Tenerife in December: Weather, Sea Temperature and What to Do

December is the wettest month in AEMET's 1981 to 2010 normals at every one of Tenerife's four climate stations, from Santa Cruz to the observatory ridge at Izaña, and it is still one of the busiest. The state met office's record puts December rainfall at 43 mm in Santa Cruz, 30 mm at Tenerife South Airport, 82 mm at Tenerife North Airport and 60 mm at Izaña, each the highest monthly figure at its own station. Meanwhile the sea surface off the south coast averages 21.1 C in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 dataset, and 671,202 tourists arrived by air in December 2024, the island's busiest December in the FRONTUR-Canarias series available to this desk. December, in short, is a month of two facts at once: the wettest of the year by the normals, and warm enough by the coast that the beaches stay in use.

This guide sets out what the official numbers say about Tenerife in December, station by station, and then what those numbers mean for a holiday: where the rain falls, whether the sea is swimmable, what closes and what does not, and which days deserve booking ahead. The data comes from AEMET's climate normals, NOAA's sea surface series and the Instituto Canario de Estadística's monthly arrivals, with the operators' own pages used for anything that carries a ticket.

How Warm Is Tenerife in December?

AEMET's 1981 to 2010 normals put December's mean daily maximum at 22.8 C at Tenerife South Airport and 22.1 C in Santa Cruz, against 17.1 C at Tenerife North Airport and 8.8 C on the Izaña ridge beside Teide at 2,369 m. Mean daily minimums run from 16.5 C on the south coast down to 2.4 C at Izaña, and the sea surface off the south coast averages 21.1 C in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 series.

The spread between those four stations is the single most useful thing a December visitor can know about the island. The south coast and Santa Cruz sit within a degree of each other by day, and both stay above 16 C at night. Tenerife North Airport, at 632 m above sea level, runs about five degrees cooler by day. Izaña, the observatory ridge high on the volcano's flank, is a different climate entirely: its December mean daily maximum of 8.8 C is winter-mountain weather, and the normals show 60 mm of rain there in the month.

The station figures speak for themselves, and this desk does not characterise them further. What the numbers imply for planning is straightforward: a base on the south coast or in Santa Cruz puts the December visitor in the warmest air the island records, while a day trip to Teide National Park means packing for single-figure maximums and possible ice. The national park's own rules make the point harder: when ice and snow are present, crampons and an ice axe join the mandatory equipment list on the stratovolcano trails, with a signed declaration.

All four rows are AEMET 1981 to 2010 normals. Note the pattern inside the rainfall column: December is the wettest month at every station, but "wettest" means 3.5 rain days at the south airport against 8.8 at the north, on average. A holiday based in the south can expect most days dry, on the normals, while the north coast and La Laguna see rain roughly every third or fourth day.

Is It Warm Enough to Swim in the Canary Islands in December?

Yes, on Tenerife's south coast: NOAA's 1991 to 2020 series puts the December sea surface temperature off the south coast at 21.1 C, and the AEMET air normals for the same coast sit at 22.8 C by day. The sea is at its warmest in September and October at 23.7 C and has cooled only modestly by December, so swimming in December is a normal activity on this coast rather than a hardy one.

The sea temperature series deserves its own table, because the annual curve is what makes December swimming work: the water off the south coast never drops below 19.1 C in the whole year, which is the March figure.

Two datasets sit side by side here and must not be blurred: the air normals are AEMET's 1981 to 2010 record, the sea figures are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 series. The December sea figure of 21.1 C is warmer than the December air at dawn on the south coast, which is why the sea feels warm to swimmers in the morning and cooler relative to the afternoon air.

For a fuller answer on beaches, currents and where the calm water is, this desk's page on sea swimming in Tenerife covers the question in detail. The short December version: the tourist board describes Las Teresitas in San Andrés and Las Vistas in Arona as golden-sand beaches behind breakwaters that calm the water, both suitable for a December swim on a fine day, while El Médano is fine grey sand under Montaña Roja and more exposed.

A swim is not the only reason to be on or in the water in December. The waters between Tenerife and La Gomera hold what the World Cetacean Alliance calls a unique resident population of pilot whales, and the whale watching boats run all winter. The rules that govern them are worth knowing: Decreto 178/2000 bans any approach within 60 m, allows at most three boats within 500 m, sets 4 knots as the maximum within that zone and forbids swimming with the animals, and every authorised boat flies the Barco Azul flag.

