Montego Bay in December: Weather, Sea Temperature, Crowds and Ticket Prices

MONTEGO BAY · DECEMBER · 18.5° N

Montego Bay averages 81.2°F by day in December and 72.5°F overnight, with 2.12 inches of rain spread over about five wet days. The Atlantic hurricane season closed on November 30, so a December booking sits outside the storm window entirely. Offshore, the sea runs 82.8°F. Daylight, though, is down to 11 hours 4 minutes by the 15th.

Christmas and New Year weeks fall inside this month, and the first twenty days are a different booking problem from the last eleven. Rain has already dropped from November’s 3.55 inches to 2.12, and wet days from 9.1 to 4.9. What December takes back is water heat and evening light: the sea cools 2.3°F from November, and the sun is gone by 5:39 pm. Swim in the middle of the day, and save the great-house tours for the dark.

On this page

• Montego Bay weather in DecemberHighs of 81.2°F and 4.9 wet days
• Sea temperature in December82.8°F, read as daily maxima
• Crowds, room tax and the holiday weeksUS$1 to US$4 a night, per room
• Things to do in DecemberDoctor’s Cave, Rose Hall, the Martha Brae
• Two days in Montego BayAn hour-by-hour plan around a 5:39 pm sunset
• December vs November and JanuaryHow the three months compare, in numbers
• Is December a good time to visit?Who should book it and who should shift

December decides your swim, your clothes and your dinner hour, not your route. The twelve-month picture is in the best time to visit Jamaica, the flight and the paperwork in flights from the US and entry requirements, and the ride from Sangster in airport transfers. Storm history, if the date still worries you, is in hurricane season.

Montego Bay weather in December: average highs, lows and rain days

Every figure here comes from a model reanalysis rather than a thermometer at Sangster International. The 1991-2020 normals are ERA5 output from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, read through Open-Meteo for the grid cell at 18.4762°N, 77.8939°W. That cell gives 81.2°F for the average high and 72.5°F for the average low. An official station series would not match it exactly, and the gap tends to be widest on the overnight minimum, so treat 72.5°F as the softer of the two.

Measurable rain, 0.10 inch or more, falls on 4.9 days in an average December, roughly one day in six. An inch or more shows up on 0.2 day per December, so the genuine soaking lands about one year in five. In practice a December shower costs twenty minutes more often than it costs an afternoon. Rafting the Martha Brae runs 09:00 to 16:00 whatever the sky does, and the operator says the length of the ride varies with the state of the water.

The day-to-night spread is 8.7°F. One long-sleeve layer covers the 72.5°F end of it, and a light shell covers the 4.9 wet days without eating bag space. Neither January’s 71.1°F nights nor November’s 74.0°F ones move that list much, so the packing list holds across all three months. The December-specific item is a second swimsuit: at 82.8°F, most people go in twice a day, and nothing dries fast in a bag.

December 15 brings 11 hours 4 minutes of daylight, sunrise at 6:35 am and sunset at 5:39 pm, converted to Jamaica time from the sunrise-sunset.org calculation. That clock runs the day more than the thermometer does. Doctor’s Cave keeps its customer service desk open to 17:30, nine minutes before the sun goes. Rafting on the Martha Brae stops at 16:00, an hour and a half before dark. Rose Hall’s Haunted Night Tour opens at 18:30, well into the night.

Can you swim in Montego Bay in December? Sea temperature and what it feels like

Sea surface off Montego Bay averages 82.8°F (28.2°C) in December, from the Open-Meteo Marine series for 2015 to 2024. One qualifier belongs with that number: it is the mean of daily maxima, not a 24-hour mean, so it sits a shade warmer than tables built the other way. Expect other sources to print a degree or two lower for the same water and the same month.

At 82.8°F you walk in without the gasp, and children stay in until they get bored rather than cold. Entry at Doctor’s Cave Beach on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard costs US$8 for anyone 12 and over and US$4 for children under 12, with the customer service desk open Monday to Sunday, 08:30 to 17:30. Arrive at opening and the first swim is done two hours after sunrise, leaving the short afternoon free for Rose Hall.

We found no wave-height or wind series for the bay in December, so we publish no swell figure and no wind speed. The calendar we can date: the hurricane season ran June 1 to November 30 and peaked on September 10, per the NOAA National Hurricane Center, and December falls outside it. That takes the named-storm swell off the month, not the ordinary chop, so a catamaran day still turns on the day’s forecast rather than the monthly normals.

How busy is Montego Bay in December? Crowds, prices and the demand peak

December is winter-season territory in Jamaica, and the school holidays land in its final ten days. We found no occupancy series and no monthly room-rate series, so we crown no month cheap and no month expensive. The part that is pure calendar rather than pricing: Christmas and New Year sit inside this month, and a trip built for the 5th behaves nothing like one built for the 27th.

