What 300 days of sun actually means for your trip

The sunshine figure gets quoted a lot without much explanation of what it changes. In practice it means the shoulder seasons work: April, May, October and November are reliably warm enough for the terrace and the pool, which is not true of most of the Spanish coast.

Winter is mild rather than warm. January days sit around 17°C, which is short-sleeves weather in the sun and a jumper once it goes down. Golf is comfortable all year, and the courses are noticeably quieter.

When rain does come it tends to arrive as a short, heavy autumn storm rather than a grey week. It is worth having one indoor plan — Cartagena's Roman theatre museum is the usual choice — and not much more.