The Algarve in December: Weather, Sea Temperature, Crowds and a Two-Day Itinerary

THE ALGARVE · DECEMBER · FARO STATION 554

Faro’s December afternoons average 62.8°F, the sun sets at 17:17 in mid-month, and no beach on the Algarve has a lifeguard until the legal season returns in May. Bring walking shoes and a warm layer and the trip comes together around cliff paths near Sagres, the fortress on its promontory and long drives on the toll-free A22. Swimming is the part of the vacation December cannot promise.

If you have not settled where to sleep or how to move between towns, our Algarve guide covers the coast town by town and getting around Portugal handles trains and buses. Most travelers from the US fly into Faro at the eastern end of the coast, and our flights guide compares the routes. Below, every question is about the date: what December gives a trip, what it takes away, and whether November or January would serve you better.

On this page

• Algarve weather in December62.8°F highs and 7 rain days at Faro
• Can you swim in the Algarve in December?Sea at 63.4°F, no lifeguards
• Algarve crowds, prices and tourist taxLow season, a toll-free A22 and the car question
• Things to do in DecemberSagres fortress hours and Benagil kayak rules
• A two-day Algarve itineraryA Sagres day, then Benagil or Faro
• November or January instead?How the three months compare at Faro
• Is December a good time to visit?Who should go and who should pick November

Every air and rain figure here comes from one thermometer: IPMA station 554 at Faro, 5 m above sea level, at the eastern end of a coast about 150 km (93 miles) long. Inland high ground runs colder and far wetter, and the western end around Sagres keeps its own weather. Read the normals below as Faro’s before you pack for a hill trail.

Algarve weather in December: average highs, lows and rain days

The numbers are official 1991-2020 normals from IPMA, Portugal’s national weather service, read at station 554 in Faro. A real thermometer stands behind them, not a model grid cell, and the difference matters: reanalysis grids can miss a coastal minimum by several degrees. In an average December, Faro reaches 62.8°F in the afternoon, drops to 49.5°F at night and collects 3.54 inches of precipitation.

Rain falls on 7.0 days of an average December at IPMA’s threshold of 1 mm (0.04 inch), a little under one day in four. Heavier rain, 10 mm (0.39 inch) or more, comes on 3.2 days, so expect roughly one proper soaking every ten days. IPMA’s thresholds differ from the 0.10-inch cutoff US tables use, and the counts do not line up with an American weather chart. On a typical wet day, keep the morning flexible and move the cliff walk to the next dry afternoon.

Night runs 13.3°F cooler than afternoon at Faro. A T-shirt with a light jacket works at lunch, and dinner outdoors calls for a real sweater or fleece. Add a rain shell with a hood for the wet days, and shoes with grip for cliff paths after rain. Our Portugal packing list covers the rest.

On December 15 the Algarve gets about 9 hours 41 minutes of daylight. Mainland Portugal runs on UTC in winter, so sunrise at 07:36 and sunset at 17:17 are the times on your phone. Start outdoor plans by nine, finish exposed cliff paths before five, and book dinner for after dark.

Can you swim in the Algarve in December? Sea temperature and what it feels like

The sea off the Algarve averages 63.4°F in December, according to the Open-Meteo Marine series for 2015 to 2024. That figure is the mean of daily maxima, the warmest reading of each day, and it sits a shade above a 24-hour mean. Morning water runs a little cooler, and sea tables built on daily means will print a lower number for the same month.

In practice the water at 63.4°F is slightly warmer than Faro’s 62.8°F afternoon air, and it still feels cold at first contact. A short dip close to shore is realistic for cold-water swimmers. Nobody will be watching: the 2026 Portaria ends the lifeguarded season in Albufeira on 15 October and everywhere else on the coast by 30 September at the latest, so every December swim is unsupervised. Go with company and stay within your depth.

We found no verified December wind or swell figures for the coast, so we give none. Check the day’s marine forecast before entering the water. One rule holds in any weather: swimming into the Benagil sea cave, from the beach or from a boat, is banned by the national maritime authority.

How busy is the Algarve in December? Crowds and prices

December falls outside every lifeguarded beach season the 2026 Portaria sets for the Algarve, and the calendar treats it as low season. We found no occupancy series and no monthly room-rate data, so we rank no month as cheapest. For daily budgets by tier, see what a trip to Portugal costs.

We could not verify how many weeks ahead Algarve rooms fill in December, so we give no lead time. The weather argues for flexibility: with 7.0 rain days in an average month, a free-cancellation room and a car you can shift by a day keep one wet forecast from breaking the itinerary. For choosing a base town, our where-to-stay guide compares the options.

We could not verify the lodging tax Algarve councils charge in December, so we give no amount. Ask the hotel or rental host at booking whether a per-night municipal tax applies, and add it to the budget before you compare prices.

The car is where spending more changes the month. Infraestruturas de Portugal keeps the A22, the Via do Infante along the whole Algarve, at a zero toll rate under Lei n.º 37/2024. With 9 hours 41 minutes of daylight, a rental lets you reach Sagres for its 09:30 opening and still see a second headland before sunset. That zero rate is specific to the A22 and a few other routes, not Portuguese motorways in general, as our car rental guide explains.

Things to do in the Algarve in December

Mild afternoons make December a walking month. A 62.8°F high is comfortable on an exposed headland at midday, and the long cliff routes around Ponta da Piedade and Sagres suit short days with an early start. For beach towns in the off season, Lagos and Tavira keep their old centers busy year-round.

