Holguin, Cuba Weather and Climate

General & Geography

Holguin, Cuba’s third largest city with around 350,000 inhabitants, extends over a total area of ​​689.81 km2 in the east of the island. The capital of the province of the same name is located around 500 kilometers east of Havana and is an ideal starting point for round trips and exploring eastern Cuba.

From Holguin you can reach the national parks as well as interesting cities like Santiago de Cuba or Bayamo. Since most of the tourism takes place in the regions around Varadero, Trinidad / Cienfuegos and of course Havana, the east of Cuba is a comparatively quieter and more original region.

According to tradition, Christopher Columbus described the area around Holguin as “the most beautiful earth that a person has ever seen”. And in fact, you don’t want to contradict him when you stroll through the capital or make yourself comfortable on one of the beautiful beaches in Guardalavaca.

Above all, Playa Pesquera and Playa Esmeralda are among the most beautiful beaches in all of Cuba. But there is also a lot to discover in the hinterland!

Climate in Holguin

Holguin has a subtropical climate, which is why constant summer temperatures are recorded all year round. The daytime temperatures fluctuate between 27 and 32 ° C, at night it usually cools down by 8 to 10 degrees. Since the region is generally drier than Varadero, for example, the temperatures are slightly higher than in other parts of the country. But they don’t get uncomfortably hot as there is usually a light breeze from the sea.

The climate in Holguin is influenced by the trade wind and can be divided into a dry season with little rainfall in winter and a much more humid “rainy season” during the summer months. There are, however, no four seasons like in Central Europe. Even the term rainy season is only partially applicable in Holguin. There is an accumulation of mostly short, heavy showers between May and October, but in very few cases it rains all day or even several days in a row.

This is also confirmed by the hours of sunshine, which even in the wettest months are on average 9 to 10 hours of sunshine per day. The hurricane season in the Caribbean officially begins in early June and continues into the November. Due to its location, however, the hurricane risk in the Holguin region is comparatively low. Nevertheless, the weather during the summer months is somewhat unpredictable, the humidity is often up to 90 percent and it is generally more humid.

When is the best time to visit Holguin?

Even if we don’t want the hurricane probability in the region to be too high, the topic is of great concern to some vacationers in the run-up to their trip. However, Cuba’s hotels are very well prepared for possible weather extremes, there is a functioning early warning system and everything is done to get tourists in particular to safety at an early stage. However, since the weather is much more turbulent, humid and sometimes very oppressive in summer, we particularly recommend first-time visitors to Cuba to avoid the rainy season as best as possible.

Traveling to Cuba is of course also possible during the summer vacation, there is only the risk that one or the other vacation day could symbolically fall into the water. We would therefore like to recommend the months of the dry season as the best travel time for Holguin, i.e. from mid / late November to the end of April. The high season in the region is usually in July and August and during the Christmas holidays until around mid- January.

Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine

	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daytime temperature	26 ° C	28 ° C	29 ° C	30 ° C	31 ° C	31 ° C	31 ° C	32 ° C	31 ° C	29 ° C	28 ° C	27 ° C
Night temperature	18 ° C	18 ° C	19 ° C	20 ° C	21 ° C	22 ° C	23 ° C	23 ° C	22 ° C	21 ° C	20 ° C	19 ° C
Water temperature	27 ° C	27 ° C	28 ° C	28 ° C	28 ° C	29 ° C	29 ° C	30 ° C	30 ° C	30 ° C	29 ° C	28 ° C
Precipitation in mm	45	35	46	64	176	144	74	111	139	149	86	42
Rainy days	4	4	5	6	14	11	11	12	13	14	7	5
Hours of sunshine	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	9	9	8	8	7
Sunrise	6:45	6:35	7:15	6:45	6:30	6:25	6:30	6:45	6:50	7:00	6:15	6:35
Sunset	17:45	18:05	19:15	19:25	19:35	19:45	19:50	19:35	19:10	18:40	17:25	17:25

Temperatures

The annual average temperature is 24.9 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is August (27.3 ° C), coldest month of January with mean values of 22 ° C. The maximum water temperature is 30 ° C. Comfortable bathing is possible at these temperatures. All months have a water temperature of at least 21 ° C and are therefore suitable for a beach holiday.

Precipitation

The annual precipitation is 1111 mm on 106 days with precipitation. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. The May is considered the rainy season, since in this month are expected to more than 175 mm of rainfall. Snowfall is generally not expected in any month.

Sunshine

As our climate table shows, July is the sunniest month with an average of 10 hours of sunshine per day. The average annual sunshine is 8.4 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.

Cities nearby

The following larger towns are nearby and have a similar climate: Holguín, Bayamo, Las Tunas and Contramaestre.

Sights and attractions

Holguin was founded in 1525 by Captain Garcia Holguin and is next to Havana for many travelers the second most beautiful city in Cuba. Christopher Columbus was already very enthusiastic, Fidel Castro grew up here in Biran, his parents’ finca can still be visited today. Holguin is an absolute and very authentic must-see on any itinerary. The mixture of culture, history and nature is an ideal combination for an unforgettable stay.

The provincial capital is also known in Spanish as Ciudad de los Parques – City of Parks – as a total of six beautiful parks characterize the colonial cityscape and invite you to linger. The beautiful beaches and the turquoise blue water of the Playa Guardalavaca, which are one of the best diving areas on the island, beckon in the vicinity. Even cave and wreck diving is possible in this area. Other water sports such as catamaran, sailing and windsurfing can also be practiced here. The international hotel industry is also represented here with a wide range of all-inclusive hotels.

Probably the deepest green and clearest water that you will ever see can be found at Playa Esmeralda, which means emerald beach. Here the corals grow to the beach and attract beach lovers as well as snorkelers and divers alike. Dolphins can be seen at the Bahia de Naranjo. The city of Gibara, which is also called the “white city”, impresses not only with its colonial style buildings, crumbling facades, rustic squares and pristine beaches, but also with the extraordinary friendliness of the people who live there. In the far east lies the Parque Nacionaö Alejandro de Humboldt, which, as the name suggests, is named after the great natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt, who toured the region in 1800.

The national park extends over the provinces of Holguin and Guantanamo. It is considered to be unique of its kind and has a greater diversity than the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador with 1,800 to 2,000 different species on an area of ​​707 km2. The park is considered the most important refuge in the entire Caribbean and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. The best way to discover the park is on a hike. To cool off, take a dip in one of the many rivers that run through the park.

Holguin weather in March, April and May

Daily temperatures averaging 29 to 31 ° C are to be expected over the next three months. The temperatures hardly fluctuate during this time.

Do you want to go on a beach holiday? The water temperatures are in March, April and May at about 28 ° C. This is great weather for a great time on the beach and in the water.

The expected rainfall is around 5 days in March, around 6 days in April and around 14 days in May.

In the period from March to May , the sun shines an average of 9 hours a day.