Portugal's beaches are beautiful, yes–but due to being set on the Atlantic, the water is actually much colder than many visitors might expect (yes, even in the Algarve). What is this? Spain's long Mediterranean coast, on the other hand, tends to offer much warmer water and a longer swimming season.
Costa del Sol, whenever you chooseIts warm climate when the rest of Spain is a lot colder. Over 320 days of sunshine a year and about 160 kilometres of coastline. Yes we're talking about the Costa del Sol.
Currents coming from the Atlantic Ocean, right from the strait of Gibraltar, cool down our sea water. February has in fact the coldest sea temperature of the year, 13ºC/55ºF.
The graph below shows the range of monthly Santa Cruz de Tenerife water temperature derived from many years of historical sea surface temperature data. The warmest water temperature is in September with an average around 74.7°F / 23.7°C. The coldest month is March with an average water temperature of 66.6°F / 19.2°C.
Thanks to its inclusion of the Mediterranean coast, plenty of European countries experience warm winter weather. However, Spain tends to be Europe's hottest country in summer and winter due to its southern location.
Although no complete set of records exist, the warmest sea surface temperature is currently thought to be 37.6C (99.7F) recorded in Kuwait Bay in the Persian Gulf.
Ibiza - Punta Xarraca sea water temperatures peak in the range 25 to 28°C (77 to 82°F) on around the 15th of August and are at their lowest on about the 1st of March, in the range 13 to 15°C (55 to 59°F). Year round warm sea water temperatures at Ibiza - Punta Xarraca climb to their warmest in mid August.
The Portuguese coastline – along with the coastlines of California, South Africa, Western Australia and Peru – is subject to a phenomenon known as upwelling. In simple terms, if the wind blows parallel to the coast, then water from the bottom of the ocean (cold and rich in nutrients) rises and comes to the shoreline.
Praia de São Torpes, Sines. The Brazilian magazine Viagem e Turismo has highlighted the temperature of the waters of this beach of Costa Alentejana. ...
This one is a close call with both destinations seeing temperatures sitting in the balmy mid- to late-twenties during the summer months. Out of the peak season, the Greek island of Crete warms up as early as May hitting around 25C, while the Algarve isn't far behind at around 22C.