FLORIDA · ORLANDO · MARCH
March in Orlando pairs jacket mornings with afternoons warm enough for a dip in spring water, and the Atlantic hurricane season stays closed until June 1. It is also the month school spring holidays bring families to the theme parks, while college spring break heads for the beach towns instead. Good weather and a crowd arrive together, and the trip turns on how you handle the second.
You have already picked Orlando. The open question is the date: what four weeks in March hand you, what they take away, and whether February or April would suit your vacation better. For the wider state, our Florida guide and the best time to visit Florida cover the year from end to end.
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE · ORLANDO IN MARCH
Book March in Orlando for 78.9°F afternoons, 55.8°F mornings and a calendar outside hurricane season, and choose park dates with the school holidays in mind.
SCHOOL SPRING HOLIDAYS · OUTSIDE HURRICANE SEASON · NOAA NORMALS 1991 TO 2020
Go for: spring swims in the afternoon, boardwalk walks in cool mornings, and park days without summer heat.
Think twice before: choosing March for short park queues if your dates are free, because school holidays fill the parks through the month.
Climate: NOAA NCEI · Springs: USGS, Florida DEP · Tax: Florida DOR · full sources at the end
On this page
- Orlando weather in March78.9°F highs, 4.0 rain days, 7:35 p.m. sunset
- What to wear in Orlando in March55.8°F mornings against 75.6°F spring water
- Are Orlando parks crowded in March?School holidays, ticket dates and the 6.0% room tax
- Springs near Orlando in MarchWekiwa, Rock Springs, Blue Spring and Lake Louisa
- Two days in Orlando in MarchA spring morning, a park afternoon and a rain swap
- Orlando in February or April instead?Highs of 74.9°F, 78.9°F and 83.6°F side by side
- Is March a good time to visit Orlando?Who should book March, and who should shift
Two commercial airports serve Orlando. MCO boarded 27,859,783 passengers in 2024, the busiest in Florida and ahead of Miami, while Sanford’s SFB, north of MCO, boarded 1.4 million. We could not verify SFB’s distance to the parks, because the airport’s site blocked our connection, so we give no mileage. Routes and fares sit in our Florida flights guide, and the ground options in getting around Florida.
Orlando weather in March: average highs, lows and rain days
| March measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average high | 78.9°F (26.1°C) | NOAA NCEI, 1991 to 2020 |
| Average low | 55.8°F (13.2°C) | NOAA NCEI, 1991 to 2020 |
| Precipitation | 3.03 in | NOAA NCEI, 1991 to 2020 |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 4.0 | NOAA NCEI, 1991 to 2020 |
| Days with 1 in or more | 1.1 | NOAA NCEI, 1991 to 2020 |
| Daylight on March 15 | 12 h 02 min | sunrise-sunset.org |
| Sunrise / sunset, March 15 | 7:32 a.m. / 7:35 p.m. EDT | sunrise-sunset.org |
Every figure here comes from one real thermometer: the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information 1991 to 2020 normals for station USW00012815, at Orlando International Airport. A station normal and a grid-cell reanalysis such as ERA5 are different animals, and the lows are where they tend to part company. By the NOAA station, March averages a high of 78.9°F (26.1°C), a low of 55.8°F (13.2°C) and 3.03 inches of precipitation.
Measurable rain, at least a tenth of an inch, falls on 4.0 days in an average March, roughly one day in eight. An inch or more comes down on 1.1 days, so a typical March holds about one real soaking, the kind that cancels an outdoor morning. Leave one day of the itinerary flexible and pack a light rain shell.
The average day swings 23.1°F from dawn to mid-afternoon. Pack for both ends of it: a fleece or light sweater for an early start at a spring or a park gate, and shorts, a sun hat and sunscreen for the afternoon. A daypack big enough to swallow the morning layer is more useful than a second pair of shoes.
On March 15 Orlando gets about 12 hours 2 minutes of daylight. Orlando runs on Eastern time, and by mid-month the clocks have moved to daylight saving, so the sun rises at 7:32 a.m. and sets at 7:35 p.m. That leaves light in the sky for an outdoor dinner after a park or spring day.
How warm is Orlando in March?
