Where to go in December
The places at their best in December, ranked by what the weather actually does — not by what a brochure says it does.
1. Doha
Qatar
Museums, a rebuilt souq, and desert an hour out.
Highs around 25° (77°) · about 2 wet days a month · 187 airlines fly there
2. Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Superlatives, desert dunes, and a very long brunch.
Highs around 26° (79°) · about 2 wet days a month · 347 airlines fly there
3. Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Grand mosque, desert dunes, and a Louvre on the water.
Highs around 26° (79°) · about a wet day a month · 232 airlines fly there
4. Sanya
China
China's tropical island resort coast.
Highs around 25° (78°) · about 3 wet days a month · 109 airlines fly there
5. Kolkata
India
Colonial bones, Bengali sweets, and India's literary heart.
Highs around 26° (78°) · about 2 wet days a month · 97 airlines fly there
6. Guadalajara
Mexico
Mariachi's birthplace, tequila country, and colonial plazas.
Highs around 25° (76°) · about 2 wet days a month · 92 airlines fly there
7. Muscat
Oman
White low-rise city between mountains and the Gulf of Oman.
Highs around 26° (79°) · about a wet day a month · 104 airlines fly there
8. Mexico City
Mexico
High-altitude megacity with world-class museums and markets.
Highs around 22° (72°) · about 2 wet days a month · 237 airlines fly there
9. New Delhi
India
Mughal tombs, imperial avenues, and India's political centre.
Highs around 22° (71°) · about a wet day a month · 262 airlines fly there
10. Miami
United States
Art deco, Cuban coffee, and water the colour of glass.
Highs around 25° (77°) · about 12 wet days a month · 363 airlines fly there
11. Kaohsiung
Taiwan
Taiwan's southern port: harbour art and night markets.
Highs around 25° (77°) · about 4 wet days a month · 64 airlines fly there
12. Karachi
Pakistan
Pakistan's enormous coastal city, and its best food.
Highs around 26° (79°) · barely a wet day a month · 61 airlines fly there