Where late December and early January are warm, dry and bright enough to lie out. Of 1,069 seaside holiday towns and cities around the world, 100 rate Good or better at Christmas. These 20 are the best of them, spread so that no one corner of the map fills the list.
Where to go
- 184 · IdealRoad TownBritish Virgin Islands
Rated 84 (Ideal) for sunbathing at Christmas: midday feels like 29°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about nine months, from November to July. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at late December.
- 282 · IdealMontego BayJamaica
A typical midday at Christmas feels like 29°C, and the Sunbathing rating averages 82 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from October to mid August, so there is room either side. See late December on the map.
- 381 · IdealVishākhapatnamIndia
Midday at Christmas feels like 29°C under mostly clear skies, which rates 81, Ideal, for sunbathing. The good spell lasts about three and a half months, from mid November to mid February. Open it on the map at late December.
- 480 · GoodAracajuBrazil
Rated 80 (Good) for sunbathing at Christmas: midday feels like 31°C, with partly cloudy skies. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. See late December on the map.
- 579 · GoodWillemstadCuraçao
Midday at Christmas feels like 30°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 79, Good, for sunbathing. The good spell lasts about nine and a half months, from November to early August. Open it on the map at late December.
- 678 · GoodMumbaiIndia
Rated 78 (Good) for sunbathing at Christmas: midday feels like 30°C, with mostly clear skies. Good weather here runs from mid November to early March, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See late December on the map.
- 778 · GoodScarboroughTrinidad and Tobago
A typical midday at Christmas feels like 30°C, and the Sunbathing rating averages 78 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about nine months, from November to July. Open it on the map at late December.
- 877 · GoodGeorge TownCayman Islands
Midday at Christmas feels like 29°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 77, Good, for sunbathing. Good weather here runs from late October to early May, so there is room either side. See late December on the map.
- 976 · GoodPhú QuốcVietnam
A typical midday at Christmas feels like 30°C, and the Sunbathing rating averages 76 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about three and a half months, from December to mid March. Open it on the map at late December.
- 1074 · GoodCox’s BāzārBangladesh
Midday at Christmas feels like 26°C under mostly clear skies, which rates 74, Good, for sunbathing. Rain is rare at this time of year. See late December on the map.
- 1174 · GoodRecifeBrazil
Midday at Christmas feels like 32°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 74, Good, for sunbathing. Good weather here runs from May to mid February, so there is room either side. See late December on the map.
- 1273 · GoodSalinasEcuador
A typical midday at Christmas feels like 29°C, and the Sunbathing rating averages 73 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about seven months, from December to June. Open it on the map at late December.
- 1372 · GoodBel AirMauritius
A typical midday at Christmas feels like 29°C, and the Sunbathing rating averages 72 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from late October to mid May, so there is room either side. See late December on the map.
- 1471 · GoodBakauThe Gambia
Rated 71 (Good) for sunbathing at Christmas: midday feels like 28°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about six and a half months, from mid December to mid June. Open it on the map at late December.
- 1569 · GoodAvaruaCook Islands
Rated 69 (Good) for sunbathing at Christmas: midday feels like 30°C, with often cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from November to mid June, so there is room either side. See late December on the map.
- 1669 · GoodYeppoonAustralia
Midday at Christmas feels like 30°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 69, Good, for sunbathing. The good spell lasts about six and a half months, from mid October to April. Open it on the map at late December.
- 1769 · GoodTownsvilleAustralia
Midday at Christmas feels like 31°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 69, Good, for sunbathing. Good weather here runs from late September to early May, so there is room either side. See late December on the map.
- 1867 · GoodPuerto Baquerizo MorenoEcuador
A typical midday at Christmas feels like 28°C, and the Sunbathing rating averages 67 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about two and a half months, from mid December to mid February. Open it on the map at late December.
- 1964 · GoodHua HinThailand
Rated 64 (Good) for sunbathing at Christmas: midday feels like 30°C, with partly cloudy skies. See late December on the map.
- 2063 · GoodViganPhilippines
Midday at Christmas feels like 31°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 63, Good, for sunbathing. The good spell lasts about three and a half months, from late December to March. Open it on the map at late December.
With a guide of their own
Ranked the same way among the seaside places with a guide of their own, each a link to its whole year:
By region
How this list is worked out
The data
Every figure comes from a decade of weather-station observations, blended into one typical year and read at midday, local solar time. Scores here are averaged from late December to early January; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Sunbathing: Warm feels-like gates the score — best 26–32 °C. Dry air, light wind and clear skies each lift it; none alone rules it out. A place is also left out when its typical readings contradict its own rating, for example a high score alongside frequent rain.
The spread
To keep the list from being one coastline, entries are at least 300 km apart, no more than five come from any one region of the world, and no more than two from one country unless the list would otherwise run short. A higher-scoring place can be left out for that reason.
Only seaside places
Towns and cities within 12 km of the coast, with beaches and plenty of hotels, resorts and holiday lets within 10 km for their size. That keeps out hot inland towns and busy ports that nobody visits for the beach. Places to stay are counted from Overture Maps Places, an open dataset, so a resort missing there is missing here.
The dotted links open the map at that place and time of year, on the same layer. The map remembers the time of day you last chose there; set it to midday to see these exact numbers.