Sea temperature in December
In December, 97 of 211 coastal destinations have water of 20 °C or more. The warmest sea is at Phu Quoc (Duong Dong) with 29 °C. In Europe, the water is warmest at Santa Cruz de La Palma (21 °C).
Sea temperature by country in December
Coolest to warmest coastal destination per country.
| Country | Sea temperature | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 29° | 1 |
| Tanzania | 29° | 1 |
| Malaysia | 29° | 2 |
| Maldives | 29° | 1 |
| Fiji | 29° | 1 |
| Indonesia | 29° | 1 |
| Seychelles | 29° | 1 |
| Singapore | 29° | 1 |
| Thailand | 28–29° | 6 |
| India | 28–29° | 2 |
| Philippines | 28–29° | 3 |
| Vietnam | 25–29° | 4 |
| Australia | 19–29° | 5 |
| Costa Rica | 28° | 1 |
| Jamaica | 28° | 1 |
| Kenya | 28° | 2 |
| Barbados | 28° | 1 |
| Curaçao | 28° | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 28° | 4 |
| French Polynesia | 28° | 2 |
| Cuba | 27° | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 27° | 2 |
| Mauritius | 27° | 1 |
| Aruba | 27° | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 27° | 1 |
| Mexico | 25–27° | 5 |
| Oman | 26° | 1 |
| USA | 9–26° | 8 |
| Egypt | 25° | 4 |
| Bahamas | 25° | 1 |
| United Arab Emirates | 24–25° | 2 |
| Cape Verde | 24–25° | 2 |
| Argentina | 24° | 1 |
| Brazil | 24° | 2 |
| South Africa | 17–24° | 2 |
| Japan | 16–24° | 2 |
| Qatar | 23° | 1 |
| Jordan | 23° | 1 |
| Israel | 21–23° | 2 |
| Hong Kong | 21° | 1 |
| Spain | 14–21° | 21 |
| Cyprus | 20° | 4 |
| Greece | 16–20° | 16 |
| Portugal | 14–20° | 8 |
| Turkey | 12–20° | 12 |
| New Zealand | 19° | 1 |
| Malta | 18° | 2 |
| Morocco | 18° | 2 |
| Tunisia | 18° | 4 |
| Albania | 17–18° | 2 |
| Namibia | 17° | 1 |
| Croatia | 14–17° | 8 |
| Italy | 12–17° | 16 |
| Monaco | 16° | 1 |
| Montenegro | 16° | 2 |
| France | 14–16° | 7 |
| Ireland | 11° | 1 |
| Bulgaria | 10–11° | 2 |
| United Kingdom | 8° | 1 |
| Canada | 8° | 1 |
| Norway | 6–8° | 3 |
| Germany | 4–7° | 7 |
| Poland | 6° | 1 |
| Denmark | 6° | 2 |
| Iceland | 6° | 1 |
| Sweden | 5° | 1 |
| Finland | 4° | 1 |
From about 20 °C, the sea is comfortable for swimming.
Sea temperature in December: quick answers
Where is the sea warmest in December?
In December, the sea is warmest at Phu Quoc (Duong Dong) (29 °C), Cartagena, Colombia (29 °C) and Cairns (29 °C).
Where can you swim in Europe in December?
In Europe, the sea is warmest at Santa Cruz de La Palma (21 °C), Maspalomas, Gran Canaria (21 °C) and Costa Calma, Fuerteventura (21 °C). 21 European destinations reach 20 °C or more in December.
Sea temperature, month by month
Sea temperature all yearWhere to go in December
Climate averages 1996–2025, not a forecast. Data: Copernicus ERA5 / ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), NOAA OISST, WMO 1991–2020 (NOAA NCEI), GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)