Best Month to Visit Every Country and US State

What is the best month to visit each country or US state, based on weather alone?

Using only weather data, Weather Spark rates every city with a tourism score based on the following three criteria:

• Chance of clear skies
• Lkelihood for rain-free days
• A comfortable temperature between 65°– 80°F (18°– 27°C).

This map shows the month when the tourism score is highest for each country, based on its most populous city. While not every city on earth can satisfy all three criteria, the score maximizes for these conditions and rates accordingly. For example, the temperatures of some tropical island countries rarely fall below 80º (27ºC).

Worldwide, August is the most common month for ideal weather, especially in Europe and the US. Many Europeans travel to other countries during August. Not surprisingly, northern countries like Canada, Scandinavia and Russia favor the summer months. In Australia, December is best, based on Sydney’s weather. Other major cities in Australia favor the months just after December.

For many large nations, the best weather months vary greatly according to geography. In this map, I show a variety of other large cities for comparison for Mexico, China, Australia and Brazil. In some sprawling countries like Russia and Indonesia, there was very little variation. 

Across the 50 US states, there are eight different ideal weather months. Hawaii is the only US state to favor January, while Mississippi is the only state to favor October. The country’s largest city, New York City, favors September. 

Whether you’re planning a wedding, a vacation or a moving to a new location, this chart is a starting point for deciding which month is best to travel. 

NOTE: When the largest city was not available on Weather Spark, the next largest or available city was used. For some small countries, the "Best Time to Visit" data was for the country as a whole, in that case no city was used.