Curaçao in December and January runs warm and windy: highs near 30 °C, sea around 27 °C, about 11 hours 23 minutes of daylight, and dark just after 18:20. December is both the wettest month of the year and the busiest.
The national Meteorological Department of Curaçao describes the rainy season as starting in October and ending in January, with rain arriving as short showers that are largely suppressed during the day and tend to fall late at night or in the early morning. It records sustained moderate to fresh easterlies year round, the trade winds that make the heat bearable, and an island average sea temperature of about 27 °C, coolest in February and March and warmest in September and October. For the year as a whole, see Curaçao weather by month.
The rain mostly falls while you are asleep
December 2025 was the single busiest month in Curaçao's recorded tourism history. The Curaçao Tourist Board reported 80,891 stayover visitors that month, the highest monthly total ever recorded and 10% up on December 2024, inside a record year of 788,427 stayover arrivals and 881,665 cruise passengers. The Netherlands and the United States were the two dominant December source markets, at 26,243 and 20,423 arrivals. Figures checked 24 September 2026; confirm the current season against the tourist board before planning around them, and read them alongside the best time to visit Curaçao.
- Collection
- Holidays & Carnival
- In the series
- No. 103 of 105
- Season
- Peak · December to April
- Hurricane season
- 1 June to 30 November
- Good to know
- 4 notes
- Questions
- 11 answered
- Last checked
- 24 September 2026
- Read
- 7 min
Is Curaçao in the hurricane belt in December?
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, so December and January fall outside it entirely. The Meteorological Department of Curaçao records 37 or more tropical cyclones passing within 100 nautical miles of the island between 1605 and 2024, roughly one every 11 years, and states that no hurricane or tropical storm has ever made direct landfall on Curaçao.
That is the sourced version of a claim that usually gets overstated. The island is not immune to tropical weather, it simply sits well south of the usual tracks, and this particular window is outside the season altogether.
How wet is December compared with January?
December is the wettest month of the year in Willemstad, with about 100 mm of rain across roughly 11.5 rain days, and January is much drier at about 45 mm across roughly 8.6 rain days. Temperatures barely move between the two months.
| Measure | December | January |
|---|---|---|
| Average high | 30.1 °C (86.2 °F) | 29.7 °C (85.5 °F) |
| Average low | 24.8 °C (76.6 °F) | 24.3 °C (75.7 °F) |
| Rainfall | about 100 mm (3.94 in) | about 45 mm (1.77 in) |
| Rain days | about 11.5 | about 8.6 |
| Sea temperature | about 27 °C (81 °F) | about 27 °C (81 °F) |
| Daylight | about 11 h 23 min | about 11 h 23 min |
The temperature and rainfall normals above come from a single climatology source, Weather Atlas, and are climate normals rather than a forecast. The rain character, the sea temperature and the trade winds come from the national Meteorological Department of Curaçao. Figures checked 24 September 2026.
How early does it get dark?
It is dark just after 18:20, and daylight barely moves across this window, holding at about 11 hours 23 minutes. On 25 December 2026 the sun rises at 06:54 and sets at 18:17. On 31 December 2026 it rises at 06:56 and sets at 18:20.
Curaçao sits at about 12 degrees north, so there is no long tropical evening. The light goes quickly, the street lighting of Punda and the Handelskade takes over early, and that is why the waterfront photographs the way it does in this season. Pack accordingly using the Curaçao packing list.
What does peak season do to prices and crowds?
December is Curaçao's peak month and downtown rooms are the first category to go, but no honest percentage can be put on the price difference. Commercial travel sites variously claim 20 to 30% and 30 to 50% uplift in high season. None of those figures is backed by a published dataset, so none is repeated here.
What is documented is the demand: 80,891 stayovers in December 2025, an average stay of 8.4 nights across that year, and Dutch school holidays overlapping the North American winter break in the same window. High season runs roughly December to April, tracking the dry season and the northern winter.
