The Best Places to Travel in December
Top pick: Vienna, AustriaDecember splits travelers into two tribes: the ones chasing glühwein steam in a Christmas-market square, and the ones chasing 28°C on a beach while everyone else shivers. The month does both better than any other - and rewards anyone who can fly before the 15th with the same magic at a fraction of Christmas-week prices. Ten places at their December best, both tribes served.
Where is best to travel in December?
The best places to travel in December split by mood: Vienna, Prague and Zurich for Europe's great Christmas markets (peaking the first three weeks), New York for the world's most famous holiday-city spectacle, and Cancun, Thailand or the Caribbean for winter sun at its meteorological best. The money rule: the first two weeks of December offer the same markets and the same beaches as Christmas week at 40-60% lower prices - it's the smartest travel window of the winter.
Where to go in December: every pick compared
Every destination compared - jump to the one that fits your group, budget and dates.
| Destination | Why it wins | December weather | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna | The Christmas-market gold standard | 0-5°C, festive from late November - markets close Dec 23-26. | $$$ |
| Prague | Fairy-tale square, half the Vienna bill | -1 to 4°C, magical dusk light by 4pm - dress properly warm. | $ |
| New York City | The holiday-city heavyweight champion | 0-8°C - peak festive Dec 1-31; book everything ahead. | $$$ |
| Cancún & Riviera Maya | The winter-sun default at full strength | 27-29°C, dry - high season begins. | $$ |
| Bangkok & Thailand | The best weather of Thailand's whole year | 30-32°C, dry and clear - the annual peak. | $ |
| Zurich & the Swiss Alps | Markets below, ski season above | -1 to 4°C in town, snow above - season opens through the month. | $$$ |
| Banff & Lake Louise | The snow-globe Christmas | -5 to -15°C, deep snow - full winter-wonderland conditions. | $$$ |
| Sydney | Christmas in summer - the great flip | 22-26°C, high summer - book NYE months ahead. | $$$ |
| Reykjavik & Iceland | Northern lights and the darkest, coziest days | -2 to 3°C, ~4h daylight - aurora season at its deepest. | $$$ |
| Marrakech | Winter sun with souks, four hours from Europe | 18-21°C days, cold nights - pack for both. | $$ |
The best places to visit in December, ranked
1.ViennaAustria
$$$The Christmas-market gold standard
Vienna in December is the genre's masterpiece: the Rathausplatz market glowing beneath the city hall's gothic face, ice skating through the park, concert halls in full season and café culture built for cold evenings. Over a dozen markets scatter the city, each with its own character - and the imperial architecture wears lights better than anywhere.
When to go: 0-5°C, festive from late November - markets close Dec 23-26.
See Vienna hotelsCompare stays for your dates2.PragueCzech Republic
$Fairy-tale square, half the Vienna bill
Prague's Old Town Square market - the great tree, the stalls, the Týn Church spires floodlit behind - may be Europe's most photogenic December scene, and the city delivers it at prices well below its western neighbors. Mulled wine, trdelník smoke and castle views over a frosted city: the fairy tale, affordably.
When to go: -1 to 4°C, magical dusk light by 4pm - dress properly warm.
See Prague hotelsCompare stays for your dates3.New York CityUSA
$$$The holiday-city heavyweight champion
December New York is the spectacle every film promised: the Rockefeller tree, Fifth Avenue's windows, ice rinks in the parks, the Rockettes, and neighborhoods like Dyker Heights turning Christmas lights into competitive sport. It's cold, crowded and expensive - and absolutely worth doing once at full volume.
When to go: 0-8°C - peak festive Dec 1-31; book everything ahead.
See New York City hotelsCompare stays for your dates4.Cancún & Riviera MayaMexico
$$The winter-sun default at full strength
December opens the Yucatan dry season: 28°C, low humidity, warm sea and every beach club and cenote in season. Fly the first two weeks and you get Christmas-week weather at a fraction of Christmas-week rates - the single best-value warm play of the month.
