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Belize

Best and Worst Times to Visit Belize

Belize natural beauty
© Belize Tourist Board

The best times to visit Belize are February through April when rainfall reaches the lowest point of the year. But some months are better than others.

Belize is mainly a cruise destination with more than 600,000 visitors arriving by ship and nearly 300,000 arriving by air for hotel stays every year, according to the Belize Tourism Board.

The main port for cruise arrivals is Belize City. It’s a common stop on some western Caribbean cruises because of the country’s natural attractions and friendly, English-speaking population. It also has one of the best shore excursions in the entire Caribbean: cave tubing down Caves Branch River.

But anyone who goes there should prepare for rain during most months of the year. We went during the “dry season” and watched gigantic black clouds roll over our heads. Luckily, it didn’t rain during our cave tubing shore excusion.

3 Best Times to Visit

Average monthly temperatures in Belize City
Average monthly temperatures in Belize City. © 2023 Scott S. Bateman

Out of any month of the year, one of the best times to visit Belize is March. Cruise and airport arrivals jump because of spring break for families with children and because total rainfall is the second lowest of the year.

March temperatures are comfortably warm with an average high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit or 29 Celsius in Belize City, according to historical data from the National Meteorological Service of Belize. The average low is mostly at night at 71 Fahrenheit or about 22 Celsius. Rainfall has averaged about 2.4 inches in March over a 30-year history.

Another best time to go to Belize is April. It is warmer with an average high of 87 degrees Fahrenheit and an average low of 74 degrees.

Historically, the total rainfall is slightly lower at two inches a month. Despite the better weather, April is less popular than March, January and February.

The next best month to visit is February. Rainfall is slightly higher at nearly 3 inches and temperatures reach an average of 83 degrees during the day and 68 degrees during the night.

These three months represent the Belize dry season. Rain is much heavier during the rest of the year.

May is a possible time to visit because of even warmer temperatures. But the risk of rain is higher, especially late in the month.

Worst Time to Visit: Belize Hurricane Season

Average monthly rainfall in Belize City
Average monthly rainfall in Belize City. Hurricane season begins in June and continues through October. © 2023 Scott S. Bateman

The Belize hurricane season from June through November is the worst time to visit because the average rainfall jumps to one of the highest levels of any destination in the Caribbean.

The hurricane season in Belize is similar to the one for the entire Caribbean, which begins in June and runs through November. For Belize, this rainy season also goes into December.

Anyone who loves plenty of rain should visit Belize in September, when the average rainfall for the month is more than 11 inches or five times higher than April. As a result, it is no surprise that cruise and airport arrivals reach the lowest point of the year during September.

Not far behind September in total rainfall are June and October with 10 inches apiece. July, August and November also are not far behind with an average eight to nine inches. These months of June through November are the same months as the Caribbean hurricane season.

Other Times to Visit

Belize cruise passenger arrivals
Belize cruise passenger arrivals. © 2023 Scott S. Bateman

January and May are transition months between the dry and hurricane seasons. They fall between the two extremes with about four to five inches of rain each month.

But temperatures for the two months are much different with an average high of 82 degrees in January and 89 degrees in May.

Anyone who likes the beach and ocean swimming should go in May and not January if they have a choice in when to go. They will have more comfortable conditions in May.

The other reason May is better is that it has slightly lower total rainfall than January.

That leaves December. It is the most popular month to visit Belize for cruise passengers, but it also has higher average rainfall at more than seven inches during the month.

Temperatures are lowest of the year with an average high of 81.7 degrees and a low of 67 degrees.

Average Monthly Weather

Belize beach
Belize beaches like this one get small crowds because of rain. © Belize Tourist Board

The average monthly weather for Belize has temperatures in the low to upper 80s Fahrenheit or the upper 20s to low 30s Celsius. Rainfall ranges from a low point of two inches in March and April to more than 11 inches in September.

January

January has the coolest weather of the year along with December. The average high temperature is 82 Fahrenheit or about 28 Celsius. Rainfall is moderate for Belize but high for other Caribbean destinations at five inches. Tourism is the second highest of the year.

February

Rainfall drops to three inches while the average high temperature edges up to 83 Fahrenheit or 28 Celsius. Tourism drops slightly. It’s a better month to visit than January.

March

Tourism reaches the highest point of the year thanks to spring break. Rainfall reaches the lowest point of the year at two inches. The average high makes a bigger climb to 85 Fahrenheit or 29 Celsius.

April

Belize weather in April is the best of the year. Like March, it has only two inches of rain historically during the month. But tourism drops—prices may drop as well—and the average highs move up to 87 Fahrenheit or 31 Celsius.

May

Tourism drops quite a bit in May. Rainfall edges up to four inches. The average high jumps to the highest point of the year to 89 Fahrenheit or 32 Celsius. This is the month to go for people who like it warm and humid. But go early in the month because hurricane season is getting close.

June

The high-risk weather arrives in June. The average rainfall skyrockets to 10 inches. It’s a good month to go only for people who like a lot of rain.

July

July weather in Belize is not much different from June. It’s warm, humid and wet. Like June, it averages 10 inches of rain.

August

August oddly takes a small break from the 10 inches of rain in June and July and the 10 to 11 inches in September and October. It averages only seven inches during the month. But like June and July, visitors should plan on a high risk of rain.

September

The prize for the worst month of the year goes to September with average rainfall of 11 inches. Temperatures maintain an average high in the upper 80s Fahrenheit that began in April.

October

Second place for worst month to visit Belize goes to October along with June and July. It also averages 10 inches of rain. The heat starts to ease with an average high of 86 Fahrenheit or 30 Celsius.

November

Cruise tourism begins to pick up in November as the hurricane season winds down. The average high temperature drops another two degrees. Rainfall historically is seven inches like August and December.

December

December is the most popular month of the year to visit Belize for cruise visitors. Temperatures drop to the lowest point of the year at 82 Fahrenheit or 28 Celsius. Rainfall at seven inches is higher than the coming dry season months but lower than the rest of the hurricane season.

Scott S. Bateman is a professional journalist who has traveled widely throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. He is the author of four books about cruising in the Caribbean, Alaska and Mexican Riviera.
July 10, 2023

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