Atlas Ranger Score · ranked by worst month

Worst time to travel, ranked

Every destination scored 0–100 for all twelve months on the Atlas Ranger Score, then ranked by its single lowest month— hurricane peaks, monsoons, 40°C heatwaves, and the winters when whole islands shut. Below: the month to skip for each place, what actually goes wrong, and how far it falls from that destination's peak.

Toughest month anywhereIceland in Novemberscores 20/100

Mildest “worst month”Hawaii in Septemberstill scores 86/100

Biggest seasonal swingVietnam49 points between November and August

#	Destination	Worst month	What goes wrong	Swing
1	Iceland	November20Tough	Worst weather + Iceland Airwaves festival	−29vs July (49)
2	Vietnam	August34Tough	Peak monsoon in north — typhoons start appearing	−49vs November (83)
3	Philippines	July36Tough	Wettest month — monsoon at full force	−38vs January (74)
4	Thailand	September42Mixed	Wettest month in Bangkok — peak SW monsoon	−35vs January (77)
5	Okinawa	September43Mixed	Typhoon peak — the worst single month to visit	−29vs November (72)
6	Da Nang	October43Mixed	Worst month of the year — typhoon peak, 631mm of rain	−45vs February (88)
7	Costa Rica	October44Mixed	Wettest month nationally — the single month to skip	−32vs January (76)
8	Krabi	September48Mixed	Wet season deepens — third-wettest month	−21vs January (69)
9	New Orleans	August48Mixed	Hottest month + hurricane risk climbing — avoid if possible	−36vs October (84)
10	Hoi An	November51Mixed	Still flooding — Old Town often partly underwater	−37vs February (88)
11	Spain	January53Mixed	Cold interior — mild Mediterranean coast — wet north	−40vs May (93)
12	Miami	September53Mixed	Hurricane peak and the second-wettest month — the month to avoid	−36vs February (89)
13	Bali	January54Mixed	Peak wet season — 385mm of rain, daily storms	−27vs June (81)
14	Maldives	June54Mixed	Heart of the wet season — wettest, windiest month	−18vs February (72)
15	Jamaica	October54Mixed	Wettest month of the year — the single month to avoid	−31vs January (85)
16	Key West	September54Mixed	Wettest month and the hurricane peak — the month to skip	−39vs March (93)
17	Kyoto	August56Good	Hottest month + Daimonji on August 16	−13vs May (69)
18	Koh Samui	November56Good	Worst month — peak monsoon, 345mm of rain	−32vs January (88)
19	Osaka	August57Good	Hottest month — basin heat, Obon nationally	−14vs October (71)
20	Greece	January58Good	Coldest month — islands closed, Athens grey	−35vs May (93)
21	Japan	August59Good	Hottest month + Bon Festival domestic travel peak	−10vs May (69)
22	Tokyo	August59Good	Peak heat + Obon — domestic shutdown mid-month	−12vs May (71)
23	Cancun	September59Good	Hurricane peak and the second rain surge	−26vs February (85)
24	Tulum	September60Good	Peak hurricane season — wet, quiet, cheapest	−22vs February (82)
25	Bahamas	September60Good	Statistical hurricane peak — the month to avoid	−33vs January (93)
26	Punta Cana	October61Good	Still in the hurricane window, sunshine at its lowest	−22vs February (83)
27	Cabo San Lucas	September62Good	Wettest month — peak hurricane season, deep value	−34vs January (96)
28	Mexico	September64Good	Peak rains and peak hurricane risk nationwide	−32vs February (96)
29	Mexico City	July65Good	Wettest stretch — reliable afternoon downpours	−31vs February (96)
30	St. Thomas	September66Good	Statistical hurricane peak — Irma and Maria both struck in 2017	−21vs March (87)
31	Mallorca	January70Great	Mild winter — quiet cycling season in the Tramuntana	−19vs May (89)
32	Aruba	November70Great	Wettest month of the year	−8vs February (78)
33	Ibiza	January72Great	Ghost town — most clubs and beach bars are closed	−18vs October (90)
34	Hawaii	September86Exceptional	Statistical hurricane peak, still hot — the cheapest month	−7vs February (93)

Scores are computed from month-by-month climate, season and festival data and refresh as that data is reviewed. “Swing” is the gap between a destination's best and worst months — a big swing means timing matters a lot; a small one means it barely matters. The bar strip runs January to December; the outlined bar is the worst month. See the full method on the Atlas Ranger Score page.

How to read this ranking

A low worst-month score is not a verdict on a destination — it is a verdict on a month, and the worst time to visit one place is often the best time for another. Costa Rica's October and Jamaica's October both score badly because they are the wettest, riskiest weeks of the year in places that are otherwise superb. The useful question is the swing: Greece drops more than 30 points from May to January because its islands literally close; Aruba barely moves because it sits outside the hurricane belt and has no wet season to speak of.

Three patterns account for almost every bad month on this list:

Hurricane peaks (August–October). The Caribbean, Florida, the Gulf Coast, and Hawaii. The weather is often fine on the day — the problem is probability, cancelled trips, and seasonal closures.
Monsoons and wet seasons.Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, the Maldives, and the Philippines from roughly May to October; Costa Rica's Pacific coast; Japan's June rains and September typhoons.
Extremes of heat and cold. Greece and Spain in July–August; Iceland and mainland Greece in deep winter, when daylight, temperature, and open businesses all fall away at once.

Each row links to the destination's full worst-time guide — what goes wrong in detail, what to do if your dates are locked, and the better windows either side.

How to read this ranking

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