Our Tips · Families

Rainy Day Things to Do in Andalucía with Kids

By AndaluciaTours · · 5 min read

A lit path between stalactites inside a Málaga cave, a rainy-day idea for families in Andalucía

A wet day in Andalucía is the day to make the most of atmospheric caves, creative museums, or sports. This guide covers the indoor attractions that help you entertain a full day with children.

Quick answer

  • Parque de las Ciencias in Granada is the strongest wet-weather option in the region: 70,000 sq m, two indoor buildings, a planetarium, free lockers for wet coats and high chairs in the cafes.
  • Caves are weather-proof by definition e.g. Cueva de Nerja runs open sessions or guided tours that last up to 2hrs.
  • If rain cancels your Caminito del Rey booking, there is a formal ticket-redemption process and a closure-alert channel.
  • Consider museums, markets or indoor sports. Our own list is comprehensive and caters for all interests: our Discover guide

Rain in Andalucía usually comes in short spells, and some areas are much drier than others. A wet day on a week-long holiday is more likely to change your plans than ruin them.

Some of the region’s best attractions work especially well in the rain. Caves stay dry, museums and palaces are often quieter, and covered markets are easy to enjoy. The key is simply having a few backup ideas ready.

Below are some of the best places and activities for a rainy day.

1. Parque de las Ciencias, Granada

Best for ages 3-15. Allow a full day.

The one attraction here that can absorb an entire rainy day without anyone getting bored. It is the most visited museum in Andalucía, with more than 600,000 visitors a year across 70,000 sq m, including 5,000 sq m of temporary exhibitions.

Official site: parqueciencias.com

Almost everything is under a roof and split across two buildings. The Macroscopio holds Journey to the Human Body, Leonardo da Vinci, Tecno-Foro, Margarita Salas and Culture of Prevention pavilions plus BioDomo. The Foucault Pendulum building holds the Biosfera, Explora, Percepcion and Eureka halls plus the planetarium, which recreates more than 7,000 stars in 360 degrees across around ten programmes. Around ten workshops run daily, open to all audiences.

Two scheduling notes. Build the day around the planetarium timetable: sessions run roughly hourly, are confirmed at the ticket desk, and there is no admission once one has begun. And the free picnic area is a tent – the 27,000 sq m of green space will not help in rain, so budget for the cafes or plan to eat in the covered tent.

2. Cueva de Nerja

Best for ages 4+. Allow 50 minutes, plus the museum.

Once you are inside, the forecast stops mattering. The visit takes approximately 50 minutes, which is honest rather than generous – this alone will not fill a rainy day, so pair it with the Nerja Museum in town, presented as the reference centre for the town’s history and natural and cultural heritage from prehistory to the present.

Official site: cuevadenerja.es

Book online: tickets carry an exact time, use a dedicated entrance that avoids queueing outdoors, and can be shown as a QR code on a phone without printing. No changes or refunds. The free app audio guide covers 15 languages and includes a children’s version in Spanish and English.

Two warnings. The interior is stepped – more than 458 steps with several level changes – and can feel humid and close, so it is not for everyone. Buggies stay in the cloakroom. The quietest window is 10:00-11:30. Opening is 09:15-16:30 with last entry 15:30, extending to 09:15-17:30 in summer, at Christmas, on holiday long weekends and from the Friday of Sorrows to Easter Sunday.

3. What is actually on today

All ages. Free to search.

The Agenda Cultural de Andalucía is a public Junta portal covering all eight provinces, and it is participative, and organisers publish directly into it, which is why municipal children’s workshops, library events and free exhibitions appear there and nowhere else. Filter by date interval, by province and by target audience, including families and children.

Official site: juntadeandalucia.es

Use the same portal’s venue directory, which indexes museums, cultural spaces, cinemas, auditoriums and theatres, to find indoor options near wherever you are. Listings carry venue details, opening hours, directions and – the part that matters on a wet day when everyone heads indoors at once – access conditions, distinguishing slots requiring prior reservation from free entry admitted in order of arrival.

4. Caminito del Rey cancelled because of bad weather

Read this before you write off the tickets.

The Caminito is the trip rain cancels, and families holding tickets usually assume the money is lost. It is not. The official booking platform publishes a dedicated meteorology page and a formal “redeem tickets by closing” process for visitors whose date is cancelled, both linked from the site header, and it runs a Telegram channel for closure announcements.

Official site: caminitodelrey.info

The reason for closures is worth knowing: rain and wind cause rockfalls on the gorge walls. And a closure is not always total – in 2017 the restored interior of the water canal reopened as a 300 m lit route through the rock, specifically so that bad weather does not always force a full closure or make walkers retrace their steps.

So on a wet morning check the meteorology page, check the alert channel, and if it is closed, start the redemption process before booking anything else.

5. Many other fallback options

Not every wet day needs a plan. Andalucía’s palaces, food markets and historic quarters are all more comfortable in the rain than in August heat, and they are quieter. If your children are small and the forecast is only showery, a covered market for an early lunch and a museum afterwards or sporting activities can make the day complete.

Check out AndaluciaTours’ comprehensive list of vetted places, to find something everyone in the family likes: our Discover guide

Final thoughts

A wet day may be surprising to many, but it can happen in Andalucía. There are options to keep the family entertained indoors, such as markets, museums, caves and many more ideas.

If you would rather not improvise in the wet, our recommended family tours build indoor alternatives into the itinerary, so a change in the forecast does not mean a change of plan.

Plan it with AndaluciaTours

Rather have the tickets, timings and transport sorted? Our guided tours cover Andalucía’s highlights, from short visits to multi-day trips.

Browse toursExplore Andalucía

More tips

All tips →