Orlando is inland and we carry no sea-surface reading for it, so the useful water comparison is the springs. The average March afternoon of 78.9°F runs 3.3°F warmer than the 75.6°F the USGS gauge at Wekiwa Springs read on September 11, 2026, and the 55.8°F average low sits 19.8°F below it. Gauge figures are single instantaneous readings, a snapshot of water that barely moves through the year, and they are not averages of daily maxima.
Dress for two climates in one day. Long pants and a light jacket suit the first hours after sunrise, and by early afternoon a T-shirt is plenty. A swimsuit belongs in the bag too, since the afternoon air runs a few degrees above the spring water and a dip feels refreshing rather than bracing.
We found no count of freezing nights in the NOAA normals we read for March, so we give no frost figure. An average hides its coldest nights, though, so keep one warm layer in the suitcase whatever the forecast said on packing day.
How busy is Orlando in March? Crowds and prices
Families on school spring holidays fill the Orlando theme parks in March, while college spring break weighs on the beach towns instead. No single week carries the whole wave, since university calendars spread the breaks across the month. We found no occupancy or room-rate series, so we crown no March week the most expensive.
Once your own school calendar is fixed, book the room and any park reservation straight away, and favor a refundable rate in case the break moves. We could not verify a typical booking lead time, so we give no week count. We print no theme-park price either: Disney and Universal price by date, and a figure written today would be wrong within weeks.
Room bills in Orange County, where Orlando and the parks sit, carry a 6.0% transient rental tax, filed and paid with Florida’s 6% state sales tax. Together those two add 12 points to the nightly rate before any resort fee or parking charge. Our Florida trip cost guide builds out the rest of the budget.
Spending changes March in one place, the park ticket date. Because the operators price by date, a day inside your school break and a day just outside it may not cost the same. Compare several dates on the Disney or Universal site before you buy flights, then build the trip around the cheapest day that works.
Things to do in Orlando in March
March lets a theme-park vacation share its week with spring water, minus summer’s heat. The average afternoon stays just under 80°F, the hurricane season does not open until June 1, and a morning walk needs nothing heavier than a sweater. For a longer list across the state, see things to do in Florida.
Wekiwa Springs State Park, the nearest spring to Orlando, has one designated swimming area, one canoe, kayak and tube launch, 15.9 miles of paddling trail, 13.7 miles of hiking trail and 325 parking spaces, according to the state’s 2024 facilities inventory. Rock Springs, the tubing run at Kelly Park north of town, read 75.0°F on the USGS gauge on September 11, 2026. Blue Spring State Park has 3,050 feet of boardwalk, the longest at any Florida spring park in the inventory, plus three observation platforms, six cabins and 187 parking spaces. Lake Louisa State Park adds a swimming area, five launches and 20 cabins.
Wekiwa’s gauge read 75.6°F and Blue Spring’s 74.3°F on September 11, 2026, and spring water does not move with the month. The air does. At 55.8°F on an average March dawn the water feels warm, and near 78.9°F in the afternoon it feels cool. The same gap explains the manatees at Blue Spring in the winter months: the spring holds steady while the river around it cools. We verified no manatee count for March, so ask the park before driving out for them, and see our manatee guide.
We could not read entrance fees or opening hours, because the Florida state parks site refused our reads and fees vary by park and season. So we call nothing free and give no opening time. Parking is the number to plan around: Rock Springs Run State Reserve has 30 spaces, and Silver Springs State Park, the glass-bottom-boat spring, has 1,686.
Orlando in March: a two-day itinerary
Start day one at Wekiwa. Leave after the 7:32 a.m. sunrise with a jacket on and aim to reach the 325-space lot early. Walk the 1,435 feet of boardwalk or a stretch of trail while the air is cool, then hold the swim until early afternoon, when the average high of 78.9°F climbs past the water. Head back toward town late in the afternoon with daylight to spare before the 7:35 p.m. sunset.
On day two, give the morning to Blue Spring’s boardwalk and observation platforms, then spend the afternoon and evening in a theme park booked for that date. If the forecast shows one of March’s 1.1 inch-plus days, swap the order: a park’s indoor rides and shows absorb a wet day better than an open boardwalk, and the spring can wait for the next dry morning. Without a car, ask the LYNX operator for an All-Day Pass ($4.50, or $2.25 discounted) before putting money in the farebox. It runs from 4 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next day across Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.