Can You Sunbathe in Tenerife in December?

Yes, on most days on the south coast: AEMET's normals give Tenerife South Airport 195 sunshine hours in December against 30 mm of rain across 3.5 days, and a mean daily maximum of 22.8 C, which is warmer than a British summer afternoon. Santa Cruz records 168 sunshine hours in the month. Sunbathing is a normal December activity on this coast, with a jacket for the evening, when minimums average 16.5 C.

The sunshine column is the one visitors underestimate. December is the darkest month of the year everywhere in the northern hemisphere, and Tenerife South Airport still averages 195 hours of it, more than six hours a day across the month. Santa Cruz, on the leeward north-east corner of the island, averages 168 hours, and the north airport 137. The south's advantage in sunshine is smaller than its advantage in dry days but real.

Practically, this means sunbathing works in December on the south coast with sunscreen, and a cloudy morning on the Costa Adeje or Los Cristianos promenade often clears by early afternoon. The evenings are where the difference from summer shows: a 16.5 C average minimum means restaurants with terraces, not beach bars in swimwear. The desk's page on where to stay and the comparison of Tenerife north against south cover the base choice in more depth, and the climate case for the south in winter is part of that decision.

Is It Worth Going to Tenerife in December?

Yes, for three measured reasons: December 2025 saw 671,202 tourists arrive by air, the highest December figure in the FRONTUR-Canarias series this desk holds, the sea off the south coast averages 21.1 C, and the month carries the opening of the Carnival programme, with the 2027 season opening on 22 January. The trade-offs are the year's highest monthly rainfall at every station and single-figure maximums up on Teide.

The arrivals numbers say something about crowding as well as demand. December is one of the four busiest months of the year for air arrivals, alongside March, October and November in the 2025 figures, and the pattern repeats in 2024 and the 2026 part-year. Anyone hoping for an empty island in winter will not find one in the series; anyone hoping for warmth in a European winter will.

Every figure in that table counts tourists arriving by air and excludes Canary Islands residents, per the Instituto Canario de Estadística's FRONTUR-Canarias series. December sits near the top of the year in both years shown, and the January and February rows explain why: winter is the island's high season, not its low one.

What December offers that the summer months do not is a mix of beach weather and winter programme. The Carnival de Santa Cruz de Tenerife opens its season in late January, so a December visit can plan around it or deliberately miss it. On the mountain, the stargazing season is at its best: the skies over the national park are protected by the Starlight Reserve designation held by the Cumbres de Tenerife since October 2013, and December's early darkness brings the stars forward to a family-friendly hour.

What Is There to Do in Tenerife in December?

The December programme divides into four dependable groups: the sea, at 21.1 C off the south coast, for swimming, whale watching and kayaking; the parks, with Siam Park open 10:00 to 17:00 in its winter hours and Loro Parque open 09:30 to 17:30 every day; Teide National Park for driving, viewpoints and stargazing, with trail bookings on Tenerife ON; and the towns, from Garachico's pools to La Laguna's UNESCO-listed streets.

Each of those four holds a December-specific angle. The sea is at its clearest for boat trips, and the whale watching boats out of Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje and Los Gigantes run their normal timetables. The parks keep winter hours rather than closing: Siam Park's own page lists 10:00 to 17:00 from 30 October to 30 April, and Loro Parque's FAQ gives 09:30 to 17:30 every day of the year with its own car park at EUR 7 per day. The wider set of guides lives on Tenerife Travel Guide.

Teide deserves its own paragraph, because December is when the mountain behaves like a mountain. The cable car runs its standard 09:00 to 17:00 hours in early December, with the last ascent an hour before closing, and it stops at La Rambleta at 3,555 m, not at the summit. The summit trail PNT 10 Telesforo Bravo needs a personal reservation on Tenerife ON, where a new week of slots is released every Monday at 07:00 Canary time keeping 56 days bookable; since Monday 19 January 2026 the 09:00 to 17:00 slots cost EUR 15 for visitors and EUR 6 for residents of the other Canary Islands, with Tenerife residents and children exempt. The desk's full page on the Teide summit permit covers the mechanics, and the smoking ban across every open-air space of the national park, car parks included, is in force year-round.

