December is one of the best months for Dubai weather – about 26 °C by day and 17 °C at night, with one or two rainy days – and one of the busiest and priciest for hotels. UAE schools break from 14 December, and in our Booking.com snapshot a night in the New Year's Eve week cost about four times a normal one. Book early, and read the safety note below before you do.
Booking for live prices · Review for our take
| Hotel | Score | From/night | Area | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rove Downtown | Superb | ~US$210 | ~10 min walk to Dubai Mall | Best value | Check Booking →Review ↓ |
| JW Marriott Hotel Marina | Superb | ~US$540 | Marina, linked to Marina Mall | All-round base | Check Booking →Review ↓ |
| Atlantis, The Palm | Superb | ~US$615 | Crescent tip, Aquaventure on site | Families | Check Booking →Review ↓ |
Grid prices are the lowest nightly rate we found for two adults on Booking.com in September 2026 for 9 December 2026 – before the New Year's Eve surge. Treat them as a floor, not a quote.
What is the weather in Dubai in December?
The weather in Dubai in December averages a high of 26 °C and a low of 17 °C, according to Open-Meteo's ERA5 reanalysis for Dubai city, 2015–2025 – model data rather than an official weather-station record. Days are warm enough for the beach and evenings cool enough for a light layer.
| December in Dubai | Average |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 63% |
| Sunshine | 9.7 hours a day |
| Rain | 1.3 days with 1 mm or more, 9 mm in the month |
| Sea temperature | 26 °C (Open-Meteo marine model, 2023–25) |
| Sunrise / sunset, 15 December | 06:57 / 17:31 (UTC+4) |
At an average 26 °C, the sea is warm enough to swim in December. Sunset comes early, so put the beach in the morning or early afternoon and outdoor dinners after dark. January is a touch cooler – 24 °C by day, 15 °C at night and a 23 °C sea – so a December–January trip follows the same pattern with cooler swims.
Pack summer clothes for the day and a light sweater or jacket for the evening, when lows average 17 °C. Cover shoulders and knees in malls, the souks and places of worship. Our guide to what to wear in Dubai has the full packing list.
Is December a good time to visit Dubai?
Yes for the weather; the trade-off is crowds and price. December falls in the November-to-March window our guide to the best time to visit Dubai recommends, and it also packs a public holiday, a school break and New Year's Eve into one month.
UAE National Day on 2 and 3 December is a public holiday, according to the UAE government's public-holiday list (u.ae, updated 1 July 2026); 2026 marks the 55th Eid Al Etihad, and celebrations are usually announced closer to the day.
UAE schools break for winter from 14 December 2026 until 4 January 2027, according to the UAE Ministry of Education (22 February 2026) and Dubai's KHDA (30 April 2026), so expect family hotels and attractions to be busier from mid-month. UK and US schools break around Christmas too, which adds to the second half of December.
Is Dubai cheap in December?
No – December is one of Dubai's dearer months, and the New Year's Eve week is the dearest of all. In our Booking.com snapshot of three reference hotels on 24 September 2026, a night in the New Year's Eve week (30 December) cost about four times a normal night at the two hotels that still had rooms, and the third was sold out. It's a snapshot, not a market statistic, but the direction is clear.
The same snapshot found the upscale hotels cheapest in summer, so December is not the month to hunt bargains. Flights from the US are dearest in December too, on the KAYAK data in our Dubai trip cost breakdown. Inside the month, early December – before the school break and New Year – is the value window, which is why the grid above uses 9 December rates.
Is it risky to travel to Dubai in December 2026?
The US State Department rates the UAE Level 3, "Reconsider Travel", as of late September 2026 (US State Department advisory). It's an advisory to weigh rather than a ban, and it can limit what your travel insurance covers, so read the policy wording before you book.
Airlines have returned to Dubai in stages, and neither Emirates nor Etihad guarantees that December schedules will run normally, so choose flexible fares where you can and check your flight's status in the week you fly. Our Dubai safety guide covers the advisory in detail.
What is there to do in Dubai in December?
December has Dubai's outdoor season fully open. These are the dated ideas for December 2026:
- Global Village: Season 31 opens on 14 October 2026 and runs until May 2027 (Dubai Media Office, 14 September 2026); check the official site for the gate price.
- Dubai Miracle Garden: the season opens on 8 October 2026, with a tourist ticket of ~AED 100 (≈ US$27).
- A desert safari: the cool months are the comfortable time for dune bashing and a camp dinner – our Dubai desert safari guide compares the tiers.
- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: the Formula 1 race weekend runs 4–6 December 2026, with general admission from ~AED 745 (≈ US$205) on the official ticket page. Abu Dhabi is about 1.5 hours away by road – see our Abu Dhabi day trip guide.
- Dubai Racing Carnival: the "Festive Friday" race meeting is on 18 December 2026, in a season that starts in November (Dubai Racing Club).
- Ski Dubai: a rainy-day or kids' option at Mall of the Emirates, with Snow Park entry from ~AED 190 (≈ US$52) on Ski Dubai's site.
The Dubai Shopping Festival is listed under December in Visit Dubai's 2026 calendar, but its exact 2026–27 dates are announced closer to the date. Last year's edition ran from 5 December 2025 to 11 January 2026, so check Visit Dubai's festival page before you plan around it.
The school-break weeks are busy everywhere with children; our guide to things to do in Dubai with kids lists the family options.
How is Christmas celebrated in Dubai?
Christmas Day is not a public holiday in the UAE – it isn't on the government's official public-holiday list (u.ae, updated 1 July 2026) – but Dubai's hotels celebrate it in full.
Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, for example, lists a Christmas Eve dinner on 24 December 2026 from ~AED 299 (≈ US$81) per person and a Christmas Day brunch on 25 December from ~AED 499 (≈ US$136) on its own events page; malls usually announce their programmes closer to the day.
The usual rules still apply: alcohol is served only in licensed venues such as hotels, and only to guests aged 21 or over – see Dubai's rules for tourists.
New Year's Eve falls on Thursday 31 December 2026 in Visit Dubai's events calendar, and Emaar typically announces the headline Downtown show in the autumn. Our Dubai New Year's Eve guide tracks what's confirmed and what the hotels charge that week.
Where should you stay in Dubai in December?
Book December stays early: the school break from mid-month and the New Year's Eve week fill hotels and push prices up. Pick the area by what you'll do – Downtown for the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, the Marina or the Palm for the beach. Our guide to where to stay in Dubai compares every area.
Rove Downtown
Rove Downtown is the value base for the Downtown side, about a 10-minute walk from Dubai Mall, and in our snapshot it was the hotel whose rate moved least outside the New Year's Eve week.
JW Marriott Hotel Marina
JW Marriott Hotel Marina, linked to Marina Mall, puts you on the beach side of the city, a short tram ride from the free public beach at JBR – the base if December's 26 °C sea is the point of the trip.
Atlantis, The Palm
Atlantis, The Palm sits at the tip of the Palm's crescent with Aquaventure on site, the family pick for the school-break weeks – and it showed no rooms for New Year's Eve week in our September check. More options are in our guide to the best family hotels in Dubai.
December gives you Dubai's best beach-and-desert weather at its highest prices: go early in the month, or book early.
To plan the days, follow our 5-day Dubai itinerary, and see things to do in Dubai for the year-round sights.
Featured image: pe-sa / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
