No month suits most of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean at once; the widest choice is in February, when 45% of its destinations rate Good for being outside. Below, the best places for each month, and every country’s own seasons, across 33 countries and 133 destinations.
Month by month
For each month, the best places in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for being outside, for sun at the seaside and for walking, read at midday and spread across the region. Each name opens the map there, in the middle of that month, on that rating.
- January — Being outside: Pátzcuaro, San José, Havana. Sun: Road Town, Ocho Rios, San Juan del Sur. Walking: Tijuana, San Juan del Río, Guatemala City.
- February — Being outside: Pátzcuaro, Viñales, San José. Sun: Road Town, George Town, Panama City. Walking: Ensenada, Tlalnepantla, Guatemala City.
- March — Being outside: Cabo San Lucas, Guatemala City, Grand Turk. Sun: Road Town, George Town, Manzanillo. Walking: Ensenada, Tlalnepantla.
- April — Being outside: San Juan del Río, San José del Cabo, Guatemala City. Sun: Montego Bay, Road Town, Manzanillo. Walking: Ensenada, Zacatecas.
- May — Being outside: Tijuana, Puebla, San José. Sun: Montego Bay, Road Town, Mazatlán. Walking: Ensenada, Zacatecas.
- June — Being outside: Tijuana, Guatemala City, Zacatecas. Sun: Saint John’s, Montego Bay, Oranjestad. Walking: Tijuana, Zacatecas.
- July — Being outside: San Juan del Río, Tijuana, Guatemala City. Sun: Saint John’s, Oranjestad, Cabo San Lucas. Walking: Quetzaltenango, Valle de Bravo.
- August — Being outside: Apizaco, Tijuana, San José. Sun: Saint John’s, Oranjestad, Ensenada. Walking: San Juan del Río.
- September — Being outside: San Juan del Río, Guatemala City, Tijuana. Walking: Zacatecas.
- October — Being outside: Ensenada, Puebla, San José. Sun: Montego Bay, Saint John’s, Oranjestad. Walking: Zacatecas, Ensenada.
- November — Being outside: Guanajuato, Ensenada, Guatemala City. Sun: Montego Bay, Saint John’s, San José del Cabo. Walking: Ensenada, Pachuca, Guatemala City.
- December — Being outside: Orizaba, La Paz, San José. Sun: Road Town, Montego Bay, Mazatlán. Walking: Tijuana, Tlalnepantla, Guatemala City.
Country by country
Each country’s main season, where most of its cities agree. “Varies by place” means no stretch suits most of the country at once; its own guide splits it up.
| Country | Being outside | Sun | Walking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | late Jan to early Mar | Oct to early Sep | rarely good |
| Aruba | rarely good | Oct to early Sep | rarely good |
| Barbados | mid Feb | late Feb to Aug | rarely good |
| Belize | rarely good | mid Dec to Mar | rarely good |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba | mid Feb | late Oct to mid Aug | rarely good |
| British Virgin Islands | rarely good | Nov to Jul | rarely good |
| Cayman Islands | rarely good | late Oct to early May | rarely good |
| Costa Rica | Nov to Feb | mid Sep | rarely good |
| Cuba | mid to late Feb | mid Oct to mid Jan | rarely good |
| Curaçao | rarely good | Nov to early Aug | rarely good |
| Dominica | rarely good | late Nov to Jun | rarely good |
| Dominican Republic | rarely good | Dec to Apr | rarely good |
| El Salvador | rarely good | late Nov to early Mar | rarely good |
| Grenada | rarely good | Nov to early Sep | rarely good |
| Guadeloupe | mid Feb | mid Nov to mid Jul | rarely good |
| Guatemala | varies by place | rarely good | varies by place |
| Haiti | rarely good | mid Dec to mid Apr | rarely good |
| Honduras | varies by place | late Dec to early Mar | rarely good |
| Jamaica | rarely good | mid Nov to Jul | rarely good |
| Martinique | mid Feb | late Feb to Jun | rarely good |
| Mexico | Nov to early Apr | varies by place | mid Dec to mid Feb |
| Montserrat | late Jan to early Mar | Oct to Aug | rarely good |
| Nicaragua | rarely good | early Jan | rarely good |
| Panama | rarely good | Jan to mid Mar | rarely good |
| Puerto Rico | rarely good | Nov to May | rarely good |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | mid Feb | mid Oct to Aug | rarely good |
| Saint Lucia | rarely good | mid Nov to early Jul | rarely good |
| Saint Martin | mid Feb | late Oct to mid Aug | rarely good |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | rarely good | late Nov to mid Aug | rarely good |
| Sint Maarten | mid Feb | late Oct to early Aug | rarely good |
| The Bahamas | mid Nov to Apr | late Apr to mid Jun | mid to late Jan |
| Trinidad and Tobago | rarely good | late Nov to Jun | rarely good |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | late Jan to Mar | Oct to mid Aug | rarely good |
The best-known places
The most-visited places with a guide of their own, and each one’s main season. Each season opens the map at its peak.
