When to go

January.

Northern-hemisphere winter lines up the Americas: Central America, the Caribbean and the Thai islands are all dry, while Bali, Borneo and the Daintree sit in their wettest weeks.

Photo: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 3.0

Home/When to go/January

Prime season

Go now.

Photo: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 3.0

Central America

Costa Rica

The easiest serious jungle on earth — sloths over breakfast, surf twenty minutes away.

Best months: December – April (dry), May – August (green, quieter) 6 stays in Costa Rica

Photo: edenpictures, CC BY 2.0

North America

Tulum & the Maya Jungle

Low, dense Maya jungle riddled with cenotes — swim in a cave before lunch, ruins before dinner.

Best months: November – April 6 stays in Tulum

Photo: Jami430, CC BY-SA 4.0

Caribbean

Puerto Rico

The only tropical rainforest in the US national forest system, no passport required for Americans.

Best months: December – April (driest), but green year-round 6 stays in Puerto Rico

Photo: Gzzz, CC BY-SA 4.0

North America

Florida

Banyans, bamboo groves and blackwater swamps — the jungle hiding inside the United States.

Best months: November – April 6 stays in Florida

Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0

Southeast Asia

Thailand

Jungle two ways: limestone island rainforest over turquoise water, or misty mountain forest up north.

Best months: Islands: January – April · North: November – February 6 stays in Thailand

Photo: Shallodarns, CC BY-SA 4.0

South America

Colombia

Four very different forests, from Amazon river lodges to Minca treehouses to Pacific cabins where the jungle runs into the sea.

Best months: Caribbean side (Minca, Tayrona) driest Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug; Chocó wet year-round but humpback whales Jul–Oct; Leticia no true dry season, easier trails Jun–Nov 6 stays in Colombia

South Asia

Sri Lanka

Wet-zone rainforest, misty tea-estate hill country and dry-zone forest, with two monsoons that run on opposite calendars.

Best months: Southwest rainforest and hill country (Sinharaja, Ella) best Dec–Apr; dry-zone south and east (Yala, Sigiriya) best May–Sep, the opposite calendar 6 stays in Sri Lanka

Photo: Laslovarga, CC BY-SA 3.0

Central America

Belize

More than half the country is forest, the ruins still wear their canopy, and the treehouses sit on real rivers.

Best months: Late November – May (dry); June – November is green, wet and cheaper 7 stays in Belize

Photo: Aaron O'Dea, CC BY-SA 3.0

Central America

Panama

Caribbean island jungle in Bocas del Toro, cloud forest in Boquete, and sloths in the trees of the capital.

Best months: December – April (dry); Bocas often clears in September and October 6 stays in Panama

Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0

Central America

Guatemala

Temples above the treeline, a river canyon to the Caribbean, and turquoise pools in the limestone hills.

Best months: December – April (dry); wettest from September to November 6 stays in Guatemala

Shoulder season

Also works, and quieter.

01 Brazil Coast: year-round · Amazon: June – November 6 stays 02 Hawai‘i Year-round; April – October slightly drier 6 stays 03 Peru Dry season May–Oct best for wildlife and trails; wet Nov–Apr cheaper, and Iquitos high water Dec–May improves boat access to flooded forest 6 stays 04 Ecuador June – September for Mindo; the Amazon works year round, with high water March – July 6 stays

Wet or storm season

Save these for another month.

01Bali April – October (dry season)

02Borneo March – October (drier); November – February is the wet monsoon

03Australia May – October (dry, stinger-free seas); December – April is the wet

Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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