Early March 1 March
64°F
Typical afternoon high
40% historical wet-day frequency
Portugal · Beach
Azores
in March.
Is March a good time?
Mild days.
More overnight stays than February.
March averages 64°F afternoons and 61°F seas, with about 10 rain days.
- Afternoons
- 64°F
- Sea
- 61°F
- Visitor demand
- 40%of August peak
Historical Região Autónoma dos Açores regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers São Miguel, Ponta Delgada and Pico; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
6.7/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#8 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather4.7/10Fair
CrowdsModerate seasonvs its own year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, one of Europe's busiest this month
CostCheapfor Europe
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your March
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 64°F (18°C): light layers; nights around 54°F (12°C): a sweater and a light jacket. Bring rain gear: about 10 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 12 hours of daylight.
Can I swim in March?
The sea averages 61°F. Our swimming guide: cold: short dips, or a wetsuit. Your comfort will vary. This is open water near the coast, not a beach-specific reading.
Monthly coastal averages from NOAA, 2011–2025. Sea temperature is separate from the weather and Overall scores.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights, sea temperature & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 12 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 07:02 and sets about 18:55 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 54°F (12°C); afternoons reach about 64°F (18°C). Expect rain on about 10 days in a typical March.
Typical afternoon
64°F (18°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Marches
Night low
54°F (12°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
61°F (16°C)
cold; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
11h 53m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late March?
Early and late March have similar afternoon averages. The afternoon high averages 64°F on the 1st, versus 65°F on the 31st.
Mid March 15 March
64°F
Typical afternoon high
36% historical wet-day frequency
Late March 31 March
65°F
Typical afternoon high
39% historical wet-day frequency
Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.
Public holidays · 2027: 26 Mar Good Friday; 28 Mar Easter Sunday.
Daily calendar & holiday datesMarch 2027 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
March 2027 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2027.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 164° | 264° | 364° | 464° | 564° | 664° | 764° |
| 864° | 964° | 1064° | 1164° | 1264° | 1364° | 1464° |
| 1564° | 1664° | 1764° | 1864° | 1964° | 2064° | 2164° |
| 2264° | 2364° | 2464° | 2564° | 2664° | 2764° | 2864° |
| 2964° | 3064° | 3165° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons hold at about 64°F (18°C) all month. The chance of a wet day runs 31–41%. Local schools are out 22–31 March 2027.
Schools here are off 22–31 March 2027 (Easter holidays). Public holidays: 26 Mar Good Friday; 28 Mar Easter Sunday. Elsewhere in March 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: Germany 27%, Spain 30%, Italy 19%, France 10%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds, cost and getting there
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Moderate season. March averages 40% of August's overnight stays per day. More overnight stays than February.
Overnight stays across Região Autónoma dos Açores do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, one of Europe's busiest this month.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
Well below usual. Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €39 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
Historical hotel average
€39
2024–2025 monthly average; hotel revenue per guest-night; not a current booking quote. −33% vs this region's usual month.
Portugal as a whole
Well below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 76 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Recorded US nonstop flights · 2024
Recorded this month
from Boston and New York JFK; 2024 schedule, Eurostat
The historical regional amount comes from INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night; the country price level is national. Hotel averages are not live booking quotes.
Year-to-year variation
How much does March vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 62°F (17°C) and 65°F (19°C); in 15 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 64°F (18°C). Rain days ranged from 3 to 26; half the years had 7–13.