| Place | Country | Being outside | Sun | Walking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico City | Mexico | all year | at best fair | mid Jun to early Apr |
| Playa del Carmen | Mexico | at best fair | late Jan to Apr | rarely good |
| Havana | Cuba | mid Feb to early Mar | late Oct to early Jan | at best fair |
| Guadalajara | Mexico | late Jun to mid May | Jul to Sep | late Nov to mid Feb |
| Puerto Vallarta | Mexico | late Dec to Apr | late Jan to mid Jun | rarely good |
| Cancún | Mexico | at best fair | late Jan to early May | rarely good |
| Monterrey | Mexico | Nov to Dec | early Oct | late Nov to mid Feb |
| Oaxaca | Mexico | mid Jun to mid Mar | mid Mar to early Jun | at best fair |
| Tulum | Mexico | at best fair | late Nov to early Mar | rarely good |
| Mérida | Mexico | at best fair | late Feb | rarely good |
| Puebla | Mexico | all year | at best fair | mid Jul to Mar |
| Acapulco de Juárez | Mexico | rarely good | late Feb to early Apr | rarely good |
| Mazatlán | Mexico | Jan to early Apr | mid Mar to May | rarely good |
| Veracruz | Mexico | mid Dec to Jan | late Feb to Mar | at best fair |
| San José | Costa Rica | all year | late Apr to mid Jun | at best fair |
| San Juan | Puerto Rico | at best fair | Nov to Jul | rarely good |
Rankings for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
Best places for sun at ChristmasWhere late December and early January are warm, dry and bright enough to lie out.Best places for sun in FebruaryThe late-winter escape: where February is reliably warm and bright.Best places for sun at EasterWarm, dry weather from late March to mid April.Best places for sun in MayEarly-summer heat before the crowds and before the worst of it.Best places for sun in late OctoberWhere the half-term fortnight is still properly warm.Where it is still warm in NovemberSunbathing weather in the darkest stretch of the northern autumn.Clear skies and warmth in FebruaryThe least cloud anywhere that also feels warm at midday in February.Where to go walking in JanuaryPlaces where the middle of winter is cool, dry walking weather rather than cold or wet.Best cities for a break in AprilBig cities where April is comfortable for a day on foot between sights.Best cities for a break in OctoberBig cities where October is mild and dry enough to be outside all day.Places that are pleasant most of the yearThe cities with the most weeks a year of comfortable, dry weather for being outdoors.
How this is worked out
Every figure is a decade of weather-station observations blended into one typical year, read at midday local solar time. Places are the region’s towns and cities that draw visitors, and for sun its seaside holiday places. Being outside is the Easy outdoors rating, Sun is Sunbathing and Walking is Active outdoors; a place is named for a month when it rates Good or better across the whole month.