The South Coast in December: Weather, Sea Temperature, Rain Days and a Two-Day Plan

JAMAICA · SOUTH COAST · DECEMBER

December gives Jamaica’s South Coast a day that sits at 84.7°F and a night that falls to 74.2°F, with 0.90 inch of rain spread across the whole month. The sea off the coast runs 84.0°F. For a coast whose reputation rests on being dry, this is the month the numbers agree with the reputation.

What the month withholds is daylight and water heat. You get 11 hours 06 minutes of it on December 15, the sun is gone by 5:39 pm, and the sea has already shed two degrees from November’s 86.0°F. December also sits after the Atlantic hurricane season closes on November 30 (our month-by-month risk page has the full curve).

On this page

• December weather on the South Coast84.7°F days, 0.90 inch of rain, 1.5 wet days
• Sea temperature for swimming84.0°F, read as a daily-maxima average
• Crowds, prices and when to bookWhat we verified, and what we could not
• Things to do in DecemberTreasure Beach, Black River, YS Falls
• A two-day plan around the daylightTwo days built on a 5:39 pm sunset
• December vs November and JanuaryHow the three months compare, degree by degree
• Is December worth it?Our verdict, for swimmers and for planners

The coast in general, its beaches and its beds, belongs to the South Coast guide, and the country-wide timing question sits in best time to visit Jamaica. Every figure below is dated to December.

The South Coast weather in December: average highs, lows and rain days

Every figure here comes from the Open-Meteo / ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis, 1991–2020 normals computed for the grid cell at 17.8767° N, 77.7588° W. That cell sits over Treasure Beach, in Saint Elizabeth, the driest parish in Jamaica, which is precisely what separates this coast from the north shore. It is a model reanalysis rather than an airport station record, so read it as the shape of the month, not as a thermometer you could go and touch.

The rain line is the one worth translating. An average December logs 1.5 days with at least 0.10 inch of precipitation, which works out to roughly one wet day every three weeks, and the whole month’s total is 0.90 inch. November’s total is 2.04 inches over 5.2 such days. In practice, a four-night stay here in December has a decent chance of recording no measurable rain at all.

Between the 84.7°F high and the 74.2°F low there are 10.5 degrees, and they land after dark. A long-sleeved shirt covers the whole gap, especially on a veranda or a boat deck where the breeze is doing the work. Nothing warmer is needed, and our packing list handles the rest of the suitcase.

Light is the real constraint. On December 15 the sun rises at 6:33 am and sets at 5:39 pm local time, Jamaica staying on UTC−5 all year, for 11 hours 06 minutes of daylight. At this latitude dusk is brief, so a 4 pm departure from Black River means arriving somewhere in the dark. Read the driving guide before you plan an evening leg on these roads.

Can you swim on the South Coast in December? Sea temperature and wind

Yes, and the figure is 84.0°F. That comes from the Open-Meteo Marine API, averaged over 2015–2024, and it is the mean of daily maxima rather than a 24-hour mean, so the water you meet at dawn runs a shade cooler than the number suggests. Even discounted for that, this is bath-warm by any northern-hemisphere standard in December.

Set it against the air and the practical consequence appears: at first light the sea at 84.0°F is warmer than the 74.2°F average low. Getting in costs nothing in willpower, and staying in for an hour costs nothing in body heat, with no wetsuit, no shorty and no arguing with children about it. The cold shock happens on the way out, at 6:40 in the morning, when the towel matters more than the sunscreen.

We could not verify a wind or swell series for this stretch of coast in December, so we publish no figures for either. Boat trips out to the sandbar shacks and up the river are called by the captains on the morning, and that call is the only wind forecast we would trust here.

How busy is the South Coast in December? Crowds, prices and when to book

We found no occupancy series and no monthly room-rate series for the South Coast, so we rank no month cheap and no month expensive. What is not in dispute is the calendar: December carries the year-end holiday weeks, and those weeks behave differently from the first fortnight everywhere in the Caribbean. For the order of magnitude of a Jamaica week, use our trip-cost breakdown rather than any number we could invent here.

No booking-window data was available to us either, so treat what follows as editorial judgment. The South Coast trades in small guesthouses rather than thousand-room resorts, and small properties sell out as units, not as percentages. If your dates straddle Christmas or New Year, lock the room and the airport transfer together, since the drive from Montego Bay is the part travelers leave until last.

On tax, we can only say what we checked: we could not verify Jamaica’s lodging-tax rate or the bands it applies to, so no percentage appears anywhere on our South Coast pages. Ask the property to quote the all-in nightly figure in writing before you pay a deposit.

One upgrade genuinely changes December rather than decorating it: a room close enough to the water that the 6:33 am swim needs no car. With 11 hours 06 minutes of daylight, every mile between bed and beach comes out of the usable day, and that is the trade worth paying for this month.

Things to do on the South Coast in December: Treasure Beach, Black River and YS Falls

December’s gift is schedulable weather. With 1.5 measurable rain days against November’s 5.2, a boat morning or a waterfall afternoon can be booked on a date rather than held as an option. That is not a claim about sunshine hours, which we did not verify, but about how rarely the sky interferes: 0.90 inch of rain has to fall over thirty-one days.

