6 Places That Are at Their Best in December, and How to Book Them for Less

The city's holiday season is mostly free to experience: the Fifth Avenue windows, the tree at Rockefeller Center, the markets at Bryant Park and Union Square. What costs money is the hotel, and that's where timing matters.

Why December: Decorations are up from the start of the month. Rates typically rise week by week toward Christmas, so the first ten days of December usually offer the same city for less.

Worth doing

• Skate at Bryant Park's Winter Village: rink admission is free; skate rental is extra (listed at $18.72–$64.48 for 2026, depending on timing)
• See Dickens's handwritten manuscript of A Christmas Carol, which the Morgan Library displays every holiday season
• Walk the Fifth Avenue windows late in the evening, when the crowds are thinner

Know before you go: Midtown on a December weekend is crowded enough that a 15-minute walk can take 40. Plan the big sights for weekday mornings.

Warm water and long beaches when most of the mainland is cold. The draw that makes December specifically worthwhile is wildlife.

Why December: Humpback whales migrate from Alaska to Hawaiian waters for the winter. Sightings build through December, and NOAA notes the population that winters in Hawaii is one of the best-studied in the world. Early December avoids the sharp price rise of Christmas week.

Worth doing

• Watch for whales from the shore in Wailea or Kīhei in the morning, when the water is calmest
• See Haleakalā at sunrise (reservation required) or at sunset (no reservation required)
• Snorkel Molokini Crater on an early boat, before the afternoon wind

Turquoise water, Maya ruins on a cliff and freshwater cenotes in the jungle, all within about two hours of each other.

Why December: The dry season begins, bringing more sunshine and lower humidity than summer. Winter also typically sees less sargassum seaweed on the beaches than the warmer months, though it varies by year.

Worth doing

• See the Tulum ruins at opening time, before the heat and the tour groups
• Swim in a cenote; many ask you to shower off sunscreen first to protect the water
• Take the ferry from Cancún to Isla Mujeres for a day

Know before you go: Christmas and New Year's week is peak season here. If your dates are flexible, the first two weeks of December are noticeably calmer.

The Christmas markets are the reason to go in December: lit squares, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and a coffeehouse on every corner when you need to warm up.

Why December: The main markets run through to around Christmas, and the market at Schönbrunn Palace continues as a New Year market into early January.

Worth doing

• Wander the markets at Rathausplatz, Spittelberg and Schönbrunn Palace
• See an opera from standing room: the State Opera lists standing places at €13–18 (2025/26 prices), sold from 10 a.m. on the day
• Ride trams 1 and 2, which between them cover most of the Ringstrasse, for a sightseeing loop at a transit fare

Few US cities have holiday traditions as specific as New Orleans: Réveillon dinners, the lights in City Park and live music every night of the week.

Why December: Many restaurants serve Réveillon menus through December, a multi-course holiday dinner tradition at a fixed price. Celebration in the Oaks lights up City Park from late November to January 1; check the calendar, as it has closed on Christmas Eve in past years.

Worth doing

• Book a Réveillon dinner in the French Quarter
• Catch live music on Frenchmen Street, where venues are smaller than on Bourbon Street
• Ride the St. Charles streetcar past the Garden District

Caribbean warmth and colonial streets, and because Puerto Rico is a US territory, no passport is needed for US citizens flying from the mainland.

Why December: Puerto Rico's holiday season is one of the longest anywhere. Parrandas (caroling parties that move from house to house) run through December, and the season doesn't really end until the San Sebastián Street Festival in mid-January.

Worth doing

• Walk Old San Juan and the walls of El Morro in the late afternoon
• Try the holiday staples: lechón, pasteles and coquito, the coconut eggnog
• Take a night kayak tour of the bioluminescent bay in Fajardo

Know before you go: Planning a day at El Yunque rainforest? Check the US Forest Service site before you go: access rules for the main road have changed several times in recent years.