Wintering in Spain: what does it cost per month?

Real contract rents for the 105 towns where January afternoons average 16 °C or more, with the winter climate, holiday-let supply, flights and hospitals; and why a winter let costs more than these figures.

The first question after "where is it warm?" is "what will it cost?". Spain's tax data give the median rent actually paid for a typical apartment in each town (2024, annual contracts). For the 105 towns with January afternoons of 16 °C or more, the median is 515 € a month (all 333 towns: 536 €). That is the floor, not the price of a furnished winter let: a three-month let in a resort usually costs 1.5 to 2.5 times the annual rent per month, and more where holiday lets are scarce. Use the table to compare towns, then expect to pay above it.

The cheapest warm towns

Cieza* is the cheapest: 350 € for a typical 90 m² apartment, January afternoons of 16.2°C.

Cheap, warm, and with a flight home and a hospital

Keeping only the towns with a public hospital within 25 km and an airport within 100 km that flies to Amsterdam or Brussels all year leaves 99 towns; the cheapest is Cieza* (350 €).

The Canary Islands

The only region with towns averaging 20 °C on January afternoons; rents are higher than on the cheap mainland coasts, flights are longer (about 4 hours from Amsterdam) but year-round.

Where winter lets are easiest to find

The share of homes listed as holiday lets is a measure of supply. These towns have the most; prices there follow demand from northern Europe, but there is choice, and off-season discounts are common.

What else to budget

Heating: Spanish apartments are built for summer; a January night of 4.8°C outside means a cold flat without heating, and electric heating costs more than the rent difference between two towns. Health insurance: EU pensioners can use the public system with the S1 form (Dutch: via your zorgverzekeraar), others need private cover. Flights: the winter article lists which airports fly to Amsterdam and Brussels all year, and the compare tool can filter on it.

* = climate estimated from nearby stations.

How we did this

Rents: SERPAVI 2024 (Ministry of Housing), median monthly rent and typical size for apartments, and the median for houses, from tax returns on annual contracts; no official statistic exists for seasonal lets, hence the 1.5-2.5 multiplier, which is a rule of thumb from portal asking prices, not a measurement. Climate: AEMET 1991-2020 (estimates *). Holiday lets: INE May 2026. Flights: route tables 4 Oct 2026. Hospitals: Ministry of Health 2025. Built 2026-10-18.