December and January are not one season, and treating them as one block is the biggest mistake in this category. On India-origin routes with a full year of fare data, December is the most expensive month of the year on ten, while January is the cheapest month of the whole year on six, including Delhi to Kathmandu, Denpasar, Manila and Tbilisi. The weather splits the same way: the Maldives dry season starts in January, not December, and Bali’s wettest month is January. Data reviewed 2026-08-27.
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group.
How Zurich Kotak fits in: This is the window of the year when a disruption costs the most to fix, because the replacement seat you need on 27 December is the most expensive one on sale, and Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel plans cover trip delay, trip cancellation for its defined insured events, baggage loss and delay and emergency medical treatment abroad, each up to the limits of the plan you buy. Cover is bought per trip against your dates and issued online once they are fixed, so a policy taken out for a December departure does not carry a January return unless the dates on it say so.
Last verified: 2026-08-27. Visa rules move fast. Confirm your destination’s position on its own government portal before you book.
The table: 35 destinations, December against January
Read the two months separately, because several places are good in one and poor in the other. Climate figures are 1991 to 2020 normals from national meteorological services and the WMO. Every visa position is for an ordinary Indian passport. “VOA” means issued at a counter after you land; an e-visa must be granted before you board.
Destination | Dec high / low C | Jan high / low C | Visa for an Indian passport | Verdict |
Kathmandu, Nepal | 20.2 / 4.2 | 19.2 / 2.8 | None. Passport or photo Voter ID | Dry. Best value here, cheapest in January |
Bhutan | Cold, clear | Cold, clear | No visa. Permit plus INR 1,200 per person per night | Dry. Low season, clearest skies of the year |
Bangkok, Thailand | 32.3 / 23.2 | 32.7 / 23.4 | Not visa-free now. VOA 15 days at THB 2,000, or e-visa at thaievisa.go.th . Free TDAC either way | Dry. Best weather of its year, cheapest from Kolkata in January |
Chiang Mai, Thailand | 29.2 / 16.9 | 30.0 / 15.7 | As Thailand above | Dry. Excellent. Haze season starts in late February |
Phuket and Krabi, Thailand | 31.7 / 24.4 | 32.7 / 24.5 | As Thailand above | Dry. Peak, and it earns it |
Ko Samui, Thailand | 29.3 / 24.0 | 29.0 / 24.2 | As Thailand above | Wet, 263 mm. Avoid in December. Opposite coast to Phuket |
Colombo and Galle, Sri Lanka | 30.9 / 23.5 | 31.4 / 23.1 | Free ETA at eta.gov.lk , before boarding | Dry. Peak, and the priciest fare month |
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka | 28.8 / 23.8 | 28.9 / 24.0 | As Sri Lanka above | Wet, 339 mm. Avoid. Wrong coast this window |
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 31.6 / 23.9 | 32.0 / 23.4 | E-visa, USD 25, approx INR 2,385, evisa.gov.vn | Dry. Peak dry season, reliably sunny |
Hanoi, Vietnam | 21.3 / 13.8 | 20.2 / 14.1 | As Vietnam above | Cool and grey. Mediocre, December fares 36% up |
Da Nang and Hoi An, Vietnam | 25.1 / 20.0 | 25.0 / 19.3 | As Vietnam above | Wet, 218 mm. Poor in December, the old town floods |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 32.0 / 24.0 | 32.6 / 23.8 | Visa-free 30 days to 31 December 2026. Free MDAC | Wet but workable, and not the fare peak |
Bali, Indonesia | 30.8 / 25.3 | 30.9 / 25.1 | VOA, IDR 500,000, approx INR 2,690 | Wettest month is January. The classic trap, offset by cheap fares |
Male, Maldives | 30.4 / 25.6 | 30.6 / 26.0 | Free 30-day VOA. IMUGA within 96 hours | Dry from January, not December. Peak, December fares 31% up |
Manila, Philippines | 30.3 / 24.6 | 29.9 / 23.9 | Visa-free 14 days, non-extendible | Dry. Best value in the set, January 25% below average |
Phnom Penh, Cambodia | 30.8 / 21.9 | 31.6 / 21.8 | VOA or e-visa at evisa.gov.kh . Fee not confirmed | Dry. Great weather, December fares 75% up |
Siem Reap, Cambodia | 30.6 / 20.7 | 31.7 / 20.4 | As Cambodia above | Dry. Peak Angkor season. Check the route is flying |
Singapore | 30.5 / 24.3 | 30.6 / 24.3 | Visa in advance | Wettest month is December. Worst of both, fares 43% up |
Doha, Qatar | 24.8 / 17.2 | 22.6 / 14.8 | Visa waiver, but the hotel must be booked via discoverqatar.qa | Dry. The best deal here, cheapest fares at peak weather |
Dubai, UAE | 26.0 / 16.3 | 24.0 / 14.3 | Visa in advance, unless you hold a qualifying US or Schengen visa | Dry. The best weather window of the UAE year |
Muscat, Oman | 26.6 / 17.9 | 25.1 / 16.7 | Visa. VOA only with a qualifying visa | Dry. Peak season, cheapest Gulf fares from Delhi |
