Mexico City · Month comparison
December vs November
November ranks #1 overall vs December at #6. The finest month — Día de Muertos on the 1st and 2nd combines perfect dry-season weather with Mexico's most profound cultural ceremony.
December
#6 of 12 months
Strong option
Dry-season clarity returns for Christmas — posadas, piñatas, and 21°C days with cold nights.
- ↑Posadas season (16–24 December): the nine nights of pre-Christmas neighbourhood processions with lanterns, pastorelas (nativity plays), and piñata breaking in plazas across the city — a uniquely Mexican Christmas atmosphere
- ↑Near-perfect dry-season weather: 9mm of rain all month, 21°C days, clear mountain views, and the same photography conditions as the best months of January–February
November
#1 of 12 months
Best match
The finest month — Día de Muertos on the 1st and 2nd combines perfect dry-season weather with Mexico's most profound cultural ceremony.
- ↑Día de Muertos (1–2 November): Mexico's most important cultural ceremony — the cemetery vigils in Mixquic, Xochimilco's canal processions, and the ofrenda altars throughout the city constitute one of the most moving collective experiences available to any traveller anywhere in the world
- ↑Dry season restored: 13mm of rain across the month, 7.3 hours of sunshine, and clear mountain views returning — the best photography conditions since April
| Factor | December | November |
|---|---|---|
| Weather score | 8 | 9 |
| Value score | 5 | 5 |
| Crowd score | 5 | 4 |
| Events score | 7 | 10 |
| Atmosphere | 8 | 10 |
| Avg high temp | 21°C | 22°C |
| Monthly rain | 9mm | 13mm |
| Daily sunshine | 7.2hrs | 7.3hrs |
December trade-offs
- ↓Christmas week and New Year bring significant domestic tourism: accommodation in Roma Norte and Polanco books out, and prices peak again in the last week of December
- ↓Traffic is at its absolute worst in the week before Christmas — the Viaducto and Reforma gridlock; budget extra time for everything
- ↓6°C overnight lows: the altitude means Mexico City's December nights are genuinely cold — restaurants with outdoor terraces require blankets or heaters
November trade-offs
- ↓Día de Muertos weekend (1–2 November) brings the largest international tourist influx of the year: accommodation books out months ahead and hotel rates spike to their annual peak
- ↓The Mixquic cemetery vigil requires arriving early and staying late — it is deeply respectful and non-commercial, but it is also extremely crowded and requires transport planning
- ↓8°C overnight lows from mid-November: the full dry-season return also brings cold nights — pack accordingly for the cemetery vigil
Scores compare months within Mexico City. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →