Where Is It Warm in December? Picks by Temperature and Cost

The warm places to travel in December that actually clear 80F are Aruba (87F), San Juan, Puerto Rico (84F), Cancún (83F) and Honolulu (82F). Key West and Miami sit at 78F. If you want the mainland's mild version instead of real heat, San Diego and Phoenix average 66F. Anything hotter means leaving the continental US.

Those figures are 1991-2020 climate normals, the 30-year averages met services currently treat as standard: the NOAA U.S. Climate Normals for American cities, NOAA's Global Historical Climatology Network daily record for the Cancún station, and the Meteorological Department Aruba 1991-2020 summary for Oranjestad. Everything below is sourced the same way, because "warm" is the one thing on this page that shouldn't be a vibe.

Most lists of warm places to travel in December sort by flight time, which quietly assumes you already know how hot you want it. This one sorts by temperature first, in three bands: 80F and up, the high 70s, and everything mild below that. Flight time and cost are columns, not the spine. Pick your band, then pick your budget. If you'd rather skip the spreadsheet stage, Zenvoya is an AI travel agent that prices flights, hotels and experiences for several of these side by side in one conversation.

The dollar signs in the tables are relative, not quotes: one means your money goes furthest, three means December is that place's expensive season. Real numbers are further down.

Where It's 80F and Up in December

Thirteen destinations on this page average 80F or hotter in December, and not one of them is in the continental United States. The range runs from Bangkok at 90F down to Nassau and Dubai at 80F, with Aruba (87F), Punta Cana (85F), San Juan (84F) and Honolulu (82F) in between. So when people type "where is it hot in December," the honest answer is the Caribbean, the Yucatán, Hawaii, or a long flight to the other hemisphere.

The Caribbean is the obvious pick for a reason. Atlantic hurricane season officially ends November 30, per the National Hurricane Center, and the dry season starts right behind it.

December average daily highs, 1991-2020 normals. US and territory stations (Honolulu, Kahului, St. Thomas, San Juan) from the NOAA U.S. Climate Normals; Cancún from NOAA's Global Historical Climatology Network daily record (Decembers 1991-2012, the years on record); Oranjestad from the Meteorological Department Aruba. The rest are national met-service figures published in the WMO 1991-2020 normals: Thai Meteorological Department, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, Jamaica's Meteorological Service, the Dominican Republic's ONAMET, the Bahamas Department of Meteorology and the UAE's National Center of Meteorology. Flight times are typical published schedules and vary by carrier and season.

The long-haul rows are not filler. Thailand's December is its dry season and its best month: Phuket averages 88F with about 86mm of rain for the whole month against an annual 2,664mm, per the Thai Meteorological Department normals. That's a genuinely better beach month than April, when it's hotter and wetter. Southern Vietnam runs a similar pattern. Perth and Sydney are in early summer, which is why Australians think of December as beach season and Americans mostly don't.

Two Caribbean rows deserve a flag for US travelers. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are domestic flights, which means no passport for US citizens and no international roaming. If you want to add Vieques or Culebra to a Puerto Rico trip, the ferry from Ceiba is a separate booking through Puerto Rico Ferry, and it's worth reserving before you land.

Pro tip: December brings more rain days to Aruba than any other month (11), and it is second only to November for total rainfall. But "rainy" there means about 80mm for the whole month, per the Meteorological Department Aruba 1991-2020 normals. Bring a light shell, not a backup plan.

Longtail boats moored in clear water below limestone cliffs. Photo by Margo Evardson on Unsplash

Where It's in the High 70s

The high-70s band is a short list: Lihue on Kauai and Hilo on Hawaii Island at 79F, Miami and Key West at 78F, West Palm Beach at 77F. It's the band that gets overlooked, and frequently the smart pick. Short flights, warm ocean, and shoulder-season pricing everywhere except the last two weeks of the month.

December average daily highs from the NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, measured at each city's primary airport station. Flight times are typical published schedule durations and vary by carrier and season.

Key West is the trap here. Same temperature as Miami, longer flight, priciest lodging in the band. It's also the only one that feels like a different country. For the cheaper version, look at rentals through Vrbo in Marathon or Big Pine Key and drive down for day trips.

Kauai and Hawaii Island both average 79F in December, and both are wetter than Maui or Oahu that month: Lihue averages 4.64 inches of December rain and Hilo 12.07, against 2.80 in Kahului and 2.18 in Honolulu, per the same NOAA normals. That's a fair trade if you want waterfalls and fewer people. If you're choosing between the two big islands instead, the head-to-head lives in our Maui vs Oahu comparison.

