Where is hot in December: 10 places with real beach weather

Ten places that are reliably hot in December, compared on official climate averages: daytime highs, how much rain falls and how long the flight is, plus the places people assume are warm and are not.

Destinations7 min readBy Artak GhazaryanPublished

Photo: Fernando Garcia / Unsplash

At a glance

  • Closest real warmth from the UK: Tenerife, about 4 hours 20 minutes away, with an average December high of 22°C (72°F).
  • Hot and almost rain-free: Sharm el-Sheikh (23°C), Sal in Cape Verde (25°C) and Dubai (26°C), all under seven hours from London.
  • For 28°C and above you need a long-haul flight: Cancun, Barbados, Phuket or the Maldives.
  • Hottest is not driest: Malé in the Maldives averages 217 mm of rain in December and Bali 276 mm.
  • Not warm enough for the beach: Málaga, the Algarve, Malta and Antalya all average about 17°C by day.

Where is hot in December depends on how far you are willing to fly. Within about seven hours of London, only the Canary Islands, Egypt’s Red Sea coast, Cape Verde and Dubai reach beach temperatures, with average daytime highs of 22 to 26°C (72 to 79°F). For 28°C and above you need the Caribbean, Mexico, Thailand or the Maldives. The ten places below are compared on official climate averages published through the World Meteorological Organization, and each comes with its December rainfall, because several of the hottest are also the wettest.

Where is hot in December: ten places compared

Sharm el-Sheikh and Sal get under 2 mm of rain in the whole of December. Malé in the Maldives gets 217 mm. So the table gives rainfall beside temperature, along with a rain-risk grade of our own: low under 20 mm, moderate from 20 to 100 mm, high above that.

Destination Average daytime high December rainfall Rain risk Nonstop from London
Tenerife, Canary Islands 22°C (72°F) 43 mm Moderate About 4 hr 20 min
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt 23°C (74°F) 1 mm Low About 5 hr 30 min
Miami, Florida 24°C (76°F) 51 mm Moderate About 9 hr
Cape Town, South Africa 25°C (77°F) 17 mm Low About 11 hr 30 min
Sal, Cape Verde 25°C (77°F) 2 mm Low About 6 hr 15 min
Dubai, UAE 26°C (79°F) 14 mm Low About 6 hr 50 min
Cancun, Mexico 28°C (83°F) 96 mm Moderate 10 to 11 hr
Barbados 30°C (85°F) 91 mm Moderate About 8 hr 50 min
Malé, Maldives 30°C (86°F) 217 mm High About 10 hr 20 min
Phuket, Thailand 32°C (89°F) 62 mm Moderate About 12 hr
Bar chart of average December daytime highs, from Tenerife at 22°C to Phuket at 32°C
Average December daytime high in °C. Everything under seven hours from London sits at 26°C or below. Source: national weather services via the WMO World Weather Information Service; Barbados Meteorological Services.

These are long-term December averages supplied by each country’s weather service. The reference periods differ, with some running from 1961 to 1990 and others from 1991 to 2020, so treat a gap of one degree between two places as a tie. The flight column uses London because all ten places have an airline-published nonstop time from there. Readers in the US will find their own shortlist further down.

Hot places in December within seven hours of London

Tenerife, Canary Islands: 22°C

Nothing closer to the UK is reliably warm in December. The Canary Islands belong to Spain but lie off the coast of Morocco, about 4 hours 20 minutes from London Gatwick. Santa Cruz de Tenerife averages a high of 22.1°C and 43 mm of rain, and Las Palmas on Gran Canaria is almost identical at 22.2°C. It is the obvious choice for families who want sun without a long flight. Expect 22°C to feel warm enough to lie on a beach at midday, and no more than that. Nights drop to about 17°C, so pack a layer for the evening.

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt: 23°C

A week without rain is close to guaranteed on the Red Sea. Sharm el-Sheikh’s December average is 1.3 mm, which in practice means none, and Hurghada on the opposite shore is the same story. Days reach 23°C. Nights fall to 15°C, cooler than most people pack for. British Airways puts the flight from Gatwick at about five and a half hours, and British passport holders staying under 15 days in the Sharm resorts do not need a visa.

Before you book, read the Foreign Office’s Egypt page for the area you are going to. It was updated on 27 October 2026 with a warning about regional tensions.

Sal, Cape Verde: 25°C

Fly two hours further than the Canaries and you gain three degrees and lose the rain. Sal averages 25.2°C by day with 1.6 mm of rain, and TUI gives the flight from Gatwick as 6 hours 15 minutes. It is an arid island, so this is a beach trip and little else.

Dubai: 26°C

By December, days in Dubai are down to 26°C and nights to around 15°C, with barely any rain, so the city works as well for sightseeing as for the beach. British Airways gives the flight from London as 6 hours 50 minutes. You can compare hotels in Dubai or check flights from London to Dubai before the Christmas weeks fill.

One caution for this winter: the Foreign Office’s UAE page, updated on 27 October 2026, tells travellers to be prepared for flight cancellations and airspace closures at short notice.

Burj Al Arab on the coast in front of the Dubai skyline and Burj Khalifa
Dubai averages 26°C by day in December, with 14 mm of rain. Photo: Anubhav Sonker / Unsplash.

