Guadalajara in December: Weather, Rain Days, Crowds and Things to Do

MEXICO · GUADALAJARA · DECEMBER

December is a good month to be outside in Guadalajara. Afternoons average 77.0°F, and measurable rain turns up on only 1.4 days. Mornings start much cooler, so breakfast in the Plaza de Armas, under the cathedral’s twin yellow-tiled spires, comes with a jacket. Tlaquepaque, just south of the center, fills its plazas with mariachi and its shops with pottery and blown glass.

The December question is one of dates. Christmas and New Year’s Eve both fall inside the month, and we found no hotel-rate series to say what they do to a room price. For the wider question of which month suits which trip, our month-by-month planner is the place to compare.

On this page

• Guadalajara weather in DecemberHighs of 77.0°F, lows of 45.5°F, 1.4 rain days and a 6:16 p.m. sunset
• Do I need a jacket in Guadalajara in December?Cool mornings, warm afternoons and no sea to swim in
• Are Guadalajara hotels expensive in December?Holiday-week booking, the lodging tax and what we could not verify
• What to do in Guadalajara in DecemberHospicio Cabañas, the Museo Regional at 210 pesos, Tlaquepaque and Tonalá
• A two-day Guadalajara itinerary for DecemberMuseum morning, plazas at dusk, then the crafts towns
• December, November or January in Guadalajara?Highs, lows and rain for the three months
• Should I visit Guadalajara in December?Yes for dry days, November for warmer mornings

Every figure here is a thermometer reading from one place: the Guadalajara observatory in the city center, at 1,551 m. That suits the historic core, where the cathedral, the Teatro Degollado and most of the sights stand. The western suburbs toward Zapopan sit a little higher, so readings there may differ. Nothing in the comparison with November and January is estimated, because those months come from the same station and the same years.

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

The normals come from Mexico’s national weather service, the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (CONAGUA), for 1991-2020 at station 14065: average high 77.0°F, average low 45.5°F, 0.30 inches of precipitation. That is a measured station record, not a reanalysis of a satellite grid cell. The whole month adds up to just under a third of an inch.

SMN counts 1.4 days of measurable rain in an average December. That means a month of mostly dry days with the odd wet one. The station sheet does not publish SMN’s rain threshold, so the count should not be lined up against a U.S. count of rain days. An average also hides the occasional wet December, and we could not check year-by-year variation.

The average low and the average high sit 31.5 degrees apart. Pack a jacket or sweater for early and late hours, a T-shirt or light shirt for the middle of the day, and comfortable walking shoes. One bag covers both ends of the day if the top layer comes off easily.

On December 15 the day lasts about 10 hours 56 minutes. Sunrise is at 7:21 a.m. and sunset at 6:16 p.m., converted from UTC to local time. Plan the outdoor afternoon to end by 6:16 p.m. After that the evening is for dinner.

How warm is Guadalajara in December?

The 77.0°F high and the 45.5°F low are averages of daily maxima and minima across 1991-2020, so single days run both above and below them. Our sources give no record extremes for the station. Guadalajara is also inland at 1,551 m, so there is no sea temperature to report.

In practice, mornings call for a jacket and afternoons for rolled sleeves. Sunrise at 7:21 a.m. puts the first cool hours of daylight ahead of the Museo Regional’s 9 a.m. opening. We have no hourly readings, so we cannot say when the air crosses a given number. Start in a layer and peel it off as the day heads toward the afternoon high.

An average low of 45.5°F is a long way above freezing, and January’s average low of 44.1°F is only 1.4 degrees under it. We could not verify how many December nights reach freezing, so we give no count. Pack for cold mornings rather than for frost.

How busy is Guadalajara in December? Crowds and prices

We found no occupancy series and no hotel-rate series for Guadalajara, so we crown no month expensive and none cheap. The calendar fact stands on its own: Christmas week and New Year’s Eve sit inside December, and any holiday week is worth pricing before the rest of the trip is built around it.

For booking, treat the holiday dates as the fixed point. Price flights and rooms for those days first, keep a refundable rate until both are set, and compare the same dates against a November or January stay. We have no lead-time data for Guadalajara, so we give no number of weeks. Our Travel 101 guide covers the general booking habits.

We could not verify the lodging-tax rate for Jalisco, so we give no percentage. Ask any hotel whether the quoted nightly cost includes taxes and fees, and get the answer in writing before paying a deposit.

If you pay more for one thing in December, make it the bed. Nights run cool, with lows averaging 45.5°F. Ask the hotel about heating or extra blankets before you book, since we have no data on either.

Things to do in Guadalajara in December

With only 1.4 rain days, December makes the open-air plans dependable. Walk the Plaza de Armas and the Plaza Tapatía, spend a morning among the pottery shops of Tlaquepaque, and go on a Thursday or Sunday to the big crafts market in Tonalá. The town of Tequila, in the agave fields west of the city, is where the region’s spirit is distilled, and several distilleries offer tours.

