Dominican Republic · Dominican Republic
December
Peak season returns — dry weather, Christmas energy, and the most festive the resort coast gets all year.
Strong option
#8 of 12 months
There are better months for Dominican Republic — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
28°C
Low
20°C
Rain
58mm
Sun
7.5hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How December scores in Dominican Republic
Weather
Excellent
Value
Average
Crowds
Average
Events
Good
Atmosphere
Very good
What you gain in December
- ↑December is the official start of the DR's main tourist season: 58mm of rainfall, 7.5 sunshine hours, and reliable blue-sky beach days return to the Punta Cana coast; the combination of Caribbean warmth and Christmas-New Year celebrations creates the most festive atmosphere of the year
- ↑Christmas and New Year at Punta Cana resorts is genuinely spectacular: outdoor pool parties, live merengue and bachata bands, traditional Dominican Christmas food (pasteles, pernil, hallacas), and midnight New Year events that run until dawn create a celebration with no European equivalent for warmth and energy
- ↑Water sports conditions recover fully in December — kiteboarding at Cabarete is in full swing with consistent trade winds, offshore diving around Catalina Island and the Monte Cristi coral reef system has excellent visibility in the dry season, and the resort beach water sports are at full operational capacity
What you sacrifice
- ↓Christmas week (December 23–January 2) is the most expensive travel period in the DR — all-inclusive packages from North America and Europe are at annual peak prices, and quality rooms require booking 3–4 months ahead; last-minute availability for Christmas week essentially doesn't exist
- ↓The Dominican Republic's New Year is a multi-day celebration — not just December 31 but the surrounding days are treated as festive; while this creates energy, it also means road congestion, elevated prices, and a party atmosphere that not all visitors want
- ↓The first weeks of December can still see residual cloudiness before the dry season fully establishes; early December (first two weeks) is better than late November but not as reliably sunny as January–February
How December compares to February (best month)
| Factor | December | February ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 8 | 9 |
| Value | 4 | 4 |
| Crowds | 4 | 4 |
December in other destinations
Lisbon (14.4°C)Barcelona (13.8°C)Tokyo (12°C)Bali (30.3°C)Santorini (14.5°C)Paris (6.9°C)New York (5.1°C)Marrakech (18.1°C)Amsterdam (6.4°C)Maldives (30°C)Rome (11.7°C)Bangkok (30.4°C)Istanbul (9.4°C)Vienna (3°C)Seoul (3.7°C)Dubrovnik (11.6°C)Rio de Janeiro (29.5°C)Kyoto (11.3°C)Phuket (31.8°C)Cape Town (25.6°C)Prague (3°C)Amalfi Coast (13°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (30°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (25°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (27.5°C)Miami (25.6°C)Florence (9.8°C)Queenstown (21°C)Madrid (9.5°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (5°C)Budapest (5°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (7°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (20°C)Osaka (11°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (29°C)Mykonos (14°C)Zanzibar (31°C)Sri Lanka (30°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (14°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (28°C)Havana (26°C)Split (11°C)Taipei (20°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (16°C)Ho Chi Minh City (31°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (6°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (27°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (17°C)Jordan (14°C)Azores (18°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (20.4°C)Cairo (20.8°C)Kenya (26°C)Jaipur (22.8°C)Las Vegas (14.7°C)San Francisco (13.8°C)Madeira (20°C)Vancouver (7.1°C)Muscat (27.8°C)Lima (24.2°C)Cinque Terre (12°C)Kotor (11°C)Tel Aviv (19°C)Santiago (29°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (6.8°C)Penang (30.9°C)Lombok (30.9°C)Cape Verde (26.8°C)Fez (15.2°C)Kerala (31°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (19°C)Oslo (2°C)Auckland (22°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Dominican Republic, not across destinations. Methodology →