Southern Spain during Carnival - avoiding the craziness

The below link has information on carnival in Andalucía and it focuses on Cádiz Provnce. As you scroll down it specifies towns where it is popular. I guess you’d want to avoid them.

https://www.andalucia.com/festival/carnivals.htm

We stayed in Cadiz in 2024 during their first week of Carnaval (I think it goes for two weeks.). We really enjoyed being there even though we were in our 60’s and appreciate our sleep. The costumes were very clever - not the revealing type you may be thinking of some Carnivals. It was easy to participate or not during our five days there. We never felt like we were in the midst of chaotic behavior during that first week.

Last year I was in Malaga for the big parade day of Carnaval. That was a fun day, but I was surprised that it seemed like a “there & done” event.

With all due respect, maybe you are mistakenly assimilating Carnival in Spain to Spring Break in Florida... and it has nothing to do.

Carnival, especially in southern Spain, in Cádiz and Málaga, is a centuries-old festival full of music, colour, and theatricality. The city of Cádiz, for example, began officially organising these events in the 1860s (eighteen, yes).

The streets come alive with parades, floats, and people dressed in creative costumes. Central to the celebration are chirigotas, comparsas, and coros, performing live songs blending harmony, humour, and sharp social commentary. Families and neighbours participate together, making it a deeply communal event. Traditional Andalusian foods and drinks, like shrimp fritters and sherry, add to the festive atmosphere.

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYJlX8Jph14

While Carnival shares a lively, festive atmosphere with events like American Spring Break, it is fundamentally a rich cultural tradition, blending music, satire, artistry, and city-wide celebration in a uniquely Andalusian way. Sure, you might see some young -and not so young- people overindulging in alcohol, but that is far from the heart (or motive) of the celebration.

Jean and Enric clearly know their stuff. They have convinced me to press Mrs Z that we snowbird next year in Cadiz to coincide with their historic Carnival.
Bk, have you looked into say Vejer or Jerez? Ekscrunchy has a lot of experience there and speaks highly of that area.
I am done. the culture

Rereading @Jean, I just noticed a line of hers that made me smile: “The costumes were very clever, not the revealing type you might be thinking of at some Carnivals.” It really shows the huge differences in how “morality” is seen across the Atlantic. Here in Western Europe, people are much more relaxed about this; hardly anyone bats an eye. We just roll with it, some places more than others.

Funny story, I once had an American young woman on holiday here in my turf, in Catalonia, asking me very seriously where she could find a beach where topless sunbathing wasn’t allowed. I was a bit stunned. Sure, we have plenty of nudist beaches where people can be fully naked, and if that’s not your thing, you just don’t go. But there aren’t any beaches where topless isn’t allowed. On every single beach in Catalonia, you’ll see women and young girls going topless, and nobody cares. And yes, this can be family beaches as well. Often people don’t even notice. It’s just normal. Over here, nudity or topless sunbathing isn’t scandalous, it’s part of life, and no one’s losing sleep over it.

By the way, if the revealing costumes make you uncomfortable, steer clear of the Carnivals in Tenerife or Sitges, among others. You’ll avoid 'the shock', sure, but you’ll also be missing some of the most spectacular, jaw-dropping carnivals Europe has to offer. Sometimes, a little scandal is part of the fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7VnU-_l-QU

Spain, contrary to the idea of many foreigners, is a very liberal, open-minded country, where the rule is "do what you want as long as it does not interfere in my rights". Carnival is celebrated in many different ways throughout Spain, those in the North have little in common to those in the South, for example. In many towns, they are full of mythology and old beliefs and costumes, in a festive atmosphere, where families and people of all ages blend in the party. Do not be surprised to see babies in strollers in every Carnival in Spain, wearing funny costumes, in the middle of this festive family atmosphere and surrounded by music and dancing. Something to really enjoy and be part of it, even if just watching. And perfectly safe. It´s families and friends, not drunkards.

”…families and people of all ages blend in the party. Do not be surprised to see babies in strollers in every Carnival in Spain, wearing funny costumes, in the middle of this festive family atmosphere and surrounded by music and dancing. Something to really enjoy and be part of it, even if just watching.”

Yes, this is what we experienced in Cadiz. We saw very old people - some in wheelchairs, wearing Carnaval hats, families including babies dressed together in a theme. My husband was not a person to dress in costume, and he even voluntarily bought a red sequined hat at an outdoor shop to wear that week. Some of the singing groups were children. One had hats fashioned as open books, another were dressed as neon-colored fish & quite talented! This is what I was trying to convey about the costume type we saw in Cadiz; it wasn’t New Orleans Mardi gras.

I do not think you will be overwhelmed like you would in Rio, New Orleans, or Venice.

My experience in Portugal and Spain is that even if there are parades or public events, they happen at set times, the crowds go home. Away from the central area, it is more like a holiday weekend than party central. Cadiz is probably one exception, a bit longer and more public, but you would need to really research to find other larger carnivals, they are out there, just not every town goes all out. Also, a great deal of the carnival activities happen by invitation only, for galas and dinners, not open to the general public.

On my first trip to Andalucia I deliberately went to Cadiz on the first Sunday of Carnival. Then I went to Jerez, Ronda, other white hill towns, and Granada and Madrid over the next week or so and saw no signs of Carnival.