We could not verify hotel lead times for Montego Bay, so we give no number of weeks to book ahead. The lead times we can date belong to the operators. Rose Hall Great House runs its Day and Garden Tour Monday to Saturday, 09:15 to 16:00, and the Haunted Night Tour Wednesday to Saturday only, 18:30 to 20:30, so a Sunday-to-Tuesday stay misses the night version. Rafting the Martha Brae takes guests in order of arrival, and no booking buys a place in that line.

Jamaica’s Guest Accommodation Room Tax is charged per occupied room per night and scaled to the property, not to the traveler: US$1 for 1 to 51 rooms, US$2 for 51 to 100, US$4 for 101 rooms and above, per Tax Administration Jamaica. Complimentary rooms attract it too. Two weeks in a large resort therefore adds US$56, a fraction of what European cities charge per person. The government also announced a US$20 fee on each arriving air passenger whose trip begins abroad, effective August 1, 2012, and we could not reconfirm that amount on a current government page.

The line worth paying up on in December is location, because of that 5:39 pm sunset. A room within walking distance of Jimmy Cliff Boulevard turns the US$8 beach into a before-breakfast and after-lunch habit, and keeps dinner on foot once the light goes. A room half an hour out spends the shortest afternoons of the year in a car. Our where to stay guide sorts the options, and Montego Bay vs Negril settles the bigger choice.

Things to do in Montego Bay in December: Doctor’s Cave, Rose Hall and the Martha Brae

December is the first month after the hurricane season closes on November 30, and it opens with rain 40 percent below November’s 3.55 inches. Two consequences show up on the ground. The Martha Brae ride depends on the state of the water, so a drier month means a steadier hour and a quarter on the river. And sunset at 5:39 pm puts Rose Hall’s 18:30 tour nearly an hour into full darkness instead of at dusk.

Doctor’s Cave Beach charges US$8 for visitors 12 and over and US$4 under 12. Rose Hall Great House asks US$30 an adult for the Day and Garden Tour, Monday to Saturday 09:15 to 16:00, and US$35 for the Haunted Night Tour, Wednesday to Saturday 18:30 to 20:30. Rafting the Martha Brae is US$99 for visitors and J$13,000 for Jamaicans with local ID, three miles of river in about an hour and a quarter. Rocklands Bird Sanctuary at Anchovy, where red-billed streamertails feed from a hand-held bottle, publishes no price we could read at source, and three resellers quote US$35, US$30 and US$25 for the same adult ticket: bring cash.

The sea barely shifts across these three months, 82.8°F in December against 85.1 in November and 82.0 in January. The air and the clock do the shifting. Rafting stops at 16:00, and in December that leaves about an hour and a half of light for the road back into town. The great house is dark from the first minute of the 18:30 tour. And the drier month counts on the river itself, where 2.12 inches of rain replaces November’s 3.55.

On free admission, we could not verify a single no-charge day at any of the four, so budget for tickets every day of the week. Rafting the Martha Brae does open on public holidays, 09:00 to 16:00, and takes all major credit and debit cards. The US$30 Rose Hall ticket covers the gardens as well as the house, and the tour runs 45 minutes to an hour whichever day you take it. For unticketed hours, the sunset falls at 5:39 pm and costs nothing.

Montego Bay in December: a two-day itinerary

Day one starts in the water at 08:30, when Doctor’s Cave opens its desk, US$8 for adults and US$4 for under-12s, and finishes there around 13:00. Rose Hall takes the afternoon: the Day and Garden Tour runs to 16:00, the visit lasts 45 minutes to an hour, and arriving by 14:30 leaves room to walk the gardens on the same US$30 ticket. Sunset at 5:39 pm puts you back at the room before dark, and a 72.5°F night needs no jacket over dinner.

Day two goes east to Rafting the Martha Brae, at or near the 09:00 opening, since guests are processed in order of arrival: US$99 for visitors, J$13,000 for Jamaicans with local ID, about an hour and a quarter on three miles of water, cards accepted. That leaves the afternoon for a second 82.8°F swim. If one of the month’s 4.9 wet days lands on you, the river still runs its 09:00 to 16:00 day, and the fallback is the great house interior or the Wednesday-to-Saturday night tour at 18:30, US$35.

Montego Bay in December vs November and January

On temperature December sits between its neighbors, 1.2°F below November’s 82.4°F high and 0.4°F above January’s 80.8°F. Rain is where the three separate: 2.12 inches against November’s 3.55, with wet days close to halved, 4.9 against 9.1. January goes drier still, 1.79 inches over 4.2 days. The sea follows the same slope, 85.1°F, then 82.8, then 82.0, all three read as means of daily maxima on the same series.

