In Brief
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.
Key takeaways
- Christmas markets peak December 1-23 - most close right after the 24th, so don't plan them for the holiday week itself.
- Early December (1st-15th) = identical weather and markets at close to half of Christmas-week prices.
- For winter sun, December opens the dry season in Cancun, Thailand and the Caribbean simultaneously.
- Christmas-to-New-Year is the year's most expensive travel week everywhere - book months out or avoid it.
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. | $$ |
| Bangkok & Thailand | The best weather of Thailand's whole year | 30-32°C, dry and clear - the cool season at full strength. | $ |
| Zurich & the Swiss Alps | Markets below, ski season above | -1 to 4°C in town, snow above - season opens through the month. | $$$ |
| 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
Price band is a typical nightly hotel rate: $ budget · $$ mid-range · $$$ high-end. Booking links open Trip.com.
ViennaAustria
$$$ · High-endThe Christmas-market gold standard
Vienna in December is the genre's masterpiece: the Rathausplatz market glowing beneath the city hall's gothic face, ice skating through the park, concert halls in full season and café culture built for cold evenings. Over a dozen markets scatter the city, each with its own character - and the imperial architecture wears lights better than anywhere.
- December weather
- December weather: 0-5°C, festive from late November - markets close Dec 23-26.
PragueCzech Republic
$ · BudgetFairy-tale square, half the Vienna bill
Prague's Old Town Square market - the great tree, the stalls, the Týn Church spires floodlit behind - may be Europe's most photogenic December scene, and the city delivers it at prices well below its western neighbors. Mulled wine, trdelník smoke and castle views over a frosted city: the fairy tale, affordably.
- December weather
- December weather: -1 to 4°C, magical dusk light by 4pm - dress properly warm.
New York CityUSA
$$$ · High-endThe 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.
- December weather
- December weather: 0-8°C - peak festive Dec 1-31; book everything ahead.
Cancún & Riviera MayaMexico
$$ · Mid-rangeThe winter-sun default at full strength
December opens the Yucatan dry season: 28°C, low humidity, warm sea and every beach club and cenote in season. Fly the first two weeks and you get Christmas-week weather at a fraction of Christmas-week rates - the single best-value warm play of the month.
- December weather
- December weather: 27-29°C, dry - high season begins.
Bangkok & ThailandThailand
$ · BudgetThe best weather of Thailand's whole year
December is Thailand's crown month: monsoon gone, humidity at its floor, islands and city alike at 31°C and clear. For long-haul travelers it doubles as the best value on this list once landed - and the festive season in Bangkok has its own neon-tropical charm.
- December weather
- December weather: 30-32°C, dry and clear - the cool season at full strength.
Zurich & the Swiss AlpsSwitzerland
$$$ · High-endMarkets 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.
- December weather
- December weather: -1 to 4°C in town, snow above - season opens through the month.
Banff & Lake LouiseCanada
$$$ · High-endThe snow-globe Christmas
If December should look like the inside of a snow globe, Banff delivers: frozen turquoise lakes, pine forests under metres of snow, ice skating on Lake Louise beneath the château, and ski hills open across the valley. The castle hotels do Christmas properly - fires, trees, the lot.
- December weather
- December weather: -5 to -15°C, deep snow - full winter-wonderland conditions.
SydneyAustralia
$$$ · High-endChristmas 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.
- December weather
- December weather: 22-26°C, high summer - book NYE months ahead.
Reykjavik & IcelandIceland
$$$ · High-endNorthern lights and the darkest, coziest days
December Iceland trades daylight (four hours of blue-tinted glow) for the northern lights at their most viewable, ice caves at their most stable, and Reykjavik's midwinter coziness - pools steaming in the dark, candles in every window. It's the anti-beach December, and unforgettable for it.
- December weather
- December weather: -2 to 3°C, ~4h daylight - aurora season at its deepest.
MarrakechMorocco
$$ · Mid-rangeWinter 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.
- December weather
- December weather: 18-21°C days, cold nights - pack for both.
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.
December trips: FAQ
The questions travelers ask most while picking.
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Photo credits (10)
Photos via Wikimedia Commons, used under their respective licences.
- Vienna: Diego Delso - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Prague: Myrabella - CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
- New York City: Dietmar Rabich - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Cancún & Riviera Maya: dronepicr - CC BY 2.0 · source
- Bangkok & Thailand: Dominic Nelson - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Zurich & the Swiss Alps: Hansueli Krapf This file was uploaded with Commonist . - CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
- Banff & Lake Louise: Chensiyuan - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Sydney: Benh LIEU SONG ( Flickr ) - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Reykjavik & Iceland: Olga Ernst - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Marrakech: Self-photographed - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source