--- title: "Winter sun in North America, the 10 warmest places | Wimup" description: "Ten places in the Caribbean, Mexico and Florida ranked by their December to February daytime high, from Mérida and Aruba to Miami." url: https://wimup.com/winter-sun-north-america type: Themed list updated: 2026-10-26 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Winter sun in North America, ten places where December still means a beach day. By Wimup desk · 10 picks · 3 films · ≈ 3 min read Ten places in the Caribbean, Mexico and Florida ranked by how warm their winter days are. The top four average 30°C or more from December to February. We ranked each place by its average daytime high from December to February in its weather service's long-term normals, warmest first. Rain over the same three months sits beside it, because the Caribbean's dry season does not mean a dry island. ## Winter sun in North America, ten places where December still means a beach day. ### 1. Mérida, Mexico Yucatán · Mexico The warmest pick, at 31°C by day, and the driest, with 115 mm of rain all winter. It is inland, so come for the colonial centre and the Maya ruins of Uxmal, then swim in a cenote or drive 35 km north to the beach at Progreso. - **Winter high:** 31°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 115 mm - **Fly into:** Mérida (MID) Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/merida.md) · [Watch the Mérida film](https://wimup.com/watch/merida.md) ### 2. Aruba Southern Caribbean · Aruba An arid island off the coast of Venezuela, where the trade wind keeps 30°C days comfortable and only 122 mm of rain falls over the winter. Eagle Beach is the long white stretch; Arikok National Park covers about a fifth of the island. - **Winter high:** 30°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 122 mm - **Fly into:** Queen Beatrix (AUA) ### 3. Montego Bay, Jamaica St. James · Jamaica Jamaica's north-coast resort city, at 30°C by day all winter. Doctor's Cave Beach is on the Hip Strip, and the Martha Brae river, where bamboo rafts drift downstream, is under an hour east. - **Winter high:** 30°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 206 mm - **Fly into:** Sangster (MBJ) Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/montego-bay.md) ### 4. St. George's, Grenada Saint George · Grenada A harbour capital of red roofs around the Carenage, with Grand Anse Beach just south of town. Snorkel the Underwater Sculpture Park at Molinere Bay; December brings most of the winter's 208 mm of rain. - **Winter high:** 30°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 208 mm - **Fly into:** Maurice Bishop (GND) Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/st-georges-grenada.md) ### 5. Bridgetown, Barbados St. Michael · Barbados The most Atlantic of the picks, cooled by the trade wind at 29°C. Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison are a UNESCO site, and Carlisle Bay, beside the capital, has calm water for swimming over shipwrecks. - **Winter high:** 29°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 201 mm - **Fly into:** Grantley Adams (BGI) Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/bridgetown.md) ### 6. San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico · United States The wettest pick, at 251 mm, though showers are short and the days stay at 29°C. Walk the blue cobbles of Old San Juan to El Morro; US citizens need no passport, and El Yunque rainforest is about an hour east. - **Winter high:** 29°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 251 mm - **Fly into:** San Juan (SJU) Links: [United States guide](https://wimup.com/country/united-states.md) ### 7. St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda Antigua · Antigua and Barbuda A low, dry island with a beach for every day of the year by its own count. Sail into English Harbour, where Nelson's Dockyard is a UNESCO site, and end Sunday at the sunset party on Shirley Heights. - **Winter high:** 29°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 175 mm - **Fly into:** V. C. Bird (ANU) Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/st-johns-antigua.md) ### 8. Havana, Cuba La Habana · Cuba Winter is the dry season, with highs near 27°C and cool fronts that bring the odd fresh day. Walk the four plazas of Habana Vieja in the morning and the Malecón at sunset, when the sea wall fills with locals. - **Winter high:** 27°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 173 mm - **Fly into:** José Martí (HAV) Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/havana.md) · [Watch the Havana film](https://wimup.com/watch/havana.md) ### 9. Miami, USA Florida · United States Winter is the dry season here: 25°C days and Art Basel Miami Beach in early December. Walk the Art Deco District, then give a day to the Everglades, where the dry months draw wildlife to the water. - **Winter high:** 25°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 163 mm - **Fly into:** Miami (MIA) Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/miami.md) · [Watch the Miami film](https://wimup.com/watch/miami.md) ### 10. Key West, USA Florida Keys · United States The end of the Overseas Highway, at 25°C and a little drier than Miami. Watch the sunset from Mallory Square, then take the ferry or seaplane 70 miles west to Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park. - **Winter high:** 25°C - **Dec–Feb rain:** 140 mm - **Fly into:** Key West (EYW) Links: [United States guide](https://wimup.com/country/united-states.md) ## FAQs ### How is this list ranked? By the average daytime high from December to February in each place's long-term climate normals, warmest first. The figures are rounded to the degree here, and the order follows the unrounded values. ### Where do the figures come from? From each weather service's published normals: Mexico's SMN, the US National Weather Service for Miami, Key West and San Juan, and the island met services' station normals for the Caribbean picks. Periods run from 1971 to 2020. ### Is December to February the dry season everywhere here? Mostly, but not completely. Across the eastern Caribbean, December is still the tail of the wet season, so Grenada, Barbados and Antigua see more rain then than in February. Mérida and Aruba stay dry all three months. ### Which pick is driest in winter? Mérida, with about 115 mm of rain from December to February, then Aruba at 122 mm. San Juan is the wettest, at about 251 mm, though most of it falls in short showers. ### Why are Miami and Key West last? Florida sits north of the tropics, and its winter days average about 25°C against 29°C to 31°C on the islands and in Yucatán. Cold fronts can drop a Miami day well below that, so pack a layer. ## Sources - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.