Move four weeks earlier and you gain 2.3°F of water heat plus the warmest nights of the trio at 74.0°F, then pay with nine wet days and a hurricane season open until November 30. Move four weeks later and you gain the driest normals of the three and leave the holiday weeks behind, at the price of 71.1°F nights and 0.8°F less in the sea. We work both cases out in November and January.

Is December a good time to visit Montego Bay?

Yes for most travelers, and the storm calendar plus 4.9 wet days is the reason. Anyone who wants dry-season swimming, 82.8°F water and no named-storm risk gets all three. The answer turns to no for two groups: those who need the last ten days of the month at quiet-season conditions, and those chasing the warmest possible sea, since November’s 85.1°F beats December’s by 2.3°F.

When the answer is no, January is the month to slide into: 1.79 inches of rain, 4.2 days with measurable rain, and the coolest nights of the three at 71.1°F. The water concedes almost nothing, 82.0°F against 82.8. The holiday weeks are behind you, and the operator hours do not change, with Rose Hall still running Monday to Saturday from 09:15.

What December alone delivers is the first clear month after the season closes: no hurricane window at all, rain already down to 2.12 inches, and a sea still holding 82.8°F.

The last word

Book the dates around the night, not the heat. A 5:39 pm sunset on the 15th means Rose Hall’s US$35 haunted tour at 18:30, Wednesday to Saturday, runs in full dark, and your Doctor’s Cave afternoon ends at a 17:30 desk. One fact for the ride in from Sangster: the Transport Authority identifies a licensed public passenger vehicle by five marks, not one, among them a red PPV plate, a roof globe reading Taxi, and a checked color code 10 cm high in 2.5 cm squares. It prints no letter prefix, so check the marks rather than the plate alone.

Sources & data for this guide

• December normals (81.2°F / 72.5°F, 2.12 in) and rain-day counts (4.9 days at 0.10 in, 0.2 day at 1.00 in) · Open-Meteo / ECMWF ERA5, 1991-2020, grid cell 18.4762°N 77.8939°W · model reanalysis, not an airport station record · checked Sep 20, 2026
• November and January normals in the comparison table · same ERA5 series and period, not estimates · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Sea surface 82.8°F, mean of daily maxima 2015-2024 · Open-Meteo Marine API · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Daylight 11h 04m, sunrise 6:35 am and sunset 5:39 pm on December 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, UTC values converted to America/Jamaica · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Hurricane season dates and the September 10 peak · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Doctor’s Cave admission (US$8 / US$4) and desk hours 08:30-17:30 · Doctor’s Cave Bathing Club, General Admission page · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Rose Hall Great House tours, US$30 day and US$35 night, with hours and duration · rosehall.com · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Rafting the Martha Brae, US$99 / J$13,000, 09:00-16:00 daily including public holidays, order of arrival · jamaicarafting.com FAQ · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Guest Accommodation Room Tax bands (US$1 / US$2 / US$4 per occupied room per night) · Tax Administration Jamaica · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Arriving-passenger fee of US$20, announced with effect from August 1, 2012 · Jamaica Information Service · checked Sep 20, 2026 · we could not reconfirm the amount on a current government page, so it carries its 2012 date
• Authorized airport taxis, JUTA and JCAL, one desk outside the Customs exit, and no published fare table · MBJ Airports Limited · checked Sep 20, 2026 · ask for the rate at the desk
• PPV identification marks, including the red plate, the roof globe and the 10 cm checked color code · Transport Authority of Jamaica, Licence Types · checked Sep 20, 2026 · the regulator prints no letter prefix
• Rocklands Bird Sanctuary admission · no primary source we could read; reseller quotes of US$35, US$30 and US$25 contradict one another · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Tour hours, ticket prices and taxes change · confirm with each operator when you book.

To plan your stay

• Things to Do in Montego Bay: Reef Snorkeling, Rose Hall, Rafting and the Free Beaches
• Where to Stay in Montego Bay: Neighborhoods, Resort Belts and the Walk to the Sand
• Montego Bay Airport to the City: Shuttles, Licensed Taxis and Departure-Day Timing
• Things to Know Before Going to Montego Bay: Red-Plate Taxis, the Hip Strip and Jerk Pits

Nearby places

• Luminous Lagoon Jamaica: Tickets, Sunset Departures and the Moonless-Night Rule
• Negril, Jamaica: Seven Mile Beach, the West End Cliffs and Where to Stay
• The South Coast and Treasure Beach, Jamaica: YS Falls, Pelican Bar and What Has Reopened