In the historic center, the cathedral anchors the Plaza de Armas and the Teatro Degollado, the city’s historic opera house, faces it. The Plaza Tapatía links the cathedral area to the Hospicio Cabañas, past the Rotonda de los Jaliscienses Ilustres. The Hospicio is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed in 1997, 2.34 hectares), designed by Manuel Tolsa in the Neoclassical style. It houses the Instituto Cultural Cabañas and the chapel murals José Clemente Orozco painted in the late 1930s.

The Hospicio’s murals and the museum rooms are the same in every month, and December changes only the air around them. The Museo Regional de Guadalajara charges 210 pesos general admission, or 105 pesos for Mexican nationals and foreign residents. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. That makes it a morning stop: it closes more than two hours before the 6:16 p.m. sunset, and the plazas are for the hours after.

Two things in the center cost nothing: crossing the Plaza de Armas under the cathedral spires and strolling the Plaza Tapatía to the Hospicio. We could not verify December hours or fees for the cathedral, the Teatro Degollado or the Hospicio Cabañas, so check each one for its opening days and entry price before you build a day around it.

Guadalajara itinerary for December

Day one covers the historic center, and it has to fall on a Tuesday to Sunday, because the Museo Regional is closed Mondays. Be at the door at 9 a.m. in a jacket and finish before the 4 p.m. close. Then cross the Plaza de Armas past the cathedral and follow the Plaza Tapatía to the Hospicio Cabañas and the Orozco murals, after confirming its hours. Sunset is at 6:16 p.m., which leaves the closing stretch of the day for the plazas.

Day two heads out to Tlaquepaque for pottery, blown glass and mariachi plazas. Add Tonalá next door if it is a Thursday or a Sunday, when its pottery and crafts market runs. Tequila is the alternative, a day in the agave fields, and we could not verify tour prices or schedules, so book a distillery visit directly. If rain falls on one of December’s 1.4 rain days, swap in the covered aisles of the Mercado San Juan de Dios and move Tlaquepaque to the next dry day.

Guadalajara in December vs November and January

December’s afternoons average 77.0°F, which is 2.3 degrees under November’s 79.3°F and 0.5 degrees above January’s 76.5°F. Lows fall from 49.5°F in November to 45.5°F in December and 44.1°F in January. Rain runs 0.44 inches over 2.1 days in November, 0.30 inches over 1.4 days in December and 0.70 inches over 2.3 days in January. Guadalajara sits inland, so there is no sea temperature to compare.

Shifting four weeks earlier, to November, means warmer starts (49.5°F lows) and slightly more rain: 2.1 days against 1.4. Shifting four weeks later, to January, means colder starts (44.1°F lows) and more rain, 0.70 inches against 0.30 inches. It also puts the trip after Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and we have no rate data to say whether rooms cost less then.

Is December a good time to visit Guadalajara?

Yes, for travelers who want dry, mild days for plazas, markets and crafts towns: 77.0°F afternoons and 1.4 rain days make that easy. It suits less well anyone who dislikes cool starts, with lows averaging 45.5°F. One rating applies whatever the month. The U.S. State Department’s Mexico travel advisory, issued May 29, 2026, rates the state of Jalisco at Level 3, Reconsider Travel. Read the current text at travel.state.gov before you book flights or rooms.

Travelers who want warmer mornings should look at November: 79.3°F highs and 49.5°F lows, at the price of 2.1 rain days instead of 1.4. Guadalajara in November has the details, and the month-by-month planner covers the rest of the year.

Among the three months compared, December has the fewest rain days, 1.4 against 2.1 and 2.3, in a city where the sights are walked: plazas, markets and the crafts towns of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá.

The last word

Bring the sweater for breakfast and the sunglasses for lunch, and book December if 45.5°F mornings suit you. Open with the Museo Regional at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday to Sunday, and hold one stop for the end of the trip: the Mercado San Juan de Dios, also called Mercado Libertad, with food, leather and crafts stalls over several floors.

Sources & data for Guadalajara in December

• December, November and January normals (highs, lows, precipitation, rain days) · Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (CONAGUA), normales climatológicas 1991-2020, station 14065 (Guadalajara Obs) · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Daylight, sunrise and sunset on December 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted from UTC to local time · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Hospicio Cabañas, inscription and description · UNESCO World Heritage Centre · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Museo Regional de Guadalajara, admission and hours · INAH · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Mexico travel advisory, Jalisco at Level 3, issued May 29, 2026 · U.S. Department of State · checked Sep 30, 2026
• We found no hotel-rate, occupancy, lodging-tax or freezing-night data, so the text says so rather than filling the gap. Descriptions of the cathedral, the Teatro Degollado, the markets, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá and Tequila are editorial. Hours, fees and market days change, so check operators when you book.