Winter in the Canary Islands: how warm is the sea, and what to pack
The short answer: yes, you can swim in winter. According to the Puertos del Estado buoys, the sea averages 22 to 23 degrees in November and around 20 in January; February and March are the coldest months, but even then the average stays above 19 degrees. It is not the Mediterranean in August, but the air along the coast is around 20 to 22 degrees during the day, so a swim can still be part of a winter day.
The suitcase is where most people get it wrong. On the same island, on the same day, you can be on the beach and in near-freezing cold: at the AEMET station at Izaña, 2369 metres up, the average daily minimum in January is barely above 1 degree. The north side gets rain more often in winter, and UV radiation is higher in winter than on the Spanish mainland.
In this article we go through the measured figures first and then put the packing list together. Why the weather is different in the north and the south is explained in detail here: Canary Islands microclimates: where to stay. For the overall picture of the seasons, see our Canary Islands weather guide.
How warm the sea is in winter, month by month
In summer 2026, Spain's port authority, Puertos del Estado, published an indicator that shows the daily average sea temperature along the Spanish coast since 2005, updated every day. The buoys measure the surface layer, between zero and three metres. Bear in mind that they do not float off the beach: the coastal buoys sit near ports, in water less than a hundred metres deep, and the offshore buoys are out in the open sea, the Gran Canaria one, for example, above water 780 metres deep. So the water in shallow bays is not measured directly. On the indicator's public website you can see it all on a chart; we used the daily data series behind it to work out monthly averages, combining every year from 2005 to 2026:
November: 22.6 °C
December: 21.1 °C
January: 20.0 °C
February: 19.3 °C
March: 19.2 °C, the coldest month of the year
April: 19.6 °C
For comparison, the warmest month is September, at 23.9 degrees. So the water in February and March is roughly four and a half degrees cooler than in September, while November is barely cooler at all.
There is some variation from year to year, but not much. In February, the monthly average of individual years ranged from 18.2 to 21.0 degrees, in March from 18.1 to 20.5, and in November from 21.2 to 23.7. The coldest day since 2005 was 25 March 2015, with a daily average of 17.78 degrees.
Which islands this applies to, and which it does not
An important caveat here, because a figure is only as good as the places it covers. The Canary Islands average is built from the daily averages of four buoys:
Gran Canaria: the Boya de Gran Canaria in open water off the island's northwest side, and the Boya de Las Palmas Este off the east coast.
Tenerife: the Boya de Tenerife Sur off the south coast, and the Boya de Santa Cruz de Tenerife near the capital.
Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro have no buoy in this dataset. So we do not apply the figures above to those islands, either up or down. If you are curious about the raw, hourly buoy data, you can look at it buoy by buoy in the Puertos del Estado PORTUS app.
You can swim, it just feels different
In January, the four-buoy average (20.0 degrees) is higher than the monthly mean air temperature in Santa Cruz (18.2 degrees), and only just below the average daytime high (21.0 degrees). So the chilly part is not the water itself, but the few minutes after you get out. A big towel and a dry jumper in your beach bag are worth more than you might think.
If you would rather swim in a natural pool than in the open sea, here is a selection: the best natural pools in Tenerife and natural pools in Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. In Tenerife, the natural pools at Bajamar are one example. Check the state of the sea here too before you go in.
On the beach, the flag and the lifeguard have the final say, in winter too. If you have not read it yet, look at how to spot a rip current before you go in. If you plan to stay in the water for a long time, with a mask and snorkel for instance, a thin wetsuit can come in handy: our article on diving and snorkelling also lists the places.
If you are looking for a beach, our best beaches in Tenerife and best beaches in Gran Canaria articles show them area by area. Two well-known town beaches on the two measured islands: Playa de Las Teresitas near Santa Cruz, and Playa de Las Canteras in Las Palmas.
Coastal air: short sleeves by day, a jumper for the evening
According to AEMET's 1981 to 2010 climate normals, in January the average daily maximum at seven coastal weather stations on six islands (six airports and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) is between 20.6 and 21.7 degrees, highest at Tenerife Sur airport. AEMET does not publish such a normal for La Gomera. The average daily minimum is 14.0 degrees on Lanzarote and 16.6 degrees on El Hierro, with the other stations between 14.7 and 15.5 degrees.
For your suitcase, this means short sleeves are enough during the day, but you will want a jumper or a light jacket in the evening, especially if you are eating out on a terrace or the wind is up. You do not need a winter coat on the coast, but pack one more layer than you would for a summer week.
The north side: this is where a rain jacket earns its place
Winter rain is not spread evenly. The contrast is clearest on Tenerife: at the southern airport there are on average 1.8 days in January with at least one millimetre of rain, and 3.5 in December. At the northern airport, in the municipality of La Laguna at 632 metres, there are 8.3 such days in November, 8.8 in December and 7.7 in January, and 82 millimetres falls in December.
