Warm Places to Travel in December: 12 Family Picks

How the Warm December Family Score Works

Here's the problem with most "warm in December" lists: they treat a 65 degree afternoon in San Diego and an 84 degree beach day in Puerto Rico as the same promise. A parent booking "warm" usually means swimsuits and calm water, not a windbreaker at the zoo. So every pick here gets scored on five things that decide whether your family actually gets the December they pictured. Which factor matters most is your call.

Each factor is scored 0 to 5, for a maximum of 25:

• December warmth (0 to 5): based on the average December high from NOAA and National Weather Service normals. A pick scores 5 at 80 degrees or above (beach-swimmable), 3 at 70 to 79 (warm and sunny), and 1 in the 60s (mild, not beach weather).
• Family fit (0 to 5): calm beaches, kid activities, and easy logistics score 5; a spot that works with planning scores 3; a place better suited to older kids or teens scores 1.
• Value for four (0 to 5): the per-week cost for a family of four, lodging plus the core activity, before flights. Under about $2,500 scores 5, roughly $2,500 to $4,500 scores 3, and $4,500 and up scores 1.
• Getting there (0 to 5): a drive or a no-passport short flight scores 5; a US flight with no passport scores 3 to 4; a passport plus a longer haul scores 1.
• Holiday crowds (0 to 5): stays sane even over the holidays scores 5; book early for December 20 to January 2 scores 3; the holiday week is a crowded, high-priced zoo scores 1.

The Top 3 Picks

Full Ranking: 12 Warm December Escapes Scored

Here are all 12 picks, sorted by total score. Ties are broken by December warmth, since that's the whole point of the list. The cost column is the per-week range for a family of four, covering lodging and the core activity, before flights. If you only care about swimmable warmth, sort in your head by the warmth column: the fives are the beach-warm ones.

Warm places to travel in December for families, 12 picks ranked, with December average high, sub-scores, and per-week cost for a family of four.

#	Destination	Dec. high	Warmth	Family	Value	Travel	Crowds	Total	$/week (family of 4)
1	Puerto Rico	84°F	5	4	3	4	4	20	$2,800-$4,800
2	Miami / Fort Lauderdale	76°F	4	4	3	5	3	19	$3,000-$5,500
3	Cancun / Riviera Maya	82°F	5	5	3	3	2	18	$3,500-$6,500
4	Naples / Marco Island	75°F	4	5	2	4	3	18	$3,500-$5,500
5	Orlando	72°F	3	5	3	5	2	18	$3,000-$6,000
6	Scottsdale / Phoenix	66°F	2	3	4	5	4	18	$2,500-$4,000
7	Nassau / Paradise Island	80°F	5	5	2	3	2	17	$4,000-$7,000
8	Palm Springs	70°F	3	3	3	4	4	17	$3,000-$4,500
9	San Diego	65°F	1	4	3	5	4	17	$2,500-$4,500
10	Florida Keys / Key West	75°F	4	3	2	4	2	15	$4,000-$6,000
11	US Virgin Islands (St. John)	82°F	5	3	1	3	2	14	$4,500-$8,000
12	Oahu, Hawaii	80°F	5	4	1	2	2	14	$5,000-$8,000

The Warmest Places in the US in December (No Passport Needed)

Here's the angle most lists skip. You don't need to leave US soil, or dig out the kids' passports, to hit the low 80s in December. The two warmest places under the US flag are the US Virgin Islands (St. John and St. Thomas average about 82 degrees) and Puerto Rico (San Juan near 84). US citizens travel to both with a driver's license, no passport, because they're US territories (as of July 2026, source: Visit USVI and USA.gov). One caveat: since May 2025, TSA requires a REAL ID-compliant license (the star in the corner) or a passport to board any domestic flight, so check your ID first.

On the mainland, the warmest December belongs to the tip of Florida. The Florida Keys and Key West are the southernmost, and effectively the warmest, spot in the continental US, holding mid-70s days with water still warm enough for kids to swim. Miami runs a close second (as of July 2026, source: Current Results). Puerto Rico is the sweet spot of the whole no-passport group: warmest reliable beach weather, real 80-degree water, and a cost that undercuts the Caribbean islands that do require a passport. You can compare San Juan family hotels on Expedia to see how early-December rates sit against the holiday weeks.

Florida in Winter With Kids

Florida is the backbone of any warm December family list, and it splits into four different trips. The Keys are the warmest and the most grown-up, so families with young kids do better basing in Islamorada or Marathon than in Key West itself. The Gulf Coast around Naples and Marco Island has the calmest, shallowest water in the state, which is exactly what you want with a 4-year-old who still face-plants in waves. Miami and Fort Lauderdale give you real beaches plus a big city's worth of backup plans. And Orlando, the odd one out, isn't a beach trip at all: December highs sit around 72, warm enough for the parks and the pools, cool enough that nobody's swimming in the ocean.

