the week in advance.

Sant Antoni on 17 January. The blessing of animals around that date is a well-known Spanish tradition, but we found no source confirming how and where it is marked in this province. So it is not listed here as a fixture. Ask at your own town hall.

Which businesses are closed. That varies by place and by year and can only be established with a phone call.

Frequently asked questions

How warm is it in January on the Costa Blanca? An average of 16.7 degrees by day and 6.5 at night, with a mean of 11.6.

Does it rain much in January? No. An average of 21 millimetres over about 3.6 rain days, the driest of the three winter months.

How much sunshine is there? 184 hours, about 5.9 hours a day. More than November or December.

Can you swim in January? The water is 14 to 15 degrees. You can, but not without a wetsuit or a strong constitution.

Does the sea get colder still? Yes. The coldest water comes in February and March.

Is 6 January a day off? Yes, Reyes is a public holiday across Spain.

When do the almond trees flower? Flowering starts in late January and usually peaks in February, but it shifts by year.

Is everything closed in January? On the tourist coast many businesses close for their annual break. In the villages everything is open as usual.

Is there snow? Not on the coast. On the highest summits, like the Aitana, there can be.

Is January a good month to come? For walking, villages and quiet: the best of the year. For the beach and swimming: no.

About the authorMilo Schuijt

Milo Schuijt is an entrepreneur and DJ on the Costa Blanca. He writes about the places where he lives, works and plays: from beach bars to the housing market.