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Where is warm enough to swim in December?

Of 19,259 coastal locations on this site, 7,176 sit above 20°C in a typical December. That's 37% of the world's tracked coastline. The list below shows where they are, with the warmest regions surfaced first.

Comfortable swim (≥ 20°C)

7,176

37% of coastal locations worldwide

Very warm (≥ 25°C)

5,258

27% of coastal locations worldwide

Warmest spot in December

Gulf of Carpentaria

31.5°C in Australia

Browse December by region

Each region is ranked by how many of its coastal locations clear the 20°C comfort threshold in December. Use this to narrow down a part of the world before picking a country.

# Region Locations ≥ 20°C
1 Asia 2,560
2 Australia and Oceania 1,208
3 North America 846
4 Caribbean and Central America 710
5 South America 588
6 Africa 578
7 Middle East 359
8 Europe 327

Live world sea temperature map

Pins coloured by today's reading at every location we track. Use the map for current conditions, the list below for typical December.

Zoom in to see individual locations. Click a pin for water temperatures. View list →
°C -2 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 24 27 30 35

Warmest asia beaches in December

2,560 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight asia locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full Asia ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 Laminaria Cova-Lima 30.6°C
2 Suai Cova-Lima 30.5°C
3 Sungai Kaibus West Papua 30.5°C
4 Sungai Karabra West Papua 30.4°C
5 Nabire Papua 30.3°C
6 Pulau Kobalin Papua Barat 30.3°C
7 Pulau-Pulau Moor Papua 30.2°C
8 Kwatisore Papua 30.2°C

Warmest australia and oceania beaches in December

1,208 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight australia and oceania locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full Australia and Oceania ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 Gulf of Carpentaria Northern Territory 31.5°C
2 Cape Domett Western Australia 31.5°C
3 Quoin Island Northern Territory 31.5°C
4 West Island Northern Territory 31.5°C
5 Adolphus Island Western Australia 31.4°C
6 Shale Island Western Australia 31.4°C
7 Pelican Island Western Australia 31.4°C
8 Lacrosse Island Western Australia 31.3°C

Warmest north america beaches in December

846 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight north america locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full North America ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 Acapulco Guerrero 29.4°C
2 Puerto Chiapas Chiapas 29.4°C
3 Maldonado Guerrero 29.3°C
4 Tecoanapa Guerrero 29.3°C
5 Ixtapa Guerrero 29.3°C
6 Zihuatanejo Guerrero 29.3°C
7 Acapulco-C,Gro. Guerrero 29.2°C
8 Troncones Guerrero 29.2°C

Warmest caribbean and central america beaches in December

710 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight caribbean and central america locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full Caribbean and Central America ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 Champerico 29.4°C
2 Delmas 73 Ouest Department 29.2°C
3 Puerto Quetzal 29.2°C
4 Puerto San Jose 29.2°C
5 Puerto Quetzal-B Escuintla 29.1°C
6 San Jose Escuintla 29.1°C
7 Léogâne Ouest Department 29.1°C
8 Carrefour 29.1°C

Warmest south america beaches in December

588 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight south america locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full South America ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 Macapa Amapa 29.7°C
2 Santana Amapa 29.7°C
3 Covenas 29.7°C
4 Tolu 29.6°C
5 Ilha Do Brigue State of Amapá 29.4°C
6 Tintipan Island 29.3°C
7 Arboletes 29.2°C
8 Barcarena Para 29.1°C

Warmest africa beaches in December

578 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight africa locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full Africa ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 Maintirano Mahajanga Province 30.3°C
2 Îlot Indien Toliara Province 30.1°C
3 Morondava 29.9°C
4 Nosy Maroantaly Mahajanga Province 29.9°C
5 Andoany (Hell-Ville) Antsiranana Province 29.9°C
6 Andoany (Hellville) Antsiranana Province 29.9°C
7 Pointe Maroloha Mahajanga Province 29.9°C
8 Baie De Baly Toamasina Province 29.8°C

Warmest middle east beaches in December

359 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight middle east locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full Middle East ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 Al Qunfudhah Makkah Province 29.6°C
2 Al Birk 29.6°C
3 Jizan 28.7°C
4 Jeddah (Ghubbat Asharah) Makkah Province 28.3°C
5 Jeddah 28.3°C
6 Rabigh Makkah Province 28.0°C
7 Al Luhayyah 27.9°C
8 Thuwal 27.9°C

Warmest europe beaches in December

327 locations ≥ 20°C

Top eight europe locations by typical December sea temperature. Use the linked full Europe ranking in December for the complete list.