How many cruise ships come to Willemstad in December?
Cruise calls swing sharply upward in December. One schedule aggregator lists roughly 30 calls for December 2026 against about 5 for September 2026, with several ships alongside on some days. That figure comes from a single aggregator and ship schedules change, so treat it as indicative rather than firm.
Ships berth at the Mega Pier in Otrobanda or alongside Sint Anna Bay. The practical effect on Punda is a surge from late morning to mid afternoon on call days; early morning and the hour after the recall whistle are the calm windows for the shopping streets. See Curaçao cruise day for how that day runs.
What should you book ahead for this window?
Book a room within walking distance of the Punda waterfront for 24 December to 2 January first, then a table for 31 December, then a car, then any museum visit for the weekdays between the holidays. Downtown rooms inside walking distance of the bay are the scarcest category on 31 December, because the bay is the island's main New Year venue.
Taxis in Curaçao are not metered, and Dutch language and traveller guides report a 25% surcharge after 23:00, so agree an airport transfer and its price in advance for 31 December or 1 January. 25 December, 26 December and 1 January are full public holidays, which makes 27 to 30 December the workable window for museums and for the synagogue.
Good to know
- December is the wettest month; January is much drier. Rain comes as short showers, mostly at night.
- December and January fall outside the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs 1 June to 30 November.
- Dark just after 18:20. Daylight holds at about 11 hours 23 minutes across the window.
- December 2025 was the busiest month in Curaçao's recorded tourism history, at 80,891 stayovers.
Questions & answers
Is December a good time to visit Curaçao?
December in Curaçao is warm and windy, with average highs of about 30.1 °C and a sea temperature of about 27 °C, and it falls outside the Atlantic hurricane season. It is also the wettest month and the busiest: the Curaçao Tourist Board recorded 80,891 stayover visitors in December 2025, the highest monthly total ever recorded. Book early and expect company.
Does it rain a lot in Curaçao in December?
December is the wettest month of the year in Willemstad, with about 100 mm of rain over roughly 11.5 rain days. The Meteorological Department of Curaçao describes the rain as short showers that are largely suppressed during the day and tend to fall late at night or in the early morning, so a wet month rarely means a wet holiday.
Is Curaçao safe from hurricanes in December and January?
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, so December and January fall outside it. The Meteorological Department of Curaçao records 37 or more tropical cyclones passing within 100 nautical miles between 1605 and 2024, roughly one every 11 years, and states that no hurricane or tropical storm has ever made direct landfall on the island.
Is Curaçao busy at Christmas and New Year?
Yes. December is Curaçao's peak month. The Curaçao Tourist Board recorded 80,891 stayover visitors in December 2025, up 10% on December 2024, within a record year of 788,427 stayover arrivals. Cruise traffic rises sharply in the same window, and rooms within walking distance of the Willemstad waterfront are the first to sell out for 31 December.
How warm is the sea in Curaçao in December?
The Meteorological Department of Curaçao gives an island average sea temperature of about 27 °C, or 81 °F, coolest in February and March at about 25.9 °C and warmest in September and October at about 28.2 °C. December sits close to the annual average, which is why the water needs no wetsuit for swimming or snorkelling.
Sources, and what is not settled
Temperature and rainfall normals are from a single climatology source, Weather Atlas, and are given as normals rather than a forecast. Sunrise and sunset times are from sunrise-and-sunset.com, checked against an independent astronomical calculation for 12 degrees north; that host is intermittently unreachable, so it is named here rather than linked. Cruise call counts are from one schedule aggregator and change without notice. No price uplift percentage is published here, because none of the circulating figures rests on a dataset.
- Meteorological Department Curaçao, climate. www.meteo.cw
- Curaçao Tourist Board, 2025 arrivals and December record. www.curacaotouristboard.com
Last checked by Majestic City Palace Hotel, 3 Breedestraat, Punda, Willemstad. Anything unannounced above is marked as unannounced. Corrections are made in place and dated.