On La Palma, the airport at Breña Baja averages 7.9 rainy days and 80 millimetres in December, and 6.8 rainy days in November. On the eastern islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the January average is 3.2 and 2.5 rainy days respectively.
If you are staying in the north, or heading up into the mountains to hike, carry a light rain jacket or windcheater. We wrote more about the laurel forest walks in our Anaga guide.
Teide in winter: frost, snow and sometimes closed roads
If you go up Teide in winter, you arrive in a completely different climate. The high-mountain climate normals come from AEMET's Izaña station, at 2369 metres (in the municipality of Güímar), and according to the 1981 to 2010 normals, the average daily mean temperature there in January is 4.3 degrees, with an average maximum of 7.5 and an average minimum of 1.1 degrees. There are on average 12.3 days of frost in January, 8.3 in December and 9.0 in March. Snow days average 2.4 in January, 2.5 in February, 2.1 in March and 1.6 in December.
According to the official visitor guide of Teide National Park, almost the whole park lies above 2000 metres and should be treated as a high-mountain area with an extreme climate. It asks you to bring hiking boots and warm clothes even when it is hot, because the weather can change quickly, and it warns that at certain times of year parts of the park are covered in ice and snow. The same guide also asks for sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen. You can read the guide here.
When it snows, roads can be closed too. On 2 March 2026 the Cabildo announced that the TF-24 and the TF-21 had been closed overnight because of ice and snow and were only reopened after snow clearing, and it warned of icy patches in the morning. In December 2025, with snow forecast from Storm Emilia, the Cabildo did not close the roads but restricted access for private cars, and free buses took visitors up from Vilaflor, La Esperanza and Aguamansa. The lesson is simple: before you set off, check the road conditions on the Cabildo's road information page, as the Cabildo itself asks.
You can read about the summit permit and the cable car here: Teide summit: permit and cable car. We have collected the park's hiking routes on our listing page. If you want to stay on for stargazing after dark, it gets colder still; we wrote about that in our stargazing article.
Winter UV: sunscreen is not just for summer
According to AEMET's monthly UV reports, the highest values in Spain are generally measured in the Canary Islands, because of their southerly latitude. The same reports point out that UV radiation depends more on altitude and less on cloud cover, because a large part of it is diffuse. So a cloudy winter day will not necessarily stop you getting burnt.
The monthly maximums at the Izaña observatory in the winter of 2025/26: 7.5 in November, 5.7 in December, 7.2 in January and 8.6 in February. In the same months, the highest values on the mainland were 4.1, 2.3, 3.2 and 5.1. On AEMET's scale, 6 to 7 is high and 8 to 10 is very high. These are peak values measured at 2371 metres, and since UV depends strongly on altitude, expect lower numbers on the coast. Sunscreen and sunglasses belong in your bag there too.
You can check the daily forecast on AEMET's UV page, which has a separate map for the Canary Islands.
What to put in your suitcase
Swimwear and a big towel, because the sea is still for swimming in winter; it is only getting out that feels cooler.
Layers: short sleeves for the day, a jumper or light jacket for the evening.
If you are going up Teide: a warm jacket, hat, gloves and closed shoes with good grip or hiking boots, because it can be around freezing up there, with ice.
A light rain jacket or windcheater if you are staying in the north, going to La Palma or hiking in the mountains.
Sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, in winter too, and especially in the mountains.
A thin wetsuit if you snorkel a lot or want to stay in the water for a long time.
If you are still deciding which island to go to, our guide on which Canary Island to choose will help. And if Saharan dust blows in, we have gathered what to do in our calima article.
In short
The sea is around 22 to 23 degrees in November, 20 in January, and 19 in February and March (the average of four buoys off Tenerife and Gran Canaria).
There is no buoy data for the other islands, so do not blindly assume the same figure there.
In January on the coast it is 20 to 22 degrees by day and 14 to 17 at night: short sleeves and a jumper.
At Izaña, 2369 metres up, the average January minimum is 1 degree; there can be snow and ice, and the roads up to Teide are sometimes closed.
In winter it rains more often in the north than in the south.
UV is high in winter too, and in the mountains it can be very high.
Sources: Puertos del Estado, indicator of daily average seawater temperature and its methodology (daily data series 2005 to 2026; the monthly averages are our own calculation), and the Spanish Ministry of Transport's press release of July 2026; AEMET, climate normals 1981 to 2010 (Izaña, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the Tenerife Norte, Tenerife Sur, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma and El Hierro airports); AEMET, monthly UV and ozone reports (November 2025 to February 2026) and UV information; MITECO, Parque Nacional del Teide, visitor guide; Cabildo de Tenerife, press releases (19 December 2025, 2 March 2026) and road information page.
Cover photo (cropped): Playa de Las Teresitas at midday in January, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Carlos Teixidor Cadenas, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.