Here’s when to plan a trip to Mexico for idyllic weather, beautiful beach days, wildlife sightings, and major festivals.
With its vibrant culture, history, and food scene, Mexico is one of the most-visited destinations in the world. The country’s topography is quite diverse, featuring everything from golden beaches to rugged canyons, and you’ll find a mix of microclimates throughout the sultry cities and high-altitude colonial towns. You may bask on a jungle-backed beach by day and cozy up to a fireplace in the mountains by night. And with all these options to consider, it can also be helpful to know your way around Mexico’s tourism calendar.
- High Season: December to April
- Shoulder Season: July and August
- Low Seasons: May and June, plus September to November
Whether you’re seeking balmy beaches, affordable flights and hotels, stunning wildlife, or colorful fiestas, these are the best times to visit Mexico for every type of getaway.
Best Times to Visit Overall
The best time to visit depends entirely on where you want to go, what you want to do, your ideal crowd size, and the type of weather you’re willing to put up with — in Mexico, that can mean anything from extreme heat to monsoon rains, especially during hurricane season. The country’s different regions also experience a variety of climates year-round.
Dry, warm November may be the ideal month to visit Mexico overall, offering a sweet spot between the heavy autumn rains and the beginning of the busy season. Another perk of visiting that month: depending on your timing and whereabouts, you might catch Día de los Muertos festivities or the magnificent monarch butterfly migration, both mentioned below.
Best Times to Visit for Smaller Crowds
If you want to avoid crowds in Mexico, you should almost always skip the popular winter and early spring months. May and June can be more pleasant times to visit, especially after Easter Week (usually in March or April). This period also marks a lull between the hordes of spring breakers clearing out and the summer travelers filtering in. For similar reasons, fall can also be a lovely time to visit.
And while these less-crowded months correspond with the country’s rainy season, which runs from May to November, that might not be as bad as you think. Unless there’s a hurricane rolling through, the rain usually comes in the form of short afternoon storms, bookended by stretches of sun. These brief showers can be a welcome relief from the heat and humidity — and a nice time to take a siesta.
Best Times to Visit for Good Weather
The dry-season months of November to April promise the nicest, balmiest weather in most parts of Mexico, though these dreamy conditions do bring higher prices and larger crowds. That said, on a regional level, you can find pleasant climes at many different times of the year. Mexico’s coastal hot spots, like Cancun on the eastern coast and Los Cabos on the western coast, offer warmth and sun almost year-round, while high-elevation Mexico City boasts consistently mild temperatures and plenty of indoor activities to enjoy when the rainy season hits.
Best Times to Visit for Lower Prices
Airfare and accommodation prices tend to mirror the high and low seasons. Flights, hotels, and other travel expenses can surge starting in mid-December when visitors from the U.S. tend to escape the frigid winter weather and take advantage of the holiday break. Conversely, you can typically save by booking during the off-season when demand is lower.
June through October are the wettest months in Mexico. If you’re willing to risk these less-than-ideal conditions — particularly in mid-September, the peak of the Mexican hurricane season — your flight and hotel costs should be correspondingly low.
Although it falls in the high season, January is a great option for lower-cost travel. There are often good deals to be found after the New Year holiday and before the winter and spring break frenzy, which begins in February.
Best Times to Visit for Whale Watching
At various points in the year, migrating whales spend time in the warm waters off both Mexican shorelines. From December to March, travelers to Baja or elsewhere on the Pacific coast might spot humpback, gray, and blue whales, among other species, on their epic ocean journeys. Humpbacks love sheltered Bahía de Banderas off Puerto Vallarta; the best times to see them are February and late March. In general, lovers of marine life will be in luck for most of the west coast’s peak season. Between October and April, you can snorkel with whale sharks off Espíritu Santo Island or dive in the protected waters of beautiful Cabo Pulmo, one of just three coral reefs off the country’s western coast.
On the opposite side of the country, whale sharks are the species you’re likeliest to spot. Their season lasts from mid-May to mid-September on Mexico’s eastern shores, with a peak in June and July. Half-day whale shark tours are available from Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Isla Holbox, and Isla Contoy. Keep an eye out for other sea creatures like manta rays, turtles, and dolphins.
Best Times to See the Butterfly Migration
Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies migrate to central Mexico, where they spend the winter in pine and fir trees in the state of Michoacán. The sight of these brilliant golden-orange butterflies covering the mountain forest and fluttering against the bright blue winter sky is truly magical and worth planning a trip around.
To witness the yearly phenomenon, visit one of many sanctuaries within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve between mid-November (when more butterflies have settled in) and late March. At nearly all the sanctuaries, you can hike, horseback ride, or bike to see the butterflies in their wooded habitat — at some, you can even zip-line back down the mountain. The afternoon, when the air is warmer and the butterflies dance among the trees, is the perfect time of day to visit them.