When to go: 27-29°C, dry - high season begins.
See Cancún & Riviera Maya hotelsCompare stays for your dates5.Bangkok & ThailandThailand
$The best weather of Thailand's whole year
December is Thailand's crown month: monsoon gone, humidity at its floor, islands and city alike at 31°C and clear. For long-haul travelers it doubles as the best value on this list once landed - and the festive season in Bangkok has its own neon-tropical charm.
When to go: 30-32°C, dry and clear - the annual peak.
See Bangkok & Thailand hotelsCompare stays for your dates6.Zurich & the Swiss AlpsSwitzerland
$$$Markets below, ski season above
Switzerland stacks December's two cold-weather pleasures: Zurich's singing Christmas tree and lakeside markets in town, and the Alps opening their ski season an hour's train away. It's the double-feature December - glühwein at dusk, first tracks by morning - executed with Swiss precision.
When to go: -1 to 4°C in town, snow above - season opens through the month.
See Zurich & the Swiss Alps hotelsCompare stays for your dates7.Banff & Lake LouiseCanada
$$$The snow-globe Christmas
If December should look like the inside of a snow globe, Banff delivers: frozen turquoise lakes, pine forests under metres of snow, ice skating on Lake Louise beneath the château, and ski hills open across the valley. The castle hotels do Christmas properly - fires, trees, the lot.
When to go: -5 to -15°C, deep snow - full winter-wonderland conditions.
See Banff & Lake Louise hotelsCompare stays for your dates8.SydneyAustralia
$$$Christmas in summer - the great flip
December Sydney inverts the whole holiday: 25°C, beach barbecues, carols in the botanic gardens at sunset and Bondi on Christmas morning. For northern travelers it's the most complete escape on this list - not warmer winter, but actual summer - with New Year's Eve over the harbour as the finale.
When to go: 22-26°C, high summer - book NYE months ahead.
See Sydney hotelsCompare stays for your dates9.Reykjavik & IcelandIceland
$$$Northern lights and the darkest, coziest days
December Iceland trades daylight (four hours of blue-tinted glow) for the northern lights at their most viewable, ice caves at their most stable, and Reykjavik's midwinter coziness - pools steaming in the dark, candles in every window. It's the anti-beach December, and unforgettable for it.
When to go: -2 to 3°C, ~4h daylight - aurora season at its deepest.
See Reykjavik & Iceland hotelsCompare stays for your dates10.MarrakechMorocco
$$Winter sun with souks, four hours from Europe
December Marrakech runs 18-21°C and sunny - t-shirt afternoons in the gardens and souks, with the snow-capped Atlas on the horizon and riad fireplaces at night. For Europeans it's the shortest genuine winter-sun flight, and outside Christmas week it's excellent value.
When to go: 18-21°C days, cold nights - pack for both.
See Marrakech hotelsCompare stays for your dates
How to choose your December trip
Pick your tribe first: markets or sun
December does both perfectly but not in one trip. The markets peak December 1-23 and close abruptly after; the beaches peak all month and price-spike after the 20th. Decide which December you're buying, then apply the same timing rule to either: early month = same product, much smaller bill.
Christmas markets end AT Christmas - not after
The most common December planning error: booking Vienna or Prague for December 25-30 and finding the stalls dark. Most markets close December 23-26. For the full glow, travel between the first weekend of Advent and the 22nd.
The 15th is the price cliff
Everywhere on this list, rates step up around mid-December and go vertical for Christmas-to-New-Year - the most expensive travel week on the calendar. Flying home by the 20th captures nearly everything December offers at close to half the peak cost.
Booking Christmas week itself? Commit early
If the holiday week is the point - New York's tree, Banff's snow globe, Sydney's NYE - accept the premium and book months ahead: this is the week the good inventory (family rooms, château views, harbour-view NYE tables) sells out first and discounts never come.
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