Honeymoon Planning: Best Honeymoon Weather by Wedding Month

Photo: Tahiti Tourisme

Is choosing a honeymoon spot making you dizzy? There are a number of ways to narrow down your choices, depending on whether beautiful weather, cost, or sightseeing is your first priority. Great weather and optimal sightseeing opportunities -- as well as high room rates and more crowds (reserve early!) -- often go hand in hand during a destination's high season. (Low season is when seasonal businesses -- restaurants and island ferries, for example -- shut down and attractions may close for renovations.)

If high season perks are what you seek for your once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon, we'll tell you where to go to find the best weather or, if you have your heart set on a specific place, what to expect during that month.

A destination's high -- or busy -- season usually coincides with an area's best weather, but it can also determined solely by demand. High season in Hawaii and the Caribbean, where the weather doesn't change that dramatically, runs from January to April simply because people from colder climes flock to their sunny beaches to flee the winter chill. Conversely, Disney World is packed in the summer despite the searing heat because kids are out of school.

If cost is your first priority, check the "When to Go" section of our destination articles for low season months (best prices) and read our 15 budget honeymoon tips, no matter the season!

Weather by Date

First, a month-by-month guide to the best weather where and when, excerpted from Lucy Hone's The Good Honeymoon Guide (Trail Blazer Publications). Get more details about a destination's year-round weather from a travel guidebook or by calling its tourism board (find phone numbers and/or websites at www.towd.com). Just before you go, be sure to check the forecast at a weather website such as weather.com to help you pack.

Remember that this is a guide to when different destinations traditionally experience the most ideal weather of the year. The months immediately preceding and succeeding a destination's prime time are often called "shoulder" seasons, and usually have good weather as well. Other destinations, such as the Caribbean and Hawaii, are temperate year-round, but particularly incredible at the times listed below.

January & February

Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bali, Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski destinations), Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, the Florida Keys, USA (ski destinations)

March

Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski destinations), Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, the Florida Keys, USA (ski destinations, Southeast, Southwest)

April

Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Italy, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, the Florida Keys, USA

May

Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Seychelles, Spain, Thailand, the Florida Keys, USA

June

Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Spain, Thailand, USA (Alaska, Northeast)

July & August

Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Ireland, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Seychelles, Thailand, USA (Alaska, Northeast)

September

Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Spain, Thailand, USA

October

Australia, Bali, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Central & South Africa, Egypt, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Italy, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Seychelles, Spain, USA

November

Australia, Bahamas, Bali, Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski destinations), Central & South Africa, Egypt, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Seychelles, Spain, USA (ski destinations, Southeast, Southwest)

December

Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bali, Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski destinations), Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, the Florida Keys, USA (ski destinations).

Weather by Destination

Frost be damned, you want to go to Paris? We'd be the last ones to stop you! But remember that your dream destination may not be so dreamy in the dead of winter, or heat of summer. Below, some of the most popular honeymoon destinations -- some because they enjoy relatively sublime weather year-round -- and their not-so-pretty seasons.

Hawaii

Best months: March to July, October and November
Worst months: Far from horrible, December and January are coolest (average afternoon temperature is 75 degrees); August and September are hottest (average 92 degrees). The wettest months are from November to March.

Note: In general, every island's northern shore gets more rain than the southern, especially on Kauai and the Big Island.

Bahamas

Best months: November to April
Worst months: It is hottest (up to 89 degrees on average) and rainiest from June to October

Bermuda

Best months: May to October
Worst month: January and February

Caribbean

Best months: Technically, December to May, when the area is coolest and enjoys the most wind, but average temperatures year-round hover between 78 and 88 degrees
Worst months: "Official" hurricane season runs from June to November; the worst months are August, September, and October (islands near South America -- Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Trinidad, and Tobago -- are outside the hurricane danger zone)

Note: High-altitude and coastal spots are cooled by trade winds year-round (a good salve during the hotter and more humid summer months)

Europe

Best months: May through September or October
Worst months: December to February

Florida

Best months: March, April, October, November
Worst months: May to September

Note: The Florida Keys experience temperate, Caribbean-like weather year-round.

Las Vegas

Best months: March, April, October, November
Worst months: June to September

Note: July and August are scorchers here, but at least it's a "dry" heat (humidity is very low year-round)

Mexico

Best months: October to May
Worst months: Rainy season runs June through September, but usually only involves a short daily dousing. It is also hotter during the summer months.

Note: Coastal playgrounds and low-lying sections of the country are hotter than higher-altitude destinations such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, and the heartland "Silver Cities."

Southeast Asia

Best months: November to February
Worst months: Hottest between April and May; rainy from June to September

South Pacific, French Polynesia

Best months: May to October
Worst months: December to February (hot, humid, and rainy); Tahiti lies well outside the Pacific cyclone zone and while Fiji does not, it is rarely hit during the highest-risk months of January and February

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