Spain’s highly-anticipated chiringuito season will officially begin at the start of Semana Santa (Holy Week) this weekend.
The beach bars are synonymous with Spanish summers and see locals and tourists alike enjoy fresh fish, paella or grilled sardines – all while sipping on ice-cold cañas (small beers) or vino.
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This year, the Beach Business Association (Faeplayas) has a ‘good outlook’ for the season in Andalucia, which begins this Easter and runs through October.
While a lot of venues have special permission to open all-year round, particularly on the Costa del Sol, other locations are forced to close over winter, including most in Cadiz, Huelva and some in Almeria.
The demand for beach days will be through the roof this year following one of the wettest Marches in years, which saw a succession of intense storms that claimed several lives.
Faeplayas said the weather in March was ‘inconvenient’ for beach bars, with most forcing to close due to the severe conditions.
But the rain is far from over as Storm Olivier continues to brew over the Atlantic.
According to state weather agency Aemet, Andalucia will remain very mild for the first half of this week, with highs of 28C predicted in some areas on Wednesday.
But on Thursday, rain storms will arrive and could stick around until Holy Tuesday.
Aemet told Europa Press that the whole province will experience rainfall, but the western half (Sevilla, Huelva, Cadiz) will be worst hit.
It means the beaches of Malaga, Almeria and Granada could be offered a reprieve from the intense rain.
An expert told Europa Press that it is still too early to tell with certainty what will happen in the second half of Holy Week.