The Fortaleza de Sagres opens 09:30 to 17:30, with last entry at 17:00, and the ticket covers both the fortress and the Sagres promontory. Ask at the gate for the current adult price. At Benagil, guided kayak and paddleboard tours with a licensed guide may enter the cave, capped on numbers and limited to up to eight minutes inside per group. Nobody may land on the inner beach, and solo kayak rentals into the cave ended in July 2025.

December moves the light and the air around these places, not their rules. Sagres keeps its 17:30 closing while the sun sets at 17:17, so a 17:00 entry gives you seventeen minutes of daylight on the promontory. At Benagil the eight-minute limit stays fixed all year, but the sea underneath averages 63.4°F and the day’s conditions decide whether tours launch. Confirm with the operator the evening before, since we could not verify December tour schedules.

Driving the A22 costs nothing all year. Sagres fortress is free on Sundays and public holidays until 14:00 only for residents of Portugal, so visitors pay on those days too. Beaches and coastal paths carry no entry charge, and in December you share them mostly with walkers.

The Algarve in December: a two-day itinerary

Day one, the west. Set off after the 07:36 sunrise and drive west on the toll-free A22 toward Lagos, then on to Sagres, arriving for the fortress’s 09:30 opening. Give the fortress and promontory the morning while the light is low and clear. Lunch in Sagres around 13:00, then head back east to walk the Ponta da Piedade headland at Lagos from about 15:00, leaving the cliff edge before the 17:17 sunset. Dinner in Lagos after dark.

Day two, the center. On a calm morning, book a guided paddle tour into Benagil and spend the afternoon on the cliff path toward Carvoeiro. If the weather turns, and one day in ten brings 10 mm or more, swap the sea for Faro’s walled old town and a long lunch built from our Portuguese food guide. Three or four nights (est.) give the plan room to absorb a wet day.

The Algarve in December vs November and January

From November to December, Faro’s average high drops 4.5°F and the low 3.9°F, while precipitation rises from 2.97 to 3.54 inches. January cools by a smaller step, 1.5°F off the high and 2.6°F off the low, but it is much drier at 1.94 inches and 6.0 rain days against December’s 7.0. The sea slides from 65.3°F to 63.4°F to 62.0°F across the three months.

Moving four weeks earlier buys warmer afternoons at 67.3°F and water 1.9°F warmer, with slightly less rain. Moving four weeks later buys 1.60 fewer inches of rain and one fewer wet day, at the cost of nights 2.6°F colder and a sea 1.4°F cooler. Neither shift brings back lifeguards. See the Algarve in November and the Algarve in January for the full picture.

Is December a good time to visit the Algarve?

Yes, if your trip is built on walking, driving and eating: 62.8°F afternoons, a free motorway and open fortresses make an easy long weekend or a gentle end-of-year week. No, if the vacation depends on beach days, since the water averages 63.4°F at its daily peak and nobody guards the sand anywhere on the coast.

For warmer afternoons, pick November, when Faro reaches 67.3°F and the sea 65.3°F. For guarded swimming, go between 1 June and 30 September, when every council’s lifeguards are on duty, or to Albufeira from 15 May to 15 October. Our best-time guide weighs the full year.

Of the three months, December and January are the pair where the sea beats the afternoon air, and December’s water is the warmer of the two by 1.4°F.

The last word

Pack for Faro’s 13.3°F swing between lunch and dinner, give the clear morning to Sagres, and treat any swim as your own call. At Benagil, the paddle is the better ticket. Motorized boats must keep 15 meters (about 49 feet) off the arches, enter by the western one and stay two minutes, so a guided kayak group gets four times as long inside the cave.

Sources & data for this guide

• December, November and January normals (highs, lows, precipitation, rain days at 1 mm and 10 mm) · IPMA climatological normals 1991-2020, station 554 Faro, 5.0 m · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Station scope: Faro sits at the eastern end of a 150 km coast, and high ground and the western end differ · IPMA · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Sea surface, mean of daily maxima 2015-2024 · Open-Meteo Marine API · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Daylight, sunrise and sunset on December 15 · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Lifeguarded beach seasons by council · Diário da República, Portaria n.º 204-A/2026/1, annex I · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Benagil access rules · Autoridade Marítima Nacional, Edital 019/2024 as amended by Edital 009/2025, with stay limits and the July 2025 end of solo rentals sourced to the Capitania do Porto de Portimão · we have not reread the edital text itself · checked Sep 2026
• Fortaleza de Sagres hours and resident-only free Sundays · Monumentos do Algarve / Direção Regional de Cultura do Algarve · full adult price could not be read at source · checked Sep 24, 2026
• A22 zero toll rate · Infraestruturas de Portugal, Portagens page, and Lei n.º 37/2024 · checked Sep 24, 2026
• We found no occupancy series, room-rate data, lodging-tax rate or wind and swell figures for December, so we give none. Itinerary timings are editorial, and tour operators decide daily whether to launch.

To plan your stay

• Things to Do in the Algarve: Sea Caves, Cliff Trails, Lagoon Ferries and Winter Golf
• Where to Stay in the Algarve: Sagres, Albufeira, Tavira and the Car Question
• Things to Know Before Going to the Algarve: the Toll-Free A22, Cliff Stairs, Tides and Fish by Weight
• Day Trips from the Algarve: Benagil, Sagres, Ria Formosa and Seville

Nearby places

• Carvoeiro, Portugal: the Cove, Algar Seco and the Seven Hanging Valleys Trailhead
• Tavira, Portugal: the Island Ferry, the Old Town and Where to Stay
• Sagres, Portugal: Wind, the Beaches on Both Sides and Cabo de São Vicente