The honest read: if December warmth is the whole reason you're going, the Keys and the Gulf beat Orlando by a clear margin on water temperature. If your kids care more about theme parks than sandcastles, Orlando is the better trip, and its holiday overlays are the payoff for the December crowds. Our Disney World cost guide maps how much the parks swing between Christmas week and early January, and the best Gulf Coast beaches for families guide sorts the calm-water spots for younger kids. To price a specific week, browse Naples and Marco Island stays on Expedia.

Beach Vacations in December for Families

Not every "warm" beach is a swimming beach in December, and that's the split that trips families up. Four picks hold sea temperatures near 80 degrees, warm enough to actually get in: Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Cancun, and the Bahamas. A step down, in the mid-70s water, are the Florida Keys and Miami, swimmable for most kids if not exactly bathwater. The Gulf Coast is calmest for little ones but cooler at around 71. And the West Coast is the trap: San Diego looks the part, but the ocean sits near 60 degrees in December, which is wetsuit territory, not boogie-board territory.

For the youngest kids, calm water beats warm water. Naples, Marco Island, and the resort beaches of Cancun and Nassau all have gentle entries and reef-protected swimming. For a warm all-inclusive where the beach, the pool, and the kids' club are all steps apart, the Caribbean and Cancun win outright. Our best Caribbean islands for families guide breaks down which islands suit which ages, and if you'd rather chase off-season deals, the best family beach vacations on a budget guide covers the value coasts.

Warm and Cheap: December Sun on a Budget

Warm and cheap pull in opposite directions in December, but two picks bridge them. The desert Southwest is the cheapest sun: Scottsdale and Phoenix run about $2,500 to $4,000 for a family week, with hotel rates well under Florida and plenty of free hiking, though you're trading the beach for mild 60s days and pool time. Puerto Rico is the cheapest way to get actual beach warmth, since no passport, competitive flights, and US dollars keep a week around $2,800 to $4,800. Palm Springs sits in between: sunny low-70s desert with a resort-pool vibe, roughly $3,000 to $4,500.

Two habits keep any of these affordable. Book a rental with a kitchen and cook most breakfasts, which alone saves a family of four a few hundred dollars a week. And time it right: early December and the first two weeks of January are the value windows, while Christmas week is the one to avoid. For the deeper cost math, our family trip budget by length guide shows what a warm week actually runs by trip length. Prefer the desert? check current Scottsdale rates on Expedia.

Near-International Warm Escapes: Cancun and the Bahamas

Two passport trips earn their spot because the flights are short and the warmth is close to guaranteed. Cancun and the Riviera Maya sit near 82 degrees in December with 80-degree water, and the all-inclusive model turns a family budget into one number: figure $3,500 to $6,500 for a week of four before flights (lodging, meals, and kids' programming included), less if you skip the holidays. Nassau and Paradise Island in the Bahamas are the shortest warm hop from Florida, sometimes under an hour, with Atlantis and its Aquaventure water park as the built-in kid draw, though that convenience runs pricier at $4,000 to $7,000 a week.

Both need a passport for every traveler, including infants, so if the kids' passports have lapsed, the no-passport picks above save you the renewal scramble. December is peak season for both, so the marquee excursions book up first. You can reserve guided family trips like Cancun family tours and cenote day trips on Viator ahead of time, and our first family trip checklist covers the passport lead time and paperwork before an international December escape.

When to Book: The December Holiday-Week Surge

December splits into two completely different trips price-wise, and knowing the line saves real money. The Christmas-to-New-Year window (roughly December 20 to January 2) is peak everything. Average airfare climbs about 58 percent over early-November prices during the ten days around Christmas, and the single most expensive day to fly is the Saturday after the holiday (as of July 2026, source: Upgraded Points). Warm-weather resorts price the same way, with the highest rates of the year landing on that same window.

Early December, before roughly the 18th, is the quiet value stretch: warm places are already warm, but the crowds and the holiday rates haven't arrived. The first two weeks of January are the other window, right after the New Year's spike drops off. If your dates are locked to the school holiday, book early and stay flexible on the exact resort. Our best times to book family travel guide maps the cheapest weeks by trip type, and the hidden fees guide flags the resort and rental-car charges that spike hardest over the holidays.

Which One's Right for Your Family?

The ranking answers "best overall." Your real decision usually comes down to one thing. Pick the path that matches yours.

How We Scored Each Pick

Cost ranges are per-week totals for a family of four during December 2026, drawn from named tourism sites, Expedia regional averages, and published resort rates; the Cancun all-inclusive range reflects December nightly rates of roughly $244 to $520 for a family room (as of July 2026, source: Expedia and Tripadvisor listings). December average highs come from NOAA and National Weather Service climate normals and Current Results summaries. Every figure is a planning range, not a quote, so confirm your exact dates before booking.

The five-factor score is a transparent formula, and each factor is independently observable, so you can re-score any pick yourself. Scoring is editorial judgment, and its value is putting the disagreement out in the open, at the factor level, rather than hiding it inside one number. The full per-pick rationale lives on our methodology page.