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Is choosing a honeymoon spot making you dizzy?
There are a number of ways to narrow down your choices, depending on whether
beautiful weather, cost, or sightseeing is your first priority. Great
weather and optimal sightseeing opportunities -- as well as high room rates
and more crowds (reserve early!) -- often go hand in hand during a
destination's high season. (Low season is when seasonal businesses --
restaurants and island ferries, for example -- shut down and attractions may
close for renovations.)
If high season perks are what you seek for your once-in-a-lifetime
honeymoon, we'll tell you where to go to find the best weather or, if you
have your heart set on a specific place, what to expect during that month.
Note: A destination's high --
or busy -- season usually coincides with an area's best weather, but it can
also determined solely by demand. High season in Hawaii and the Caribbean,
where the weather doesn't change that dramatically, runs from January to
April simply because people from colder climes flock to their sunny beaches
to flee the winter chill. Conversely, Disney World is packed in the summer
despite the searing heat because kids are out of school.
If cost is your first priority, check the "When to Go" section of our
destination articles for low season months (best prices) and read our
25 tips to saving money, no matter the season!
Weather by Month
First, a
month-by-month guide to the best weather where and when, excerpted from Lucy
Hone's The Good Honeymoon Guide
(Trail Blazer Publications). Get more details about a destination's
year-round weather from a travel guidebook or by calling its tourism board
(find phone numbers and/or websites at www.towd.com).
Note: Remember that this is a
guide to when different destinations traditionally experience the most
ideal weather of the year. The
months immediately preceding and succeeding a destination's prime time are
often called "shoulder" seasons, and usually have good weather as well.
Other destinations, such as the Caribbean and Hawaii, are temperate
year-round, but particularly
incredible at the times listed below.
JANUARY & FEBRUARY
Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bali, Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski
destinations), Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, the Florida Keys, USA (ski
destinations)
MARCH
Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski destinations),
Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, French
Polynesia, Hawaii, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, the Florida Keys, USA (ski
destinations, Southeast, Southwest)
APRIL
Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Central & South
Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Italy,
Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, the Florida Keys, USA
MAY
Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Caribbean, Central & South Africa,
Czech Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Hawaii, Ireland,
Italy, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Moroc co, Seychelles, Spain,
Thailand, the Florida Keys, USA
JUNE
Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic,
Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Madagascar,
Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Spain, Thailand, USA (Alaska, Northeast)
JULY & AUGUST
Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic,
Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Ireland, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia,
Seychelles, Thailand, USA (Alaska, Northeast)
SEPTEMBER
Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech
Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Spain, Thailand, USA
OCTOBER
Australia, Bali, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Central & South Africa,
Egypt, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Italy, Madagascar, Maldives,
Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Seychelles, Spain, USA
NOVEMBER
Australia, Bahamas, Bali , Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski destinations),
Central & South Africa, Egypt, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Mauritius, Mexico,
Morocco, New Zealand, Seychelles, Spain, USA (ski destinations, Southeast,
Southwest)
DECEMBER
Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bali, Belize, Brazil, Canada (ski
destinations), Caribbean, Central & South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, the Florida Keys, USA (ski
destinations)
Weather by Destination
Frost be damned, you want to go to Paris?
We'd be the last ones to stop you! But remember that your dream destination
may not be so dreamy in the dead of winter, or heat of summer. Below, some
of the most popular honeymoon destinations -- some because they enjoy
relatively sublime weather year-round -- and their not-so-pretty seasons.
HAWAII
- Best months: March to
July, October and November
- Worst months: Far from
horrible, December and January are coolest (average afternoon tem perature
is 75 degrees); August and September are hottest (average 92 degrees). The
wettest months are from November to March.
- Note: In general, every
island's northern shore gets more rain than the southern, especially on
Kauai and the Big Island.
BAHAMAS
- Best months: November to
April
- Worst months: It is
hottest (up to 89 degrees on average) and rainiest from June to October
BERMUDA
- Best months: May to
October
- Worst month: January and
February
CARIBBEAN
- Best months:
Technically, December to May, when the area is coolest and enjoys the most
wind, but average temperatures year-round hover between 78 and 88 degrees
- Worst months: "Official"
hurricane season runs from June to November; the worst months are August,
September, and October (islands near South America -- Aruba, Bonaire,
Curacao, Trinidad, and Tobago -- are outside the hurricane danger zone and
rarely are directly hit by a hurricane)
- Note: High-altitude and
coastal spots are cooled by trade winds year-round (a good salve during
the hotter and more humid summer months)
EUROPE
- Best months: May through
September or October
- Worst months: December
to February
FLORIDA
- Best months: March,
April, October, November
- Worst months: May to
September
-
Note:
The Florida Keys experience temperate, Caribbean-like weather year-round.
LAS VEGAS
- Best months: March,
April, October, November
- Worst months: June to
September
- Note: July and August
are scorchers here, but at least it's a "dry" heat (humidity is very low
year-round)
MEXICO
- Best months: October to
May
- Worst months: Rainy
season runs June through September, but usually only involves a short
daily dousing. It is also hotter during the summer months.
- Note: Coastal
playgrounds and low-lying sections of the country are hotter than
higher-altitude destinations such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, and the
heartland "Silver Cities."
SOUTHEAST ASIA
- Best months: November to
February
- Worst months: Hottest
between April and May; rainy from June to September
SOUTH PACIFIC, FRENCH POLYNESIA
- Best months: May to
October
- Worst months: December
to February (hot, humid, and rainy); Tahiti lies well outside the Pacific
cyclone zone and while Fiji does not, it is rarely hit during the
highest-risk months of January and February
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