In brief
December is where PAGASA’s national calendar starts the cool dry season, yet the Roxas City gauge still records 171.3 mm of rain and a model of the island’s coordinates gives 207 mm. It is also a holiday peak: GMA reported on 23 December 2025 that hotels were nearly fully booked.
- Rain: 171.3 mm at the Roxas City gauge, about 100 km east of the island; 207 mm in the NASA POWER model for Boracay12.
- Air: modelled mean 27.1 C, mean maximum 29.6 C, mean minimum 24.3 C, relative humidity 85 percent2.
- Sea: modelled surface temperature averages 28.7 C3.
- Wind: the Amihan (northeast monsoon) is in place, so the Bulabog side takes the wind first56.
- Boats: trips were suspended on 24 December 2019 under Signal No. 2, and Christmas Day flights were cancelled9.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is December the dry season in Boracay?
PAGASA’s national calendar starts the dry season in December4. The Roxas City gauge still averages 171.3 mm that month, and the island model 207 mm12.
How warm is the sea in December?
The Open-Meteo marine model averages 28.7 C, with hourly values from 27.2 to 29.6 C. It is a model, not a measured series3.
Is Boracay crowded at Christmas?
GMA reported hotels nearly fully booked on 23 December 2025, and the DOT counted 118,745 visitors in a mid- to late-December window1213.
Which beach has the wind in December?
Under the Amihan, the Bulabog side faces the northeast wind directly6.
Can storms stop the boats in December?
Yes. Boat trips were limited under Signal No. 1 in December 2015 and suspended under Signal No. 2 in December 201989.
What public holidays fall in December 2026?
8, 24, 25, 30 and 31 December11.
The detail
This page covers December in the Boracay calendar. It gives the weather rows with their sources, the monsoon pattern, the 2026 holidays and what the sources report about Christmas crowds. Storm-signal rules for the crossing are in typhoons and cancelled boats; the longer Christmas and New Year dates for 2026 and 2027 are in Boracay peak dates.
Weather in December
There is no PAGASA station on Boracay, so the table mixes a gauge and models and labels each.
| Month | Rain, Roxas City gauge (PAGASA normal, mm) | Rain, modelled for Boracay (NASA POWER, mm) | Mean temp (C) | Mean max (C) | Mean min (C) | Humidity (%) | Sea surface (C, model) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | 239.4 | 208 | 27.8 | 29.8 | 25.3 | 84 | 29.4 |
| December | 171.3 | 207 | 27.1 | 29.6 | 24.3 | 85 | 28.7 |
| January | 72.1 | 82 | 26.3 | 28.9 | 23.2 | 83 | 27.5 |
Sources:1 for the Roxas City column,2 for rain, air temperature and humidity,3 for sea temperature.
The Roxas City column is a gauge. Roxas City, in Capiz, is the nearest PAGASA station, roughly 100 km east of Boracay across northern Panay, on a different coast1. PAGASA’s table does not state its base period or unit; the values behave as millimetres per month1. The remaining columns are modelled. NASA POWER gives a 2001-2020 reanalysis climatology for 11.97 N, 121.92 E, with rainfall converted from daily to monthly totals2. The sea figure is a 2015-2024 mean of Open-Meteo’s marine model, with hourly values from 27.2 to 29.6 C in December3.
PAGASA’s national calendar runs the rainy season from June to November and the dry season from December to May, with a cool dry season from December to February4. That is a national split. On the island’s side of Panay, December rain is closer to November’s than to January’s: 171.3 mm against 239.4 mm and 72.1 mm at the gauge1.
Sea and wind
The Amihan is the northeast monsoon. PAGASA’s 2025 declaration, on 27 October, described cool, dry air in most of the country, with rough sea conditions and shear lines also expected in the season5. Under northeast winds the Bulabog side of the island takes the wind first, and a University of the Philippines modelling study found Bulabog’s overall wind and wave setup slightly higher than White Beach’s across the monsoons6.
Storms do not follow the monsoon. During Typhoon Nona on 14 December 2015, with Aklan under Signal No. 1, Caticlan-Boracay motorboats ran in the daytime only and at 50 percent of capacity8. Typhoon Ursula on 24-25 December 2019 brought southwest winds from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and northeast winds again around 2 p.m., according to a Malay councilor10.
What is on
The national list for 2026 gives these December dates11:
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 8 December | Tuesday | Special non-working day (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) |
| 24 December | Thursday | Special non-working day (Christmas Eve) |
| 25 December | Friday | Regular holiday (Christmas Day) |
| 30 December | Wednesday | Regular holiday (Rizal Day) |
| 31 December | Thursday | Special non-working day (last day of the year) |
Source:11, Proclamation No. 1006, reported 4 September 2025.
At Kalibo, about 0.45 degrees of longitude east of the island, sunset is at 5:24 p.m. on 1 December, and sunrise is at about 5:54 a.m. in early December7. Boracay’s own times are a few minutes later.
Crowds
GMA reported on 23 December 2025 that more than 1.8 million people had visited Boracay in 2025 by then, with 2 million expected by year-end; hotels were nearly fully booked, and the police were on full alert with coast guard and maritime police patrolling the beaches12. The Department of Tourism’s Christmas-break count put Boracay at 118,745 visitors, ahead of Cebu City (102,124) and Panglao (62,240)13.
Sources disagree SunStar’s article gives Cebu City’s 102,124 for 15-28 December, yet its own text writes “Dec. 15-18” for Boracay’s 118,74513. The two windows differ by ten days. Read 118,745 as a mid- to late-December count whose exact window is not confirmed.
What to book ahead
Hotels were reported nearly full in the week before Christmas 2025, so Christmas and New Year rooms are the part of the trip to settle first12. On the way out, leave slack: boat trips were suspended from 24 December 2019, and Cebu Pacific and CebGo cancelled Christmas Day flights from Caticlan9.
Related Articles
Sources (13)
- Climatological Normals — PAGASA (Roxas station). Accessed 2026-10-03.
- NASA POWER climatology, 11.97 N 121.92 E — NASA, 2001-2020 climatology. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Marine API, sea surface temperature, 2015-2024 — Open-Meteo. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Climate of the Philippines — PAGASA. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Onset of the Northeast Monsoon — PAGASA press release, 27 October 2025. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Wave and storm-induced changes in the sediment transport of beaches in Boracay Island, Philippines — UP Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology seminar, 15 November 2024. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Sunrise and sunset times in Kalibo, December 2026 — timeanddate.com. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Western Visayas Coast Guard suspends, regulates sea travel due to ‘Nona’ — Inquirer, 14 December 2015. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Typhoon Ursula: Over 23,000 stranded on Christmas Eve — Rappler, 24 December 2019. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Ursula leaves a changed landscape in Boracay — Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 December 2019. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Palace releases 2026 Philippine holidays — GMA News, 4 September 2025 (Proclamation No. 1006). Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Christmas crowds descend on Boracay’s white sands — GMA News, 23 December 2025. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Cebu draws 102K visitors over Christmas break — SunStar, 5 January 2026. Accessed 2026-10-03.