Early December 1 December
71°F
Typical afternoon high
Spain · Beach
Canary Islands
in December.
Is December a good time?
Mild days.
A steady visitor season.
December averages 69°F afternoons and 70°F seas.
- Afternoons
- 69°F
- Sea
- 70°F
- Visitor demand
- 86%of August peak
Historical Canarias regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. All seven Canary Islands together. Tenerife and Gran Canaria carry most of the visitors.
Overall match
7.4/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#10 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather8.7/10Very good
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, one of Europe's busiest this month
CostPriceyfor Europe
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your December
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 69°F (21°C): light layers; nights around 58°F (15°C): a sweater and a light jacket. About 10 hours of daylight.
Can I swim in December?
The sea averages 70°F. Our swimming guide: comfortable for a swim. 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 10 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 07:47 and sets about 18:08 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 58°F (15°C); afternoons reach about 69°F (21°C).
Typical afternoon
69°F (21°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Decembers
Night low
58°F (15°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
70°F (21°C)
comfortable; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
10h 21m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late December?
Early and late December have similar afternoon averages. The afternoon high averages 71°F on the 1st, versus 68°F on the 31st.
Mid December 15 December
69°F
Typical afternoon high
Late December 31 December
68°F
Typical afternoon high
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 · 2026: 6 Dec Constitution Day; 8 Dec Immaculate Conception; 25 Dec Christmas Day.
Daily calendar & holiday datesDecember 2026 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
December 2026 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2026.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 171° | 271° | 370° | 470° | 570° | 670° | |
| 770° | 870° | 970° | 1069° | 1169° | 1269° | 1369° |
| 1469° | 1569° | 1669° | 1769° | 1869° | 1969° | 2069° |
| 2169° | 2269° | 2369° | 2469° | 2569° | 2669° | 2769° |
| 2869° | 2969° | 3069° | 3168° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons cool from about 70°F (21°C) in the first week to 69°F (20°C) in the last. Local schools are out 5–31 December 2026.
Schools here are off 5–31 December 2026 (Christmas holidays and teachers' and students' day). Public holidays: 6 Dec Constitution Day; 8 Dec Immaculate Conception; 25 Dec Christmas Day. Elsewhere in December 2026, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: France 39%, Germany 29%, Italy 35%, Netherlands 42%. (School holidays: official calendar, compiled by Bigfoot Wanders; other countries from OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds and cost
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Steady all year. December averages 86% of August's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.
Overnight stays across Canarias 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 above usual. Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €159 per occupied room-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
€159
2024–2025 monthly average; hotel revenue per occupied room-night; not a current booking quote. +15% vs this region's usual month.
Spain as a whole
Below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 84 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
The historical regional amount comes from INE Spain, EOH/IRSH table 2059: hotel average daily rate per occupied room; the country price level is national. Hotel averages are not live booking quotes.
Year-to-year variation
How much does December vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 67°F (20°C) and 72°F (22°C); in 14 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 69°F (21°C).
Rain days
—
not shown here: our data counts fewer rain days than the local weather stations here (0.71 times theirs)
Mostly sunny days
13 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no December in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
25 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded DecemberHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 68°F | Unavailable |
| 2012 | 69°F | Unavailable |
| 2013 | 68°F | Unavailable |
| 2014 | 67°F | Unavailable |
| 2015 | 71°F | Unavailable |
| 2016 | 69°F | Unavailable |
| 2017 | 68°F | Unavailable |
| 2018 | 70°F | Unavailable |
| 2019 | 69°F | Unavailable |
| 2020 | 68°F | Unavailable |
| 2021 | 69°F | Unavailable |
| 2022 | 72°F | Unavailable |
| 2023 | 71°F | Unavailable |
| 2024 | 70°F | Unavailable |
| 2025 | 68°F | Unavailable |
Checked against 55 local weather stations. How we check
Compare dates
November, December
or January?
| Typical conditions | Nov | Dec | Jan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 73°F | 69°F | 67°F |
| Sea | 72°F | 70°F | 68°F |
| Rain days | Unavailable | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Overnight demand | 90% | 86% | 90% |
November: Warmer afternoons and warmer sea than December. November guide →
January: Cooler sea than December. January 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 December Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. December stays as your reference.
Hotel stays vary little through the year. May to October have a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than December.
Your comparison
December or November?
Overnight stays vary little through the year.
Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €148 per occupied room-night. An average, not a booking quote.
Read the November guide →| Typical conditions | December | November |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 69°F | 73°F |
| Nights | 58°F | 62°F |
| Sea | 70°F | 72°F |
| Rain days | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Visitor season | Steady all year | Steady all year |
| Overall / 10 | 7.4 | 7.7 |
| Month rank | #10 | #8 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.3 | #11 | 67°F | 56°F | 68°F | — | 8.2 | Steady all year |
| February | 7.3 | #12 | 68°F | 56°F | 67°F | — | 8.2 | Steady all year |
| March | 7.5 | #9 | 69°F | 56°F | 66°F | — | 8.7 | Steady all year |
| April | 7.8 | #7 | 72°F | 58°F | 67°F | — | 9.2 | Steady all year |
| May | 8.2 | #6 | 74°F | 60°F | 69°F | — | 9.7 | Steady all year |
| June | 8.4 | #1 | 76°F | 63°F | 71°F | — | 10.0 | Steady all year |
| July | 8.2 | #3 | 80°F | 65°F | 72°F | — | 10.0 | Steady all year |
| August | 8.2 | #4 | 82°F | 67°F | 74°F | — | 10.0 | Steady all year |
| September | 8.3 | #2 | 80°F | 66°F | 75°F | — | 10.0 | Steady all year |
| October | 8.2 | #5 | 78°F | 65°F | 75°F | — | 10.0 | Steady all year |
| November | 7.7 | #8 | 73°F | 62°F | 72°F | — | 9.2 | Steady all year |
| December | 7.4 | #10 | 69°F | 58°F | 70°F | — | 8.7 | Steady all year |
Elsewhere in Europe
Same dates, elsewhere in Europe
Canary Islands' weather ranks 1 of 77 beach regions this month. We found no beach regions outside Spain with a weather score at least 1.0 point higher on these dates.
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 86% of the busiest and about average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are. That means about 268,000 overnight visitors on a typical December night across the region, 8% of them from Spain itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 92,000 more: 34 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Beach, 0–100) | 78 |
| How our weather was checked | 55 open weather stations in this region, January and July: afternoon highs typically within 3°F (1.4°C), night lows within 2°F (1.1°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 119 |
| Busiest month here | August · 138 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 10.7% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 99th percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 8% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 34 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 13.8% |
| Population used | 2.3 million |
| Statistical region | ES70 · Canarias |
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 Spain, EOH/IRSH table 2059: hotel average daily rate per occupied room). Full method · this region's data.