Long-haul heat: the hottest places in December

Barbados: 30°C

From the UK, this is the shortest flight on the list to 30°C: British Airways flies from Heathrow and Gatwick in about 8 hours 50 minutes. The island’s weather service records an average high of 29.6°C, nights of 24°C and 8.2 hours of sunshine a day in December. Rain falls on 11 days and totals 91 mm, and the sunshine figure tells you the showers do not last.

Cancun, Mexico: 28°C

Mexico’s Caribbean coast is hotter than Florida and wetter. Cancun averages 28.2°C by day and 21°C at night, with 96 mm of rain spread over about ten days of the month. Virgin Atlantic flies nonstop from Heathrow three times a week this winter, taking 10 to 11 hours, on a seasonal schedule that ends on 11 April 2027. Compare hotels in Cancun.

Phuket, Thailand: 32°C

The hottest place in the table is also the furthest: about 12 hours from Gatwick on TUI’s figures, for an average high of 31.5°C and 62 mm of rain. If you are going that far, add Bangkok. The capital is as hot and drier still, at 31.3°C and 10 mm; see hotels in Bangkok and flights from London to Bangkok.

Check the length of your trip against the entry rules. The Foreign Office’s Thailand page, updated on 12 October 2026, says the visa-free stay for tourists is up to 30 days for anyone arriving from 15 September 2026.

Cape Town, South Africa: 25°C

Cape Town is in the southern hemisphere, so December is midsummer there: dry, with 17 mm of rain, and warm without being scorching. Nights cool to 15°C. The clock is only two hours ahead of the UK, so there is no jet lag after the 11 and a half hour flight.

The Maldives: 30°C

Malé is hot around the clock, never averaging below 25°C even at night. It is also wet on the long-term record, with 217 mm over 12 days. If an unbroken week of sun is the whole point, the figures favour Barbados or Phuket.

Warm places to visit in December from the US

From the US the shortlist reorders itself. Miami needs no passport and averages 24.4°C (76°F) by day and 19°C (66°F) at night; it is the coolest pick here, so plan a city-and-beach trip, not a week in the sea. Honolulu is warmer, at 27.3°C (81°F), with 82 mm of rain. Cancun (83°F) and Barbados (85°F) are the hot options, and both are far closer to the East Coast than to Europe: see flights from New York to Miami and from New York to Cancun. Dubai is the long one, at 12 hours 30 minutes nonstop from JFK on Emirates’ schedule.

Aerial view of Miami Beach hotels along a turquoise shoreline
Miami Beach. December highs average 24°C (76°F). Photo: Antonio Cuellar / Unsplash.

Two places Americans assume are warm fall short. Los Angeles averages 19.8°C (68°F). Orlando reaches 22.3°C (72°F) by day but 12°C (54°F) at night, which is fine for theme parks and cold for a pool.

Where is it not warm enough in December?

Southern Europe is mild in December, not hot, and it is wet. None of these places reaches 20°C on an average afternoon:

  • Paphos, Cyprus: 19.6°C, with 87 mm of rain
  • Málaga: 17.5°C, with 100 mm
  • Faro in the Algarve, and Malta: 16.7°C
  • Antalya: 16.7°C, with 263 mm of rain
  • Athens: 14.1°C

Marrakech is a different case. It reaches 20°C in the afternoon and falls to 7°C at night.

Heat is not the problem in Bali, which averages 33°C in December. The 276 mm of rain, falling on 22 days of the month, is. Singapore is wetter still at 332 mm.

What to check before you book a December sun holiday

Start with the route. The Foreign Office warns anyone travelling to or through the Middle East to expect possible cancellations and airspace closures, which touches Dubai and Egypt directly and any trip to Thailand, Bali or the Maldives that connects through a Gulf hub. With advice changing, a free-cancellation hotel rate is worth a little extra this year.

If you are flying from the UK to the US, the Foreign Office’s USA page, updated on 30 October 2026, says that from 3 November you must sign a form before boarding to say whether you have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the past 21 days.

Then the dates. Christmas and New Year are the busiest weeks of the winter and the first half of the month is quieter. The season chart on each of our hotel pages shows demand month by month, and our guide on when to book flights explains how far ahead to look.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the hottest place in Europe in December?

The Canary Islands, which are part of Spain although they lie off the coast of Morocco. Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria both average a daytime high of about 22°C in December, around five degrees warmer than Málaga, the Algarve or Malta. Anything hotter means leaving Europe for Egypt, Cape Verde or Dubai.

Where is warm in December in the US?

Honolulu and Miami. Honolulu averages a December high of 27.3°C (81°F) with 82 mm of rain, and Miami 24.4°C (76°F) with 51 mm. Orlando reaches 22.3°C (72°F) by day but nights fall to about 12°C (54°F), and Los Angeles averages just under 20°C (68°F), so neither is dependable pool weather.

Is December a rainy month in the Caribbean?

It is showery, not wet. Barbados records 91 mm of rain on about 11 days in an average December, yet still gets 8.2 hours of sunshine a day, according to the Barbados Meteorological Services. Cancun, on Mexico's Caribbean coast, averages 96 mm. Both are far drier than the Maldives or Bali in the same month.

Sources

Artak Ghazaryan

Written by

Editor, Save60

Rules, taxes and transport links change. Check official sources for anything your trip depends on. Spotted something out of date?

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