Philippines in December: Dry Season on Paper, Wet Season on Siargao and Boracay

The trap: "December to May is the dry season" is true for the Philippines on average and wrong for the islands most nomads head for. Check the island, not the country, before you book.

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Is December dry in the Philippines?

Not on most islands nomads choose. In our 11-year averages Siargao is at its wettest in December, and Boracay is rainy on 21 of 31 days. Only Palawan, in the west, is drying out. A rainy day here is a day with at least 4 mm, the tropical threshold we use across the site.

Read the December ring down the rows: Siargao and Boracay are dark, Palawan is wet but lighter, and Phu Quoc and Phuket are already pale. By January Palawan has turned pale too, while Siargao stays dark. The "dry season" label holds for the lee side of the islands. The east coast and the central islands stay wet because the winter wind comes in off the Pacific and meets them first.

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Why are the east and centre still wet in winter?

Because the rain comes with the winter northeast wind. Siargao climbs from October (268 mm) through November (484 mm) to its peak in December (666 mm) and January (637 mm). Western Palawan does the opposite: 228 mm in December, 57 mm in January and 5 mm in February.

If your plan is "Siargao for the surf in the cooler months", the weather in that window is the wettest of the year. Our Siargao by month page shows the whole year.

Is December still typhoon season in the Philippines?

The wettest, most storm-prone stretch of the Philippine year runs roughly June to October, but storms still form in November and December and, less often, earlier or later. Typhoon Phanfone hit Aklan, next to Boracay, on Christmas Day 2019, and Odette (Rai) hit Siargao in December 2021.

The tail is the stretch from November into December when storms are rarer but not gone. Typhoon Odette (Rai) crossed the southern Philippines in December 2021 and hit Siargao hard, so December is not a month to treat as past the risk.

Our data is monthly averages and cannot show storm tracks, so we give no typhoon probability. What the averages show is where a bad week would land on an already wet month. Storms also take out power and mobile data on small islands, which matters more for remote work than the rain does. If your month depends on a stable connection, pick a place with a backup and buffer your first and last week.

Which Philippine island is best in December?

Palawan, of the three we hold, and each week you wait improves it. El Nido and Coron are warm at 29°C by day and showery in December (11 rainy days), with sunny spells between. January is the turning month (5 rainy days) and February the driest, at 2.

Boracay improves slowly: still 156 mm in January and 73 mm in February. Siargao does not improve until spring, with 462 mm and 14 rainy days in February. See Boracay by month for the details.

Where is dry in December if the Philippines is not?

Next door. Phu Quoc and Ho Chi Minh City are in their dry season, and Phuket is clearing fast after a wet November. None has the typhoon exposure of the Philippines. If you want a beach month with fixed December dates, these give you more dry days than Boracay or Siargao. If you want the Philippines specifically, wait for Palawan's January. Bangkok (9 mm and 1 rainy day) is the driest of all, but it is a city, and its air gets worse in January.

What is the plan for winter 2026-27?

A sensible split for a nomad who wants the Philippines this winter:

1. December: stay on the dry side of South-East Asia (Vietnam or Thailand), or take Palawan with a flexible booking and a room that works in the rain.
2. January: move to Palawan. It is the first month the numbers turn.
3. February: Palawan at its best; Boracay becomes usable.
4. Siargao: plan it for spring, not for the winter.

Winter 2026-27 may differ from the average. We cover the forecast pattern in the El Niño winter guide; treat any year-specific claim for the Philippines as a forecast, not a number from our data. For the wider ranking across every place we track, see where is warm in December.

Where to be in December instead

• Phu Quoc

  89 mm in Dec4 rain days in Dec29° high in Dec

  Dry from December, after a wet November.

  Suits: a beach month with the weather turned

• Phuket

  80 mm in Dec9 rain days in Dec29° high in Dec

  Clearing fast; January is drier still.

  Suits: a beach with strong wifi and flights

• Ho Chi Minh City

  71 mm in Dec5 rain days in Dec31° high in Dec

  Dry season, hot by day.

  Suits: a working month in a city, no storms

How do I protect a booking?

Choose refundable or flexible accommodation for the first two weeks, keep a plan B in Vietnam or Thailand in mind, and do not pay a month upfront on an east-coast island before you have seen that week's forecast. Check the national weather service for storm warnings, and check flights and ferries separately: both are cancelled first when the sea is rough. Rough December seas, a cancelled ferry and a power cut together are the usual way a "dry season" trip goes wrong.