Palms and a long pier over calm Florida water. Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash

Where It's Mild: The 60s and Mid-70s

In December, warm without hot means Florida's interior and Gulf Coast (Orlando and Tampa at 74F), South Texas (Brownsville 74F, Corpus Christi 70F), the Southwest desert (Palm Springs 69F, Phoenix and Tucson 66F) and coastal California (Los Angeles and San Diego at 66F). Nobody searches for 66F. Plenty of people should. This is the band where you can drive, where hotels are cheap, and where the tradeoff is that you'll want a jacket after dark: the US cities here all drop 15-25F overnight, going by the December normals below.

December average daily highs from the NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for US cities (airport stations, except Fort Pierce, which uses NOAA's Ft. Pierce cooperative station) and the Japan Meteorological Agency 1991-2020 normals for Naha, via the WMO climatological normals. Flight times are typical published schedule durations and vary by carrier and season.

The Southwest desert cities are the best value in this band, and they're built for a road trip. Phoenix, Tucson and Palm Springs are within a half day's drive of each other, the December light is spectacular, and a rental from Enterprise or Hertz turns the three of them into one trip. Just know what you're buying: Palm Springs averages a 69F high and a 46F low in December, per the NOAA normals, so the pool is a midday plan and the fire pit is an evening one.

Saguaro cactus and desert mountains under warm afternoon light. Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash

Okinawa is the sleeper. Naha averages 71F in December with 107 hours of sunshine, per the Japan Meteorological Agency normals, which makes it the warmest corner of Japan by a wide margin. The best time to visit Okinawa covers how December stacks up against the summer typhoon months.

Pro tip: Orlando is the priciest row in this band and the temperature isn't why. Theme-park demand spikes hard over the holiday stretch. Shift to the first ten days of December and the same 74F costs noticeably less.

Where's the Warmest Part of the US in December?

Hawaii, and it isn't close. Kahului on Maui averages 83F and Honolulu 82F, per NOAA's 1991-2020 normals. On the mainland, the warmest reliable spots are South Florida (Miami and Key West at 78F) and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Brownsville at 74F). Counting US territories, St. Thomas at 85F and San Juan at 84F beat every state including Hawaii.

Swimmers off Waikiki with Diamond Head behind them. Photo by Yu on Unsplash

What a Warm December Actually Costs

Airfare is the line that moves most. The average US domestic itinerary fare was $428 in the first quarter of 2026, per the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, with round-trips averaging $522. Late December runs above that. The first ten days of the month run below it, sometimes well below, which is the single biggest lever you have on this whole decision.

On the ground, the spread between bands is real. Hawaii visitors spent an average of $293 per person per day in June 2026, per the state's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, with East Coast visitors averaging $337 and West Coast visitors $275. Budget that order of magnitude for December. The Texas Gulf Coast and Tucson land nowhere near it.

For the cheapest warm December, the honest answers are Punta Cana, the Texas Gulf Coast, and Central Florida outside the holiday stretch. Thailand belongs on that list too, with an asterisk: once the airfare is paid, daily costs are the lowest of anything in the 80F band. If you want the full anatomy of one destination's costs instead of a signal, we broke down what a Hawaii trip actually costs line by line, including the per-island differences.

Two more things before you commit: how to find cheap flights if airfare is the blocker, and whether it's cheaper to drive or fly if your warm December is Florida, Texas or the Southwest.

Which Band Should You Pick?

If you want to swim, you want the 80F band or Hawaii, and you have to accept the airfare that comes with it. If you mainly want to stop being cold, the mild band does the job for less: 66F, a short flight, a cheap hotel, a real city to walk around in, and a jacket after sunset. Two different trips, and it's worth being honest about which one you're taking.

Once you've picked a band, check the calendar before the map. December 18 through January 2 prices differently from the rest of the month everywhere on this page. Moving your trip one week earlier usually saves more than dropping a temperature band.

Ready to Pin Down Your Warm December?

Tell Zenvoya's AI trip planner what you're actually after ("80F, under five hours from Chicago, first week of December") and it comes back with flights, hotels and experiences priced together, then adjusts when you decide Aruba is too expensive and Punta Cana isn't. It handles group trips too, which matters when four people have four opinions.

My own take: the high-70s band is underrated and the 80F band is oversold. Miami at 78F in the first week of December, three hours from New York, before rates spike, beats plenty of trips that cost twice as much.