Where to go in December
352 cities by what the weather does in December. Each group is one search: an afternoon temperature and how much rain you put up with. A city appears once, in the group that fits it best. Open one to see its whole year.
See December on the mapAcross the map, the hottest afternoons in December are in Gili Islands, around 33°C, and the coolest in Ulaanbaatar, around -14°C. Suva is the wettest city, with about 344 mm of rain; Lima the driest, with 0 mm.
Hot in December
Afternoons around 34°C, no rain
33°C
Puerto Escondido MexicoZicatela's Mexican Pipeline break and La Punta's surf-nomad scene, in a boomtown straining at the seams
33°C
Goa IndiaTropical beach paradise — Portuguese heritage, trance parties, yoga retreats, seafood shacks
33°C
Santa Marta ColombiaGateway to Tayrona and Lost City — Caribbean coast meets Sierra Nevada mountains
33°C
Yangon MyanmarGolden pagodas — Shwedagon majesty, colonial architecture, street food, raw and authentic
33°C
Lagos NigeriaAfrica's biggest megacity, Yaba's tech cluster and fintech unicorns, danfo buses on the lagoon bridges
33°C
Accra GhanaYear of Return diaspora hub on the Gulf of Guinea — Black Star history, Osu nightlife, visa needed before you fly
32°C
Ayutthaya ThailandAncient Siamese capital, UNESCO treasure 1hr from Bangkok
32°C
El Zonte El SalvadorThe surf village that sparked El Salvador's Bitcoin experiment, still trading on the Bitcoin Beach name
Warm in December
Afternoons around 30°C, little rain
30°C
Udon Thani ThailandRed Lotus Sea, authentic culture, quiet expat community
30°C
Nakhon Ratchasima ThailandTop 5 global nomad city — authentic Isaan Thailand, incredibly cheap, fast internet, zero tourists
30°C
Bagan MyanmarTemple plains — 2,000+ ancient temples, hot air balloons at sunrise, spiritual and otherworldly
30°C
Khon Kaen ThailandUniversity city, authentic Isan food, growing tech scene
30°C
Pune IndiaDeccan Plateau counterweight to Bangalore, old Maratha capital, cooler nights, same tech scene
30°C
Hua Hin ThailandRoyal resort town — kitesurfing, night markets, expat scene
30°C
Chiang Mai Thailand#1 digital nomad hub — temples, night markets, incredible street food, massive expat community
30°C
Siem Reap CambodiaAngkor Wat gateway — pub street, floating villages, temple sunrise
Mild in December
Afternoons around 25°C, little rain
25°C
León MexicoMexico's leather and footwear capital, turning out about 70% of the country's shoes
25°C
Guadalajara MexicoBirthplace of mariachi and tequila country, now called Mexico's Silicon Valley
24°C
Lima PeruGastronomy capital of Latin America — ceviche, pisco sours, pre-Inca ruins, coastal desert city
24°C
Dahab EgyptRed Sea nomad haven — world-class diving, windsurf paradise, Bedouin vibes, desert meets sea
26°C
Santa Maria Cape VerdeAtlantic island escape — wind, waves, zero tax, €54 visa, Saharan sand beaches, Starlink-connected
24°C
Puebla MexicoBaroque UNESCO centre glazed in hand-painted Talavera tiles, birthplace of mole poblano
24°C
San Miguel de Allende MexicoUNESCO colonial hill town where post-war art schools seeded a big American expat colony
26°C
Muscat OmanPortuguese forts guard the harbour, the Grand Mosque gleams white — a calmer, cheaper alternative to Dubai
Cool in December
Afternoons around 20°C, rain or shine
20°C
Phoenix United StatesSonoran desert sprawl, saguaro-studded mountains in the city limits, brutal but dry summer heat
20°C
Los Angeles United StatesPacific boardwalks from Venice to Santa Monica, Hollywood filmmaking, and freeway sprawl in the sun
20°C
Wellington New ZealandWorld's windiest capital, gale-force Cook Strait winds, a harbour city built on a live fault line
20°C
Bogotá ColombiaHigh-altitude capital — museums, street art, craft coffee, vibrant cultural scene
20°C
Cuenca EcuadorColonial jewel — UNESCO old town, rivers and parks, expat haven, eternal spring at 2,500m
21°C
Valparaiso ChileBohemian port — colorful hillside houses, street art everywhere, Pacific views, UNESCO heritage
21°C
Arequipa PeruHigh-altitude desert under El Misti volcano, sillar-stone colonial core, sun nearly every day
21°C
Mexico City MexicoMega-city with incredible food, art, culture — Latin America's top nomad destination
Tropical in December
Afternoons around 32°C, rain or shine
32°C
Sukhothai ThailandUNESCO ancient ruins — cycle through 700-year-old temples
32°C
Koh Samet ThailandTiny party island 3hrs from Bangkok — white sand, fire shows
32°C
Ho Chi Minh City VietnamElectric energy — street food capital, buzzing motorbikes, amazing cafés
32°C
Barranquilla ColombiaColombia's Caribbean river port, and home to the country's biggest Carnival
32°C
Windhoek NamibiaAfrica's cleanest capital — German colonial architecture, gateway to Sossusvlei, safe and modern
32°C
Cartagena ColombiaWalled colonial city — Caribbean vibes, colorful streets, rooftop bars, beach escapes
32°C
Langkawi MalaysiaDuty-free island — cable car, mangroves, eagle watching, quiet beaches
32°C
Abidjan Côte d'IvoireLagoon skyline in Le Plateau, cocoa money, two rainy seasons split by a real dry stretch
Rainy in December
Afternoons around 24°C in the wet season
24°C
Boquete PanamaHighland coffee capital at 1,200m below Volcán Barú, bajareque mist, long-time retiree enclave
25°C
Ella Sri LankaHill country paradise — tea plantations, Nine Arches Bridge, misty mountains, backpacker haven
25°C
Da Nang VietnamBeach city with Dragon Bridge, Marble Mountains, growing nomad scene
25°C
Hoi An VietnamMagical lantern town — tailor shops, ancient architecture, incredible food
25°C
Johannesburg South AfricaCity of Gold — Maboneng arts district, vibrant food scene, Apartheid Museum, entrepreneurial energy
22°C
Okinawa JapanTropical Japan — coral reefs, Ryukyu culture, longevity diet, slow island pace
26°C
Nairobi KenyaSilicon Savannah — Africa's tech capital, safari on your doorstep, vibrant startup ecosystem
27°C
Buenos Aires ArgentinaParis of South America — tango, steak, café culture, vibrant arts scene, growing nomad hub