Best Time to Visit Montevideo: Summer Beaches, February Carnival and Climate Data

Located at latitude 34°54' South on the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, Montevideo enjoys a temperate humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) with four well-defined Southern Hemisphere seasons and no dry or monsoon season. According to official 1991 to 2020 climate normals recorded by the Instituto Uruguayo de Meteorologia (INUMET) at Prado Station, rainfall is distributed remarkably evenly across all twelve months, averaging just 6 to 7 precipitation days (>= 1.0 millimetre) every single month for an annual total of 1,142.7 millimetres across 79 rain days. Use this seasonal breakdown alongside our Rambla and candombe guide and our 3-day Montevideo itinerary.

December to March: Warm Beach Summers, Carnival and the Vendimia

Summer brings Montevideo's longest, sunniest days and warmest waters along the eastern beaches of Pocitos, Buceo, Malvin, and Carrasco. January is the warmest and sunniest month, with mean daily highs of 27.8°C, overnight lows of 18.8°C, and 294.5 hours of sunshine (averaging 9.5 hours of bright sun per day across only 6 rain days), followed closely by February (27.0°C highs, 18.6°C lows, 6 rain days) and December (26.4°C highs, 17.1°C lows, 282.1 sunshine hours). Late January through early March also stages the world's longest Carnival (running roughly 40 days), highlighted in early February by the two-night Desfile de Llamadas candombe drumming parade through Barrio Sur and Palermo, while March brings comfortable 25.3°C afternoons and the annual Vendimia grape harvest at Montevideo's Tannat wineries.

April to November: Crisp Autumn Walks, Mild Spring and Winter

• Autumn (April to May) and Spring (October to November): April (22.0°C highs, 14.1°C lows) and November (23.7°C highs, 14.7°C lows, 249.0 sunshine hours) offer pleasant sightseeing weather for walking Ciudad Vieja without mid-summer crowds; in November, purple jacaranda trees bloom across the Prado and Parque Rodo.
• Winter (June to August): Cool southern winds (the crisp dry Pampero from the southwest and the damp coastal Sudestada from the southeast) bring July daytime highs down to 14.7°C and overnight lows to 7.3°C (with June averaging 15.6°C highs and 8.1°C lows). Winter days remain ideal for museum visits, theatre evenings at Teatro Solis, and wood-fired parrilla lunches inside Mercado del Puerto.