Best Times to Visit for Surfing
The Pacific Ocean drums up fantastic swells along Mexico’s western coast all year long. More experienced surfers will find the biggest, most consistent waves from April to October. July and August are especially prime times for surfing, as they coincide with hurricane season.
Some of Mexico’s best waves pound the breezy Baja Peninsula, where the waters can be quite nippy during the winter months. Further south, Nayarit, Barra de Nexpa, Troncones, and Puerto Escondido, home to the world-famous Mexican Pipeline, benefit from the Pacific’s powerful barreling surf while their waters remain warm all year.
Best Times to Visit for Festivals
Mexico offers countless celebrations and events to plan a trip around. Here are just a few:
- On Feb. 2, Candelaria (Candlemas) is a big deal in San Juan de los Lagos and Tlacotalpan, celebrated with church services, tamales served at dinner, and parades.
- Carnaval is the major February (or early March) event in Mexico, with the biggest parties in Mazatlán on the Pacific coast and Veracruz, Mérida, Cozumel, and Campeche on the Caribbean and Gulf coasts.
- Mexico’s most important holiday, Semana Santa (Holy Week), occurs in March or April, marking the biblical events leading up to Easter Sunday; expect crowded hotels and transit, with processions threading through the streets.
- Celebrate Cinco de Mayo alongside the locals in Puebla, where the Mexican army defeated the French in 1862; note that in Mexico, this is largely a regional festival, with street parades and battle reenactments, and not typically celebrated elsewhere in the country.
- Foodies will love Puebla’s Festival del Mole Poblano, usually held from mid-June to mid-July.
- A colorful celebration of Indigenous dance and music, the Guelaguetza festival occurs in Oaxaca City and its neighboring villages in late July.
- Mexico’s Independence Day on September 16 is toasted with dancing, parades, and fireworks.
- October sees several big annual events: the Cervantino Arts Bash in vibrant Guanajuato, the Morelia International Film Festival in Michoacán’s UNESCO-listed capital, and the all-month extravaganza of Fiestas de Octubre in Guadalajara.
- For many travelers, Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead (Nov. 1–2), is the crown jewel of the Mexican calendar. Festivities across the central and southern regions, and especially in Pátzcuaro, honor the departed with picnics, graveyard vigils, papier-mâché skeletons, and intricate dress and makeup.
Best Times to Visit Canyon Country
The wild, rocky landscape of northwest Mexico’s Copper Canyon is among the country’s most spectacular sights. It’s one of the deepest canyons in the world — larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon in some places — and it’s important to plan your visit carefully since the elements can be unforgiving. Spring (particularly in March) and fall (November, after the wet season) are your best bets for timing a trip, with flowing rivers and waterfalls and mild temperatures.
A scenic train line called the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico, colloquially known as Chepe, cuts through the canyon on its 220-mile journey from Los Mochis in Sinaloa to Creel in Chihuahua. If you want to ride, book your seat in advance.
Best Times to Go to Mexico City
For the best weather conditions, time your trip to Mexico City for March, April, or May, before the rainy summer but after the winter months, when overnight temperatures can drop into the 40s. Spring temperatures linger in the mid-60s on average, with cooler evenings bottoming out in the 50s. The city will be busy with fellow travelers this time of year, but affordable hotel rates can still be found.
Note that Mexico City sits at an elevation of 7,350 feet, so make sure you stay hydrated to avoid any issues with altitude sickness — just take it easy and drink plenty of water if you start to feel lightheaded.
Best Times to Go to Oaxaca
Spring and fall are the best times to head to the enchanting southern city of Oaxaca. April to May and September to October are blessed with idyllic weather, with average temperatures in the mid-to-high 60s, and lighter crowds than at other times of the year.
June through August, despite the rainy weather, and the Christmas/New Year holiday season are the busiest periods for tourists. In late July, the Guelaguetza festival celebrates folk music and dance. If you’re there around Christmastime, your trip will coincide with Oaxaca City’s yearly radish-carving competition, Noche de los Rábanos (Night of the Radishes), held each year on December 23.
Worst Times to Visit
Determining the worst time to visit Mexico depends on one key question: Is your goal to have great weather or fewer crowds? Though the best and worst times will vary by region, that general metric can be your guide. Crowd-averse travelers should avoid the popular spring break season, while sun-seekers should skip summer and fall, which come with near-daily rain.
Vacationers planning a peaceful coastal getaway will want to avoid visiting in March and April, when a huge influx of American college students and Mexican families arrive in resort areas like Cancun during spring break and the Semana Santa holidays.
Beachgoers should remember to consider the weather. Hurricane season — which stretches from May through November, with a peak from July to October — is a risky time to visit the Gulf and Caribbean coasts. It’s also worth noting that warming ocean waters each spring and summer bring sargassum seaweed masses that can put a damper on swimming and sunbathing — especially on the Yucatán coast in popular beach towns like Cancun, Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum.
