Christmas in Miami and South Florida
Palm trees in string lights, 78 degrees on Christmas Day, and a boat parade instead of a snow plough. Here is what December actually looks like in South Florida, what it costs, and how to plan around the busiest week of the year.
The short version
- Weather: highs around 77–80°F, low humidity. The best weather of the year.
- Book by: late September. Christmas week is the single busiest stretch in South Florida.
- Biggest events: Art Basel in early December, Winterfest Boat Parade in Fort Lauderdale, the Orange Bowl around New Year.
- Getting around: traffic runs heavy all day rather than in rush-hour peaks. Normal timing logic does not apply.
Christmas in South Florida is not a compromise version of a northern holiday. It is a different holiday. Nobody is shovelling anything. The lights go up on palm trees, the boat parade replaces the sleigh, and Christmas dinner is as likely to be stone crab as it is turkey. If you are coming from somewhere cold, that contrast is most of the appeal.
It is also the most expensive and most crowded week of the South Florida year, which is worth planning around rather than discovering on arrival. This guide covers the weather, the events worth building a trip around, and the logistics that catch first-time December visitors.
What the weather is actually like
Answer first: December highs run 77 to 80°F with lows in the mid-60s and humidity far lower than summer. It is the most comfortable month of the year here, and the reason the region fills up.
| Measure | Typical December | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime high | 77–80°F | Comfortable for beaches and walking |
| Overnight low | 63–67°F | A light jacket for evenings |
| Humidity | Low to moderate | Nothing like the summer heat index |
| Rain | Dry season | Occasional brief showers, not daily storms |
| Ocean temperature | Around 74°F | Swimmable, cooler than it looks |
Pack for warm days and cool evenings. Visitors routinely bring nothing with sleeves and regret it around 9pm on the water. Our guide to packing for a South Florida vacation covers the rest.
December events worth planning around
Answer first: Art Basel opens the month and fills Miami Beach. The Winterfest Boat Parade runs the Intracoastal in mid-December. The Orange Bowl lands around New Year. Any of the three will affect lodging prices and traffic on their dates.
Art Basel Miami Beach
The largest contemporary art fair in the Americas takes over Miami Beach and spills into Wynwood and the Design District. Lodging in those areas peaks hard, and parking near the convention centre becomes genuinely difficult.
EV rental for Art Basel Miami →Winterfest Boat Parade
Decorated boats run the Intracoastal through Fort Lauderdale in one of the region’s signature holiday events. Waterfront restaurants along the route book out weeks ahead, and road access near the water tightens on the night.
Fort Lauderdale electric car rental →Orange Bowl
College football at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens brings a large out-of-town crowd. Hotels near the stadium fill early and match-day traffic on the surrounding roads is heavy for hours either side.
Car rental in Miami Gardens →Holiday lights and Christmas things to do
Answer first: Botanical gardens, zoos and waterfront parks run the region’s major light displays through December. Most require timed tickets and most are far easier to reach by car than by transit.
South Florida does holiday lights on palm trees and banyans rather than pines, which is worth seeing once purely for the novelty. The botanical gardens and animal parks put on the largest displays, and several run nightly from late November through early January.
- Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden guide — the most atmospheric setting in Miami-Dade for an evening display.
- Zoo Miami travel guide — a reliable family option with a long seasonal run.
- Butterfly World Coconut Creek guide — smaller, and the easiest of the three with young children.
- Miami’s Bayfront Park — the downtown waterfront hub, and the centre of the New Year countdown a week later.
For a full day rather than an evening, the Wynwood Walls area and Little Havana and Calle Ocho both run their own December programming and are considerably less crowded than Miami Beach during Art Basel week.
When to book, and what sells out first
Answer first: Book lodging, flights and your vehicle by late September for Christmas week. Three-row and SUV capacity runs out well before sedans do.
From the operator
“Christmas week and March aren’t just expensive — they’re the weeks vehicles actually run out. Those need three months of lead time. Labor Day or Halloween, three or four weeks is fine. People apply the same booking window to both and get burned in December.” — Eddrick Trumpler, Founder, Amped Auto Rentals
“The mistake visitors make is treating the vehicle as the last thing to book. Lodging goes first, flights go second, and by the time they get to the car it’s three weeks out in December and the three-row SUVs are gone. Seating disappears before sedans do, every single year.” — Eddrick Trumpler
| What | Book by | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | Late September | Fares climb steeply through November |
| Lodging | Late September | Beachfront goes first |
| Three-row SUV | Late September | The first category to sell out |
| Standard SUV or sedan | October | More forgiving, but not by much |
| Restaurant reservations | Six weeks out | Christmas Eve and Day service books early |
If you need seating for a family, the SUV rental in Miami lineup is organised by seat count, and the Nissan Pathfinder rental in Miami is the three-row option that goes first each December.
