On the Costa de la Luz, the wind does most of the work.

Are there mosquitoes in Cádiz? Some, mostly on calm evenings, and the Costa de la Luz has a reputation for fewer bites than Spain's Mediterranean side. The wind that makes Tarifa a kitesurfing center tends to keep the Atlantic beaches clear. West Nile virus circulates in the province in most years, with far fewer human cases than in Seville province. Our Spain briefing covers the rest of the country.

West Nile in Cádiz province

West Nile is spread by Culex mosquitoes that bite from dusk through the night, and in Cádiz it shows up most years in horses, birds or mosquitoes, with human cases in outbreak years.

• 2020: 14 of Spain's 77 human cases, the first identified on September 11, and 49 outbreaks in horses, second only to Seville province.
• 2024: 3 human cases, by the count of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and 10 outbreaks in horses. Spain's Ministry of Health called La Janda, the province's special monitoring district, less affected than the lower Guadalquivir around Seville.
• 2025: no human infections were traced to Cádiz, though the virus turned up in mosquitoes and a bird.
• 2026: 2 confirmed human cases as of October 21, in ECDC's weekly count, out of 145 in Spain. Seville province had 65.

The ministry puts the mosquito season at May to November, with West Nile risk highest at the end of summer and the start of autumn. Most infections are mild or cause no symptoms, travelers over 60 face the most risk of severe illness, and there is no vaccine. Spain's first locally acquired dengue, in 2018, may have been caught in Cádiz province, Murcia or Catalonia, but there was no local dengue or chikungunya in Spain in 2025 or 2026 through October 21. ECDC's map shows the day-biting tiger mosquito established in the province.

Windy beaches, buggy marsh edges

The Atlantic beaches from Cádiz city south through Conil, Vejer, Barbate and Tarifa tend to be windy with the Levante and Poniente, and wind keeps mosquitoes down. Calm, warm evenings are when Culex come out. The river and marsh edges are buggier. Sanlúcar de Barrameda faces Doñana across the mouth of the Guadalquivir, and a 2010 trapping program inside the park caught 972,346 female mosquitoes from March to November. The salt marshes of the Bay of Cádiz around San Fernando, Puerto Real and Chiclana, and the farmland of La Janda behind Vejer and Barbate, are other likely spots. In town, the tiger mosquito bites by day in gardens, patios and potted plants.

Put repellent on before evening tapas from July to October, especially at Bajo Guía in Sanlúcar, on boat trips into Doñana and near the marshes, and add a daytime coat in gardens for the tiger mosquito. On a windy day in Tarifa you may need little. Choose an air-conditioned room or keep the windows shut at night. Stationed at Naval Station Rota? Case counts are published only for the province as a whole, so follow your base medical clinic's guidance.

June is the easy month

June is the easiest summer month, and late August into October is the time to take most care around La Janda, the Bay of Cádiz marshes and Sanlúcar. Spring is quieter, and mosquitoes stay active into November, so keep the evening habit on an October trip.

Where you're going

How the province compares for a June–September trip.

Heading inland? Our Seville briefing covers the river towns and Doñana's rice marshes, where Spain's West Nile cases cluster.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from a TripAdvisor thread and a review and linked so you can read them in full. Neither is dated, and the province's West Nile seasons swing from year to year.

• Cádiz

  Asked whether there are mosquitoes in Cádiz, a poster said yes and advised bringing a repellent with a high DEET content, adding that you might be lucky and have no problem; the reply warned that golf-course accommodation would be worse and that towns are a lot better. TripAdvisor ↗

• Bajo Guía, Sanlúcar de Barrameda

  A reviewer called the riverside Bajo Guía area a nice, safe place to walk but warned of a significant mosquito population because of the river and nearby marshes, and said it is best enjoyed with an anti-mosquito spray or other repellent. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell the doctor you were in Cádiz province. A fever with headache, stiff neck or confusion within two weeks of a summer or autumn stay needs prompt care.

Traveler questions