Maroween 2026

• The day changes: from Saturday 31 October to Sunday 1 November.
• The programme and times stay: the Town Council confirms the activities planned from 17:00 (parade, chestnut and sweet potato tasting, costume contests and live music).
• To be confirmed: the shuttle bus (the poster announced it for 31 October) and the talk “La Muerte no es el Final” (planned for 1 November at 18:00). The postponement notice does not mention them; see below.

Maroween 2026 programme (same times, now on Sunday 1 November)

This is the official programme from the Town Council press release of 26 October and the festival's timetable, which the Town Council keeps after the postponement:

Shuttle bus Nerja–Maro–Nerja: to be confirmed for 1 November

According to the official Maroween 2026 poster (with the logos of Nerja Town Council, the Junta de Festejos de Maro and Grupo Verano Azul, the local bus operator), there would be a bus service between Nerja and Maro from 17:00 to 02:00, but the poster announced it for 31 October. The postponement notice does not say whether it runs on 1 November, so check nerja.es or at the stop before counting on it. These were the stops on the poster; in Nerja the service used the town bus stops and in Maro the entrance to the village:

• Outbound (Nerja → Maro): Hotel Toboso Chaparil, Clínica Rincón, La Ermita, Kiosco Cerica, opposite the Health Centre and the Cueva de Maro bus stop.
• Return (Maro → Nerja): Cueva de Maro bus stop, Estadio Deportivo (sports ground), Health Centre, La Ermita and Hotel Toboso Chaparil.

The poster does not give the fare or how often the bus runs either.

Costume and façade contests

Sign-up for the costume contests is at 17:30 (the programme does not say where or whether there are requirements; ask the organisers when you arrive). The children's contest starts at 19:30 on the red carpet and its prizes are handed out at 20:30. The adults' contest starts at 21:00, also on the red carpet and with DJ Toulalan, and at 22:00 its prizes and the prize for the scariest façade are given out. The festival committee encouraged neighbours to decorate façades, balconies and windows (post of 19-10-2026).

Maroween 2026 with children: the times that matter

For families the afternoon is best: attractions from 18:00, trick-or-treat at 18:30, chestnuts and the spooky treasure hunt at 19:00, the children's costume contest at 19:30, Zumba at 20:00 and the children's prizes at 20:30. Arrive around 17:00 to see the first parade, have time to sign up at 17:30 and find parking more easily. From 21:00 the party is more for adults: the costume contest, prizes at 22:00, Carmen Soto's concert at 23:00 and a DJ until 2 am.

What is Maroween and who organises it?

Maroween is Maro's Chestnut and Sweet Potato Festival with a Halloween theme. It is not a commercial Halloween: the autumn tradition of roasting chestnuts and sweet potatoes blends with the pumpkins, cobwebs and skeletons that residents put up in the streets and on their houses. It is organised by Nerja Town Council, through its department of popular traditions, and Maro's festival committee (Junta de Festejos de Maro). Councillor Elena Gálvez thanks villagers, visitors and participants for their understanding about the change of date, and Maro's local mayor, Nuchi Moreno, invited villagers and visitors to prepare their scariest costumes and enjoy the streets of Maro. Residents were making the decorations from 19 October at the community hall (Junta de Festejos, 18-10-2026).

Getting to Maroween 2026 and where to park

Maro is about 4 km from Nerja town centre along the N-340, just past the Nerja Caves. If you drive, the village fills up that afternoon and the streets are narrow, so the easiest option is to leave the car at the new Maro car park or the Maro car park and walk up to the Plaza de la Iglesia.

The talk “La Muerte no es el Final”: to be confirmed

The talk “La Muerte no es el Final: contacto con el otro lado” (Death is not the end: contact with the other side) by parapsychology researcher Juanma García (with Espacio Insólito) was announced for Sunday 1 November from 18:00 to 20:00 at the Hogar y Centro Social de Maro (Urbanización Maro Club, 1C), as part of the Maroween 2026 programme. It now falls on the day of the postponed party and the Town Council's notice does not mention it, so we do not know whether it stays, or moves to another time or day. It is in Spanish, and the poster did not give a price or say whether you must register.

Halloween 2026 in Nerja: how to plan the day

Maroween is the Halloween party organised by Nerja Town Council and this year it is the plan for the afternoon and evening of Sunday 1 November. If you are making a day of it, visit the Nerja Caves, 1 km from Maro, in the morning or go down to Maro beach, then head up to Maro village in the afternoon. Maro is small: if you want a sit-down dinner, book or eat earlier in Nerja. Maro's next big day is the Choto Day in November.

Maroween in previous years

In 2025 the party started at 17:00 on 31 October, with a parade by the Vaso Largo band, chestnuts and sweet potatoes, trick-or-treat, workshops and games, costume and façade contests and performances by Carmen Soto and DJ Toulalan (Town Council, 27-10-2025; report of 1-11-2025). In 2024 it was also postponed, to Sunday 3 November, because of the national mourning for the victims of the DANA floods (Town Council, 30-10-2024).