December.
The Americas are back: Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Florida are all dry, and Sri Lanka's rainforest side opens. Book early for the holidays.
December, region by region
December is when the Americas turn dry in our planner. Ten of the 17 destinations are marked prime this month, up from four in November: Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Florida, Colombia, Belize, Panama and Guatemala in the Americas, plus Thailand and Sri Lanka in Asia. Between them they hold 58 of the stays in this directory. Four more destinations are shoulder-season options this month (Brazil, Hawai‘i, Peru and Ecuador), and three are in their wet months: Bali, Borneo and Australia's Daintree.
For the Caribbean side, December is the first month after the Atlantic hurricane season, which the US National Hurricane Center dates from June 1 to November 30. Puerto Rico, the Florida Keys and Belize all sit in that basin, and all three are marked prime from December.
In Asia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, including the Sinharaja lodges in the southwest, are both marked prime in December. Borneo's Sabah lodges and Bali are in their wet stretch, and so is the Daintree, where our planner's wet season runs from December through March.
- National Hurricane Center: tropical cyclone climatology: Atlantic hurricane season dates, read 15 October 2026
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Photo: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 3.0Costa Rica
The easiest serious jungle on earth — sloths over breakfast, surf twenty minutes away.
Best months: December – April (dry), May – August (green, quieter) 5 stays in Costa Rica
Photo: edenpictures, CC BY 2.0Tulum & the Maya Jungle
Low, dense Maya jungle riddled with cenotes — swim in a cave before lunch, ruins before dinner.
Best months: November – April 6 stays in Tulum
Photo: Jami430, CC BY-SA 4.0Puerto Rico
The only tropical rainforest in the US national forest system, no passport required for Americans.
Best months: December – April (driest), but green year-round 6 stays in Puerto Rico
Photo: Gzzz, CC BY-SA 4.0Florida
Banyans, bamboo groves and blackwater swamps — the jungle hiding inside the United States.
Best months: November – April 6 stays in Florida
Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0Thailand
Jungle two ways: limestone island rainforest over turquoise water, or misty mountain forest up north.
Best months: Islands: January – April · North: November – February 5 stays in Thailand
Photo: Shallodarns, CC BY-SA 4.0Colombia
Four very different forests, from Amazon river lodges to Minca treehouses to Pacific cabins where the jungle runs into the sea.
Best months: Caribbean side (Minca, Tayrona) driest Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug; Chocó wet year-round but humpback whales Jul–Oct; Leticia no true dry season, easier trails Jun–Nov 5 stays in Colombia
Sri Lanka
Wet-zone rainforest, misty tea-estate hill country and dry-zone forest, with two monsoons that run on opposite calendars.
Best months: Southwest rainforest and hill country (Sinharaja, Ella) best Dec–Apr; dry-zone south and east (Yala, Sigiriya) best May–Sep, the opposite calendar 5 stays in Sri Lanka
Photo: Laslovarga, CC BY-SA 3.0Belize
More than half the country is forest, the ruins still wear their canopy, and the treehouses sit on real rivers.
Best months: Late November – May (dry); June – November is green, wet and cheaper 7 stays in Belize
Photo: Aaron O'Dea, CC BY-SA 3.0Panama
Caribbean island jungle in Bocas del Toro, cloud forest in Boquete, and sloths in the trees of the capital.
Best months: December – April (dry); Bocas often clears in September and October 6 stays in Panama
Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0Guatemala
Temples above the treeline, a river canyon to the Caribbean, and turquoise pools in the limestone hills.
Best months: December – April (dry); wettest from September to November 6 stays in GuatemalaAlso works, and quieter.
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0Open the stay finder.
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