Orlando in March vs February and April
| NOAA normal, 1991 to 2020 | February | March | April |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 74.9°F | 78.9°F | 83.6°F |
| Average low | 52.4°F | 55.8°F | 60.7°F |
| Precipitation | 2.04 in | 3.03 in | 2.58 in |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Dawn-to-afternoon swing | 22.5°F | 23.1°F | 22.9°F |
| Hurricane season | Outside | Outside | Outside |
At the high, March runs 4.0°F warmer than February (78.9°F against 74.9°F) and 4.7°F cooler than April (83.6°F). By inches it is the wettest of the three, 3.03 against 2.04 in February and 2.58 in April, yet the count of rain days barely moves at 3.8, 4.0 and 3.9. Each wet March day therefore averages more rain. We hold no sea figure for inland Orlando, and the springs keep the same temperature through all three months.
Shift four weeks earlier and February mornings open at 52.4°F, with almost an inch less rain over the month. Shift four weeks later and April lifts dawn to 60.7°F and afternoons to 83.6°F, better weather for a long swim. We found no crowd series for either month to set against March’s school holidays, so compare park dates directly. The Orlando in February and Orlando in April guides carry each month in full.
Is March a good time to visit Orlando?
Yes for most trips. Couples, friends and families whose school break lands in March get mild afternoons, cool mornings for walking and a month outside hurricane season. The harder sell is for travelers with free choice of dates who want quieter parks, because March is when school holidays fill them. Families should also read Florida with kids.
If March is a no, pick February for cooler days and the lightest rainfall of the three (2.04 inches), or April for 83.6°F afternoons built for swimming. Check either one against your own school calendar and the park operators’ date pricing before booking flights.
February’s average afternoon stays below Wekiwa’s 75.6°F water, April’s average dawn starts 4.9°F warmer than March’s, and March sits between them with a jacket morning and a swimming afternoon in the same day.
The last word
Pick the park ticket date first and let the rest of the trip fall in around it: the school calendar sets March for most families, and the operator’s calendar sets the price. Then add a spring morning and pack the jacket you will be carrying by noon. If the week wants a beach at the end, Brightline covers the roughly 235 miles to Miami in about three and a half hours, with departures about every two hours and fares that move by date. Leave SunRail for the commuters, since its schedule names no airport and no theme-park station.
Sources & data for this guide
- February, March and April normals · NOAA NCEI monthly normals 1991 to 2020, station USW00012815 (Orlando International Airport) · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Daylight, sunrise and sunset on March 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted from UTC to Eastern daylight time · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Hurricane season dates · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Orange County 6.0% transient rental tax and 6% state sales tax · Florida Department of Revenue, form DR-15TDT · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Airport passengers, CY2024 · Federal Aviation Administration · checked Sep 24, 2026 · SFB distance not verified: flysfb.com blocked our connection
- Spring water temperatures · USGS National Water Information System, stations 02234600, 02234610 and 02235500, instantaneous readings · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Park facilities · Florida DEP Recreational Facilities Inventory, 2024 report · checked Sep 11 and Sep 21, 2026
- Manatees and spring warmth · Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2001, revised 2011 · checked Sep 24, 2026
- LYNX fares and All-Day Pass rule · LYNX Fares & Passes · checked Sep 24, 2026 · SunRail stations checked Sep 24, 2026, fare not printed by the operator
- Brightline route and frequency · gobrightline.com · checked Sep 24, 2026 · fares move by date
- March school holidays and spring break · tourism sources · checked Sep 24, 2026
- What we could not verify: park hours, entrance fees, manatee counts, theme-park prices, freezing-night counts, booking lead times and any sea temperature. The state parks site refused our reads, and Disney and Universal price by date.
To plan your stay
- Things to Do in Orlando Beyond the Theme Parks: Springs, Manatees and LYNX Fares
- Orlando Airport to the City: MCO or Sanford, LYNX Fares, Brightline Times
- Best Time to Visit Orlando: Month-by-Month Weather, Summer Heat and the Quiet Weeks
- Orlando in February: Weather, Rain Days, Crowds and Springs vs January and March