Traffic, parking and getting around in December
Answer first: Christmas week traffic runs heavy all day rather than in defined rush hours. Budget 30 to 60 percent more time than a map estimate, and plan parking before you leave.
The usual South Florida pattern — bad at 8am, bad at 5pm, fine between — breaks down during Christmas week. Visitor traffic fills the middle of the day, so I-95 and the Turnpike run congested from mid-morning through evening. The Wednesday before Christmas and the days between Christmas and New Year are the heaviest.
| Route | Distance | December drive |
|---|---|---|
| MIA to South Beach | 12 miles | 35–60 minutes |
| Miami to Fort Lauderdale | 30 miles | 60–90 minutes |
| Miami to Boca Raton | 45 miles | 75 minutes–2 hours |
| Miami to Key Largo | 60 miles | 1.5–2.5 hours |
Parking is the other half of the problem. Miami Beach, Brickell, Downtown and Fort Lauderdale Beach all run app-based paid parking, and event-period rates climb steeply. For a fuller picture of the roads, see the South Florida holiday travel guide.
Why the airport counter is the worst part of a December arrival
“We built the business delivery-only because the counter is the worst part of the trip. You’ve just landed at MIA the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, you’re an hour into a queue, and the vacation hasn’t started yet. Removing that step is the whole product.” — Eddrick Trumpler, Founder, Amped Auto Rentals
The same applies in December, only more so. Rather than a counter, the vehicle comes to your hotel, rental or address — see car rental delivery in Miami for how the handoff runs, or skipping the rental counter in South Florida for why it exists.
Christmas in South Florida FAQ
How warm is Miami at Christmas?
Daytime highs typically run 77 to 80°F with overnight lows in the mid-60s. Humidity is far lower than in summer, and December falls in the dry season, so rain is occasional rather than daily.
How far in advance should I book a Christmas trip to South Florida?
Late September for flights, lodging and your vehicle. Christmas week is the busiest stretch of the South Florida year, and three-row SUVs are the first category to sell out entirely.
What is there to do in Miami at Christmas?
Art Basel opens the month in Miami Beach, the Winterfest Boat Parade runs the Intracoastal through Fort Lauderdale in mid-December, and botanical gardens and zoos across all three counties run holiday light displays. Beaches stay usable throughout.
Is Christmas a good time to visit South Florida?
The weather is the best of the year and the event calendar is at its fullest. The tradeoff is cost and crowds, since it is also the most expensive and most congested week. If your dates are flexible, early December before Christmas week gives you most of the upside at lower prices.
Do I need a car in South Florida at Christmas?
For most visitors, yes. Holiday light displays, the Everglades, the Keys and most beaches sit outside walkable transit reach, and rideshare surge pricing during Christmas week adds up quickly. Brightline connects Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach but will not get you to most destinations.
Does it rain in Miami in December?
Rarely in any sustained way. December is part of the dry season, so showers tend to be brief rather than the daily afternoon thunderstorms of summer.
Plan the rest of your trip
- South Florida holiday travel guide — the full seasonal calendar, airports and cruise ports
- Miami Beach electric car rental — for trips centred on South Beach
- Electric car rental in Boca Raton and Delray Beach — Palm Beach County
- Tesla rental in Miami — the most requested vehicles over the holidays
- How to charge your rental EV in South Florida
Have the car waiting when you land
No counter, no queue, no shuttle bus. We deliver across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach — to your hotel, your rental, or right at the terminal. Free delivery on rentals of seven days or longer within fifty miles.
Check December Availability Or call (786) 981-1177Last reviewed: July 2026. Updated ahead of each December. Written by Eddrick Trumpler, Founder of Amped Auto Rentals, the transportation division of Clear, Bright & Smart Diversified Holdings LLC (Florida, est. September 2020). Media and interview requests: [email protected] or (800) 320-2289.