The Algarve gets described as year-round, which is true and not very helpful. February and August are both perfectly good months to come, for completely different people, doing completely different things. This is what each month actually looks like — with the numbers, so you can decide for yourself rather than take our word for it.
The short answer
- Best all-rounder: late September and early October. Warm sea, warm air, thinning crowds.
- Best for walking, golf and sightseeing: April and May.
- Best for a guaranteed beach holiday: July and August — accept the heat and the crowds.
- Best value: November to February, if you're not coming primarily to swim.
- The month we'd personally avoid: December — it's the wettest and the darkest.
The numbers
Long-term averages for Faro, the nearest station with a full record, covering 1991–2020. Carvoeiro sits about an hour west and runs very slightly cooler and a touch windier on the coast, but the pattern is the same.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Sea | Rain | Rain days | Sun/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16.5°C | 8.2°C | 16.3°C | 60mm | 7 | 6h |
| February | 17.1°C | 8.7°C | 15.8°C | 45mm | 5 | 6h |
| March | 19.0°C | 10.7°C | 15.9°C | 50mm | 5 | 8h |
| April | 20.7°C | 12.2°C | 16.6°C | 35mm | 5 | 8.5h |
| May | 23.4°C | 14.9°C | 17.8°C | 25mm | 5 | 10h |
| June | 26.6°C | 17.6°C | 19.6°C | 5mm | 1 | 11h |
| July | 29.3°C | 19.5°C | 21.0°C | 0mm | 0 | 11.5h |
| August | 29.1°C | 19.8°C | 21.6°C | 0mm | 0 | 11h |
| September | 26.3°C | 18.2°C | 21.4°C | 30mm | 2 | 9.5h |
| October | 23.4°C | 15.6°C | 20.5°C | 55mm | 6 | 7.5h |
| November | 19.8°C | 11.7°C | 18.9°C | 65mm | 6 | 6.5h |
| December | 17.3°C | 9.6°C | 17.4°C | 110mm | 8 | 5h |
Source: long-term climate averages for Faro, 1991–2020. Averages, not forecasts — any individual week can and will do its own thing.
Month by month
January
The coldest month, and still mild by northern European standards: highs around 16.5°C, six hours of sun a day. Frost is essentially unheard of and snow has fallen once in living memory, in 1954.
Golf is perfectly playable and the courses are quiet. The sea is 16°C, which is swimmable for the committed and nobody else. Many restaurants in the smaller villages close for a few weeks. Come if you want warmth, walking and cheap golf. Don't if you're picturing the beach.
February
Marginally warmer than January and noticeably drier — 45mm across about five days, the second-driest of the winter months. The almond blossom comes out, which is one of the genuinely lovely things about the Algarve off-season and which almost nobody books for.
March
The turn. Highs reach 19°C and daily sunshine jumps from six hours to eight — the single biggest month-on-month change in the year. The countryside is green and full of wildflowers, which it will not be by June.
Still some instability early in the month. The sea is at its annual coldest, around 15.9°C, lagging behind the air by several weeks.
April
One of the two best months for anything that isn't swimming. Highs of nearly 21°C, only 35mm of rain, eight and a half hours of sun. Ideal for golf, the coastal paths and exploring towns without wilting.
Easter is the exception — prices and crowds spike for a fortnight and then subside again.
May
Our favourite month, and it isn't close. Highs of 23.4°C, ten hours of sunshine a day, 25mm of rain across five days, and the schools haven't broken up anywhere. The sea is still only about 18°C, so swimming is bracing rather than pleasant — everything else is close to perfect.
If you can choose freely, come in May or late September. Everyone who can only travel in August has our sympathy, and there's nothing wrong with August — but May is the one we'd pick.
June
Summer proper. Highs of 26.6°C, eleven hours of sun, and essentially one rainy day all month. The sea reaches 19.6°C, which most people will happily swim in.
The first half is noticeably quieter than the second as northern European schools haven't broken up. Evenings can still turn cool and windy — bring something with sleeves, which people never do.
July
Hot, bright and dry: highs of 29.3°C, eleven and a half hours of sun, and on average no rain at all. Some days the wind comes off Africa and it goes well past 35°C — the record is 44.3°C, set in July 2004.
Everything is open, everywhere is busy, and outdoor activity needs planning around the middle of the day. Golf before nine, beach after four, long lunch in between.
August
The warmest month on average and the busiest by a distance. Highs of 29.1°C, sea at its annual peak of 21.6°C, no meaningful rain.
This is when the Algarve is most itself and least itself at once — every beach bar open, every beach full. If you're tied to school holidays, book early, start days early, and use the villa pool in the middle of the day rather than fighting for a parking space at the coast.
September
The best-value month in the calendar and our joint pick with May. Highs still 26.3°C, sea at 21.4°C — warmer than July — and only two rainy days on average. The crowds drop away sharply once the schools go back, so the first week feels like August and the last week feels like your own private coast.
October
Autumn arrives gently. Highs of 23.4°C, seven and a half hours of sun, and the sea still 20.5°C — warmer than it was in June. Rain returns properly, 55mm over six days, but the first half of the month often behaves like an extension of summer.
Excellent for golf, excellent for walking, and prices fall noticeably.
November
Properly autumn. Highs around 19.8°C, but 65mm of rain over six days and only six and a half hours of sun a day. Mild rather than warm, often cloudy.
Good for a quiet, cheap week of golf and long lunches. Not the month for a beach holiday, and some coastal restaurants start shutting for winter.
December
The wettest and darkest month: 110mm of rain across eight days, five hours of sun. Highs of 17.3°C are still mild, and bright crisp days are common between the fronts.
Christmas and New Year are an exception — the resort fills with people who've worked out that 17°C and a bright morning beats 4°C and drizzle at home. Outside those two weeks it's the quietest the Algarve gets.
Picking by what you're coming for
Golf
March to May and September to October. Summer means dawn tee times; winter is perfectly playable, green and cheap, with the occasional Atlantic front. We've written more on the courses within half an hour of Carvoeiro.
Swimming in the sea
July through October. The Atlantic runs cold and lags the air by about two months — which is why October's sea is warmer than June's, and why the water in May feels wrong for the weather.
Walking the coast
April, May, October. Anything between June and September means starting at seven or suffering.
Families tied to school holidays
Late August into the first days of September if you can stretch it — the crowds start thinning while the sea is at its warmest all year.
Value
November to February for the lowest prices; May and late September for the best ratio of weather to cost.
One honest caveat
These are thirty-year averages, not predictions. We've had a wet May and a warm, dry November within a couple of years of each other. What the averages are genuinely good for is knowing what's likely — that you'll almost certainly swim in September, almost certainly not in February, and that if you book December you should have a plan for a wet day or two.
Whenever you come
Villa Casa Feliz is a private four-bedroom villa with a pool on Pestana Gramacho Golf Resort, ten minutes from Carvoeiro. It's just as good in February with the heating on and a golf course to yourself as it is in August with everyone in the pool. Take a look, or ask us what a particular week is usually like — we're here all year and we'll tell you honestly.