Weather and seasons in the Philippines

The Philippines is a year-round resort, and in theory it is believed that it is comfortable to rest here at any time. But in fact, this is not entirely true, and the low season for recreation and the high tourist season stand out.

Unfortunately, on many guidebook sites on the Internet you can find contradictory, and quite bad, unreliable information on this subject. Below we have tried to summarize as much as possible reliable information on the seasons in the Philippines, which we checked on our own experience and while communicating with local tourists and travelers who certainly know only the weather of their country.

Looking ahead a little, let's just say that the locals themselves consider the ideal time to travel to any region of the country to be from March to April. It is at this time that dry and moderately hot weather lasts throughout the Philippines, and there are almost no natural disasters in the form of tropical storms and typhoons. The rest of the year is considered a wet season or rainy season, during which there is a chance to get under thick clouds, rains, or worse – seasonal storms or typhoons.

And now more about each of the seasons:

High tourist season in the Philippines
January to May

Winter and spring, and specifically the time from January to May, are the best for holidays in the Philippines. At this time there is little rain, the temperature is comfortable (not too hot), the water is warm, there are no strong winds and waves. As a result, the water is much more transparent and calm, which, of course, is good for snorkeling and diving. Well, the ideal time is March, April, May.

The start of the dry season differs slightly by region, but in general, in January it begins across the country. A little earlier, in November, it can begin in the resorts of the North (Boracay, Manila and Luzon, Palawan), but this does not always happen, so you should not count on it, here you are lucky. Moreover, sometimes in the resorts of the south (Cebu, Negros, Bohol, Siquijor, Panglao) the rainy season is delayed until January.

Within the high season, there are also peak seasons when local tourists and tourists from other Asian countries actively travel and move. This is the period of Catholic Christmas (celebrated throughout December), New Year, Chinese New Year (late January - early February on the lunar calendar), Easter. At this time it is better to book flights and accommodation in advance, prices are rising.

Low tourist season in the Philippines
June to December

Low season almost all over the country takes place from June to December. In the resorts to the North (Boracay, Manila and Luzon, Palawan), the low season sometimes ends earlier-in October, but you should not count on it.

What is a bad holiday in the low season? This is a time when the sky is often covered with thick clouds, there is a high probability of rain, and the heat is sometimes unbearable, reaching 40 degrees. Especially bad months are July, August and September, when due to heavy rains there are floods, mudslides, landslides.

But what is really bad between June and December are tropical storms that sometimes turn into typhoons into devastating typhoons with destruction and casualties. For example, in 2019 there were 27 tropical storms, 17 typhoons, and 10 powerful typhoons with casualties and destruction.

They form and pass, as a rule, in the northern and eastern part of the country, without directly hitting the popular tourist resorts of the Philippines, but even this is enough. During storms and typhoons, even far from the epicenter, there is dense cloud cover, heavy rains, strong winds. According to the decision of the authorities, the ferry service is completely stopped, flights are canceled, evacuation is announced. It usually lasts 1-3 days.

See also monthly descriptions of holidays in the Philippines

• Vacation in the Philippines in January, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in February, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in March, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in April, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in May, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in June, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in July, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in August, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in September, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in October, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in November, and is it worth going
• Vacation in the Philippines in December, and is it worth going

Weather in the resorts of the Philippines by month