Águilas Carnival: Murcia's Best Winter Festival Near Roda Golf

I nearly missed it the first year I lived here. A neighbour knocked on my door on a Thursday evening in February and said, simply, "You're coming to Águilas." No explanation, no context. Two hours later I was standing on a narrow street in a town I'd barely heard of, watching a woman in a six-foot feathered headdress samba past me while a brass band played loud enough to rattle my teeth. That was my introduction to one of the best parties in Spain, and I've made the drive down the AP-7 every February since.

The Águilas Carnival doesn't get the press that Cádiz or Tenerife attracts. That's partly why it's better.

What Makes Águilas Different From Every Other Carnival

Declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest, the Águilas Carnival is one of the oldest in Spain, with roots stretching back to the 19th century. But knowing that statistic doesn't prepare you for actually being there. The comparsas, the elaborately costumed groups who parade through town, spend the entire year preparing. We're talking hundreds of people in coordinated, handmade costumes that take your breath away. Not in a generic way. I mean genuinely, you stop walking and you stare with your mouth open.

What separates this from the big commercial carnivals is the community feel. Águilas is a working fishing town of about 35,000 people. The carnival is theirs. You feel that. The local families, the old men watching from plastic chairs outside the bar, the teenagers who've been rehearsing their murga (the satirical musical group) since October. It has roots. It has soul.

The 2026 carnival runs across multiple weekends in February, with the main parade on the last Saturday before Ash Wednesday and the famous Burial of the Sardine on Shrove Tuesday to close proceedings. Check the Águilas town hall website for exact dates, as the programme is packed.

The Drive Down from Roda Golf (And Why It's Worth Every Kilometre)

From Roda Golf and the Los Alcazares area, you're looking at roughly 70 kilometres to Águilas, mostly on the AP-7 motorway heading south towards Almería. Budget about an hour each way, maybe a touch more if you're leaving when the parades are finishing and half of Murcia is on the same road.

My honest advice: go on a Saturday evening and stay overnight. There are some decent small hotels and apartments in town, and the night parade is a completely different beast from the afternoon one. The costumes are lit, the crowd is thicker, the atmosphere is electric in a way that the daytime procession, lovely as it is, simply doesn't match. Book accommodation weeks ahead if you're going for the main Saturday parade. The town fills up fast.

If you're staying near Roda Golf and looking for the ideal base for exploring festivals like this one, our holiday rentals near Roda Golf put you within easy reach of the whole Costa Cálida coastline, Águilas included.

Where to Watch the Parade

The main route runs along the seafront and through the town centre. Here's what the tourist leaflets won't tell you: don't bother fighting for a spot on the seafront boulevard in the hour before the parade starts. Everyone else has the same idea and you'll spend the evening craning your neck. Instead, find a position on one of the side streets where the comparsas pause to regroup and perform. You'll be close enough to see the embroidery on the costumes and hear the music properly. Ask any local and they'll point you somewhere the crowds thin out.

Also, bring layers. February nights in Águilas can be mild, but the sea breeze off the Mediterranean picks up after ten o'clock and you'll feel it if you're standing still for a few hours.

Before and After: Getting More Out of Águilas

If you're making the trip, don't just arrive for the parade and drive home. Águilas itself is worth a few hours of exploration. The castle up on the headland has views over a coastline that doesn't feel like it belongs in the same country as the package holiday strips of the Costa del Sol. Down below, there are proper beaches. In February, you might have them near enough to yourself.

The town centre tapas bars are the real thing. None of that nonsense where they charge you separately for the tapa. Go to the streets around Plaza de España and order a caña. The food will follow. Fried fish, local prawns, a bit of this and that. You won't spend much. You won't leave hungry.

There's also a market on Saturday mornings, before the afternoon parade begins, which is a good way to kill a few hours and pick up some local produce. Aguiñas is in a slightly different growing zone to the Mar Menor area, and you'll spot tomatoes and citrus that look different from what the supermercado stocks.

The Burial of the Sardine

Don't miss the closing ceremony if you can possibly manage it. The Burial of the Sardine (Entierro de la Sardina) takes place on Shrove Tuesday and involves a mock funeral procession carrying a giant papier-mâché sardine through town before burning it on the beach. It sounds absurd. It is absurd. It's also genuinely moving in the way that old folk traditions are when they've been kept alive properly by people who actually care about them. Children cry theatrical tears, elderly women wail dramatically, fireworks go off. The sardine burns. Carnival is over for another year.

The tradition supposedly marks the end of the feasting before Lent, though the symbolic significance has become secondary to the spectacle. Águilas does it bigger than anywhere else in Murcia.

Making a Long Weekend of It

February is honestly one of my favourite months to be on the Costa Cálida. The golf courses are quiet, the restaurants have their regulars back rather than tourist crowds, and the weather is reliably sunny even if the evenings are cool. A weekend that combines a round or two at the local golf courses around Roda Golf, a day trip to Águilas for the carnival, and a long lunch somewhere along the Mar Menor shore is about as good a few days as this part of Spain offers.

Cartagena is also on the way back from Águilas if you take the scenic route north rather than the motorway, which I'd recommend at least once. Follow the coast road through Mazarrón and you'll hit beaches that most visitors never find.

If you want any help planning a stay in the area around carnival time, or any other point in the year, get in touch with the team at Roda Golf Spain. We know the area well enough to point you in the right direction, whether that's accommodation, golf, or just where to eat before a parade. And if you want to explore more of what Murcia does well in winter, have a browse through the local area articles on the blog. There's more going on in this corner of Spain than most people expect.

The sardine doesn't burn until Tuesday. You've got time to get there.