# Location December mean
1 lies Wallis (Mata-Utu) Hahake 29.6°C
2 Clipperton-D Overseas France 27.7°C
3 El Hierro Canary Islands 21.9°C
4 La Restinga Canary Islands 21.8°C
5 Las Puntas Canary Islands 21.8°C
6 Puerto de la Estaca Canary Islands 21.8°C
7 Timijiraque Canary Islands 21.8°C
8 Gomera Canarias 21.7°C

Top 50 hottest coastal locations on Earth in December

Across every region, sorted by typical December mean. The very top of the list rarely shifts. Persian Gulf and Red Sea coasts hold the warmest position most months of the year.

# Location December mean
1 Gulf of Carpentaria Northern Territory 31.5°C
2 Cape Domett Western Australia 31.5°C
3 Quoin Island Northern Territory 31.5°C
4 West Island Northern Territory 31.5°C
5 Adolphus Island Western Australia 31.4°C
6 Shale Island Western Australia 31.4°C
7 Pelican Island Western Australia 31.4°C
8 Lacrosse Island Western Australia 31.3°C
9 Catfish Island Northern Territory 31.3°C
10 Anson Bay Northern Territory 31.3°C
11 Centre Island Northern Territory 31.3°C
12 Port Keats Northern Territory 31.3°C
13 Albert River Mouth Queensland 31.3°C
14 Jones Point Northern Territory 31.3°C
15 Cape Ford Northern Territory 31.2°C
16 West Wellesley Islands Queensland 31.2°C
17 Burge Point Northern Territory 31.2°C
18 Entrance Island Northern Territory 31.2°C
19 East Field Island Northern Territory 31.2°C
20 Native Point Northern Territory 31.2°C
21 Point Jenny Northern Territory 31.2°C
22 West Alligator Head Northern Territory 31.2°C
23 Hutchison River Northern Territory 31.2°C
24 Chambers Bay Northern Territory 31.1°C
25 Point Stuart Northern Territory 31.1°C
Show 25 more ▸
26 Port Warrender Western Australia 31.1°C
27 Peron Island North Northern Territory 31.1°C
28 Cape Scott Offshore Northern Territory 31.1°C
29 Cape Hotham Northern Territory 31.1°C
30 Tapa Bay Northern Territory 31.1°C
31 Lizard Island Western Australia 31.1°C
32 Mornington Island Queensland 31.1°C
33 Yabooma Island Northern Territory 31.1°C
34 Fish Reef Northern Territory 31.0°C
35 Glyde Point Northern Territory 31.0°C
36 Jar Island Western Australia 31.0°C
37 Australia Queensland 31.0°C
38 Sweers Island Queensland 31.0°C
39 Valentine Island Western Australia 31.0°C
40 Darwin Northern Territory 31.0°C
41 Fannie Bay Northern Territory 31.0°C
42 Larrakeyah Northern Territory 31.0°C
43 Nightcliff Northern Territory 31.0°C
44 Parap Northern Territory 31.0°C
45 Stuart Park Northern Territory 31.0°C
46 Hancox Shoal Area Northern Territory 31.0°C
47 Two Hills Bay Northern Territory 30.9°C
48 Cadell Strait Northern Territory 30.9°C
49 Elcho Island Northern Territory 30.9°C
50 Milner Bay (Groote Eylandt) Northern Territory 30.9°C

Browse other months

Same list, different month:

A note on the 20°C threshold

Twenty Celsius is the rough line where most casual swimmers say the water "isn't cold". Below that, you feel the shock on entry and stay aware of it. Above, you can usually relax. It's not a hard rule. Experienced cold-water swimmers happily swim well below it, and some people find anything under 24°C unpleasant. As a single number for a global comparison, 20 is the most useful one.

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