Rain days in each March
Rain days
10
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 17 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
2 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no March in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
7 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded MarchHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 62°F | 13 |
| 2012 | 65°F | 11 |
| 2013 | 63°F | 26 |
| 2014 | 63°F | 10 |
| 2015 | 64°F | 3 |
| 2016 | 63°F | 7 |
| 2017 | 64°F | 9 |
| 2018 | 64°F | 13 |
| 2019 | 64°F | 6 |
| 2020 | 65°F | 6 |
| 2021 | 64°F | 9 |
| 2022 | 65°F | 10 |
| 2023 | 65°F | 18 |
| 2024 | 65°F | 11 |
| 2025 | 63°F | 15 |
Checked against official climate averages for Ponta Delgada (Observatorio Afonso Chaves). How we check
Compare dates
February, March
or April?
| Typical conditions | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 63°F | 64°F | 66°F |
| Sea | 61°F | 61°F | 62°F |
| Rain days | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Overnight demand | 29% | 40% | 56% |
February: Less overnight demand. February guide →
April: More overnight demand. April guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues. Sea temperatures are monthly coastal averages.
Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with March Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. March stays as your reference.
November has a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than March, without a substantially busier visitor season.
Your comparison
March or February?
Overnight stays are 29% of the busiest month.
Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €37 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.
Read the February guide →| Typical conditions | March | February |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 64°F | 63°F |
| Nights | 54°F | 53°F |
| Sea | 61°F | 61°F |
| Rain days | 10 | 10 |
| Visitor season | Moderate season | Low season |
| Overall / 10 | 6.7 | 6.4 |
| Month rank | #8 | #11 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.5 | #10 | 64°F | 54°F | 62°F | 14 | 4.5 | Low season |
| February | 6.4 | #11 | 63°F | 53°F | 61°F | 10 | 4.4 | Low season |
| March | 6.7 | #8 | 64°F | 54°F | 61°F | 10 | 4.7 | Moderate season |
| April | 6.5 | #9 | 66°F | 55°F | 62°F | 10 | 5.3 | Moderate season |
| May | 6.7 | #7 | 69°F | 58°F | 64°F | 9 | 6.4 | Busy season |
| June | 7.2 | #5 | 73°F | 62°F | 67°F | 4 | 8.2 | Busy season |
| July | 7.6 | #1 | 78°F | 66°F | 72°F | 2 | 9.8 | Peak season |
| August | 7.5 | #2 | 80°F | 68°F | 75°F | 5 | 10.0 | Peak season |
| September | 7.4 | #3 | 77°F | 66°F | 74°F | 8 | 8.8 | Busy season |
| October | 7.2 | #6 | 73°F | 62°F | 71°F | 12 | 6.9 | Moderate season |
| November | 7.4 | #4 | 68°F | 58°F | 67°F | 12 | 5.7 | Low season |
| December | 6.4 | #12 | 65°F | 55°F | 64°F | 14 | 4.4 | Low season |
Elsewhere in Europe
Better March weather than Azores
Azores' weather ranks 30 of 77 beach regions this month. These beach regions outside Portugal have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Azores.
Canary IslandsSpain · about 960 miles
Very good weather (8.7): 5°F warmer afternoons, pricier
CeutaSpain · about 1220 miles
Good weather (6.1): 2°F warmer afternoons, 2 fewer rain days, pricier
AndalusiaSpain · about 1230 miles
Good weather (6.5): 3°F warmer afternoons, 3 fewer rain days, pricier
MelillaSpain · about 1360 miles
Very good weather (8.1): 7°F warmer afternoons, 2 fewer rain days, pricier
MurciaSpain · about 1400 miles
Very good weather (7.2): 5°F warmer afternoons, 6 fewer rain days, pricier
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
It's moderate season, 40% of the busiest month and 28% below its average month. That means about 6,100 overnight visitors on a typical March night across the region, 54% of them from Portugal itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 2,500 more: 41 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Beach, 0–100) | 58 |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Ponta Delgada (Observatorio Afonso Chaves) from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.6°C), night lows within 1°F (0.2°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 25 |
| Busiest month here | August · 62 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 2.5% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 91st percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 54% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 41 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 3.4% |
| Population used | 242,000 |
| Statistical region | PT20 · Região Autónoma dos Açores |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national; the first figure is regional (INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night). Full method · this region's data.