The fixtures are Treasure Beach, the fishing settlement in Saint Elizabeth our climate cell sits over, the Black River and its mangrove boat runs, YS Falls inland, and the sandbar bar standing offshore from Parottee. We could not verify current admission prices, opening hours or post-storm reopening status for any of them, so we quote none; our page on the aftermath tracks what has come back online.

What December changes at these places is the sky, not the water. The sea moves from 86.0°F in November to 84.0°F here to 82.1°F in January, a gentle slide, while measurable-rain days collapse from 5.2 to 1.5 in a single month. Freshwater at an inland falls has its own logic, and the visitor’s experience of it in December is mostly about the road in staying dry.

Free, this month, means the coast itself: the beach at 6:33 am, and the sunset that lands at 5:39 pm and needs no ticket. We could not verify any dated December festival, free-entry day or fishing tournament for this coast, so we name none. Anyone who wants an event calendar should confirm it locally the week before traveling.

The South Coast in December: a two-day itinerary

Day one. In the water at 6:40 am, ten minutes after sunrise, when the sea’s 84.0°F beats the 74.2°F air. Breakfast by eight. Boat or river trip from nine to about one, while the day is climbing toward 84.7°F. Lunch and shade from one to three, the hottest stretch. Back on the sand by four, dry and dressed before the light goes at 5:39 pm, with dinner eaten in the dark, which is simply what December looks like at 17.9° N.

Day two. Drive inland early for YS Falls, allowing the return leg to finish well before sunset rather than at it. Should the wet day arrive, remember its size: 0.90 inch for the entire month, and only 0.1 day in an average December delivering an inch or more. Slide the boat trip to the following morning instead of canceling it, and spend the gap on the longer indoor lunch you were not going to make time for.

The South Coast in December vs November and January

Air temperature barely participates: 0.8°F separates November’s 85.2°F high from January’s 84.4°F, and nights move by 2.6°F across the same span. Rain does all the moving, from 2.04 inches over 5.2 wet days to 0.90 inch over 1.5, then to 0.52 inch over 1.3. The sea, meanwhile, cools in even steps of roughly two degrees a month, 86.0°F to 84.0°F to 82.1°F, all three read as daily maxima from the marine series.

Shift four weeks earlier and you buy two degrees of sea warmth and pay with 3.7 extra wet days, plus the tail of the hurricane season (November in detail). Shift four weeks later and you get the driest of the three months at 0.52 inch, while the water drops to 82.1°F and the difference is noticeable to anyone who swims for an hour (January in detail).

Is December a good time to visit the South Coast?

For swimmers and for anyone who wants their outdoor plans to hold, yes without hesitation: 84.0°F water, 84.7°F days and one measurable rain day every three weeks is close to the best arrangement this coast offers. It works less well for travelers who want long evenings outdoors, given 11 hours 06 minutes of daylight and darkness at 5:39 pm, and for anyone who needs a fixed budget, since we could verify no rate data for the holiday weeks.

If dryness outranks everything, take January instead: 0.52 inch of rain and 1.3 wet days against December’s 0.90 inch and 1.5, with the sea at 82.1°F as the price. If the water is what you came for, November’s 86.0°F is the warmest of the three, and its 5.2 wet days are the bill.

Among these three months, December alone holds the sea at 84.0°F while keeping the month’s rainfall under a single inch.

The last word

Book the room within walking distance of the sand, put the boat trip on the first morning rather than the last, and let the 6:33 am sunrise do the rest. One figure we have held back says the most about this month: in an average December, only 0.1 day records an inch of rain or more, which is a genuine soaking roughly one December in ten. Pack the long sleeve for the 74.2°F nights and leave the rain jacket at home.

Sources & data for this guide

• December normals (high 84.7°F, low 74.2°F, 0.90 in), 1991–2020 · Open-Meteo / ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis, grid cell 17.8767° N, 77.7588° W, over Treasure Beach, Saint Elizabeth · model reanalysis, not an airport station record · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Rain-day counts (1.5 days at 0.10 in or more, 0.1 day at 1.00 in or more) · same ERA5 cell, 1991–2020 · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Sea surface 84.0°F, mean of daily maxima 2015–2024 · Open-Meteo Marine API · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Sunrise 6:33 am, sunset 5:39 pm, 11 h 06 min of daylight on December 15 (UTC times converted to local, UTC−5 year-round) · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 20, 2026
• November and January figures in the comparison table · same ERA5 cell and period for air; sea from the Open-Meteo Marine API, 2015–2024 · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Reserves: we found no occupancy or monthly room-rate series for the South Coast, could not verify Jamaica’s lodging-tax rate, found no wind or swell series for December, and confirmed no dated December event. Site names are editorial; admission prices, hours and reopening status change · confirm with operators before you travel.

To plan your stay

• Things to Do on Jamaica's South Coast: Black River Crocodiles, YS Falls, Floyd's Pelican Bar and Treasure Beach
• Best Time to Visit Jamaica's South Coast: Weather, Sea Temperature and the Quiet Months
• The South Coast in January: Weather, Sea Temperature, Crowds and a Two-Day Plan
• The South Coast in November: Weather, Sea Temperature and Rain Days in Jamaica

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• Luminous Lagoon Jamaica: Tickets, Sunset Departures and the Moonless-Night Rule
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