For a change of island, the ferry from Los Cristianos to San Sebastián de La Gomera takes 50 minutes on Fred. Olsen Express's own timetable, and a day trip to La Gomera is one of the few December outings where the weather is better on the far side of the water, since Garajonay's laurel forest sits in the trade-wind cloud. The desk's island-hopping guide lists the other routes and crossing times.

What Should You Pack for Tenerife in December?

Pack for two climates in one bag: beachwear and sunscreen for the south coast, where AEMET's normals give 22.8 C days and 195 sunshine hours, plus a proper warm layer and waterproof for anything above about 600 m, where the December mean daily maximum falls to 17.1 C at the north airport and 8.8 C at Izaña, with 60 mm of rain on the ridge. Closed walking footwear is mandatory for the Masca gorge.

The two-climate rule is not a figure of speech. On a December day the temperature difference between Costa Adeje and the Izaña ridge, by the normals, is about 14 degrees by day. A visitor who dresses for the beach and drives up to the national park will meet single-figure maximums and possibly ice, and the trails' winter rules add crampons and an ice axe to the mandatory list when snow is present.

The Masca gorge has a rule of its own that no packing list should miss: closed mountain footwear is a condition of entry, and the operator's page states hikers are refused without it even with a booking. The descent also requires the pre-booked boat exit, the EUR 40.66 general ticket, and arrival on TITSA line 355 from Santiago del Teide, since private vehicles are refused. Sea conditions can close the pier suddenly and void the day's ticket, which is a December risk worth insuring against with a flexible plan.

Where Should You Stay in Tenerife in December?

The climate case points south: AEMET's December normals give the south airport 30 mm of rain on 3.5 days against 82 mm on 8.8 days at the north airport, and 195 sunshine hours against 137. Puerto de la Cruz and the north offer a greener, quieter December with warmer weather than anywhere in Britain, but the driest, sunniest base on the numbers is anywhere from Los Cristianos to Costa Adeje.

The rainfall gap between the two airports, 30 mm against 82 mm in the December normals, is the trade-wind cloud in a single figure. The north of Tenerife is where that cloud deposits its water, which is why La Orotava's valley is green and why the north airport station records more than double the south's rain days. None of this makes the north wet in absolute terms: a December with 8.8 rain days still leaves more than three weeks dry on average.

The practical answer splits by holiday type. A sun-and-swim December belongs in the south, where the sea is at its warmest and the rain days fewest. A walking, towns-and-forests December works well from Puerto de la Cruz or La Laguna, with the Anaga laurel forest and the Orotava valley in reach, accepting that a waterproof earns its place in the case. The desk's north against south comparison and the December neighbours and January pages carry the fuller argument.

Does It Rain All Day in Tenerife in December?

No, on the averages: even at the wettest station, Tenerife North Airport, December's 82 mm falls across an average of 8.8 days with 1 mm or more, leaving over three weeks of the month under that threshold, and the south airport averages just 3.5 such days. When rain does arrive it often comes as short, heavy showers rather than all-day rain, though the normals record totals, not durations, so no hourly claim is made here.

The honest caveat matters: AEMET's normals count millimetres and days, not hours, and no official source this desk holds describes how long a December shower lasts. What the numbers do support is that a wet day at one station is often a dry day at another, because the trade-wind cloud that soaks the north-east can leave the south coast in full sun, and the two airport stations sit barely 60 km apart.

A rain plan is therefore worth one line in any December itinerary rather than a whole day. The desk's rainy day guide lists indoor options, and the standing ones include Loro Parque, the Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Santa Cruz and the Pirámides de Güímar, open 10:00 to 18:00 daily except 1 January and 25 December, with the full ticket at EUR 26.00 including an audioguide.

Common Questions About Tenerife in December

December, then, is the month when Tenerife is two islands at once: a beach destination on the south coast with a 21.1 C sea and more than six hours of daily sunshine on average, and a winter mountain at 2,369 m where the trails can demand crampons. A visitor who books around both, base in the south and layers for the volcano, gets the best month in the calendar for combining the two, and the rainfall table above is the one piece of paper that decides where the hotel should be.