Cairo, Egypt | 20.5 / 11.7 | 18.9 / 10.1 | E-visa, 30 days | Dry. Peak, and it earns it |
Luxor and Aswan, Egypt | 24.2 / 8.6 | 22.8 / 7.1 | As Egypt above | Rainless. Peak season, but dawns near 7 C |
Aqaba, Jordan | 22.3 / 11.0 | 20.9 / 9.6 | VOA, 30 days. Fee not confirmed | Dry. 18 C warmer by day than Amman |
Amman and Petra, Jordan | 13.2 / 4.4 | 11.3 / 2.8 | As Jordan above | Wet, its rainy season. Bad for sun, the Siq closes for floods |
Tbilisi, Georgia | 8.1 / 1.2 | 6.9 / -0.6 | E-visa, or nothing with a Schengen, US or UK visa | Its driest months. Cold, clear, cheapest in January |
Tashkent and Samarkand, Uzbekistan | 8.6 / -0.1 | 7.2 / -1.3 | E-visa, 30 days | Wet half of its year. Low season, December 37% below average |
Almaty, Kazakhstan | 2.0 / -6.1 | 0.5 / -8.1 | Visa-free 14 days, 42 maximum in any 180 | Snow. Cold for sightseeing, peak for Shymbulak skiing |
Marrakech, Morocco | 20.1 / 7.3 | 19.1 / 5.9 | E-visa, 30 days | Dry-ish. Peak. New Year is firm high season |
Cape Town, South Africa | 25.8 / 15.6 | 29.0 / 16.6 | Electronic Travel Authorisation, ZAR 500, or a visa | Its driest months. Absolute peak, Delhi fares 59% up |
Nairobi and the Maasai Mara, Kenya | 25.8 / 14.8 | 26.9 / 14.1 | eTA, USD 30, approx INR 2,860, etakenya.go.ke | January a dry spell. Peak, but read the migration note |
Seychelles | 30.5 / 24.6 | 30.1 / 24.6 | Travel Authorisation, EUR 10, approx INR 1,110 | January is its wettest. Still peak, and rain is brief |
Mauritius | 31.1 / 23.2 | 31.5 / 24.1 | Visa-free, 90 days | Wet. Peak season and cyclone season at once |
Istanbul, Turkey | 10.7 / 5.5 | 8.8 / 3.6 | E-visa only with a Schengen, US, UK or Ireland visa | Wettest in December. Cold and wet |
Sydney, Australia | 25.7 / 18.4 | 27.0 / 20.0 | Online visitor visa, plus a transit visa | Southern summer. Peak, priced like it |
What that split means for your booking
If your dates are flexible, moving a trip from late December to mid-January changes the fare band more than changing the destination does. Ten India-origin routes peak in December against two in January, and six bottom out in January.
Every fare figure here is read from published per-route statistics on 2026-08-27 and is indicative, not a quoted price. On-ground costs were verified directly for Bangkok, Kathmandu and Colombo only; every other city is an estimate.
Value, not just good weather
Pick | Month | Why |
Manila | January | Cheapest fare month, 25% below average, drier at 19 mm, no visa fee |
Doha | December | Cheapest fare month of its year, 13% below average, best Gulf weather, no visa fee |
Kathmandu | January | No visa, cheapest fares, cheapest on-ground costs, best mountain visibility |
Bangkok from Kolkata | January | Cheapest month on the cheapest fare band from India, at peak weather. Budget for a visa |
Tbilisi | January | Cheapest fare month, driest months of its year, skiing at Gudauri |
Uzbekistan | December | 37% below its own average, but only for a Silk Road trip. Cold and damp |
Kenya or Tanzania | Mid-January | The same wildlife as the Christmas fortnight, at lower prices |
Where not to go, and what to check
Fiji sits inside a cyclone season peaking January to March, with 365 mm of rain in January, no nonstop from India and at least two connections. The easy visa makes it a trap. Antalya takes 262 mm in December, roughly double Istanbul, with most resorts shut. Ulaanbaatar runs at minus 15.5 C highs in January, and Moscow gives seven hours of daylight at the solstice.
Overflight changes around Iran have also disrupted direct services to the Caucasus and Central Asia: Delhi to Tbilisi, Baku, Almaty and Tashkent were all suspended, with Tbilisi and Baku due back in October 2026. Six Southeast Asia routes, Krabi, Langkawi, Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap among them, were suspended to 30 September 2026. Check the route flies before you plan around it.
The within-country splits that decide the trip
Sri Lanka: the south-west coast is in season, the east is not. The north-east monsoon runs December to February, so Trincomalee takes 339 mm in December against Galle’s 176 mm. In season: Colombo, Galle, Mirissa, Bentota. Out: Trincomalee, Nilaveli, Arugam Bay, Batticaloa.
Thailand has two coasts on opposite seasons. Phuket, Krabi and the Andaman islands are dry. Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao are at or just past their wettest. December is one of the best months for Phuket and the worst for Samui.
Vietnam is three countries in December. The south is at peak dry, 12 mm in January. The centre, Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue, is still finishing a wet season that runs into December. The north is dry by volume but spreads its rain as drizzle over about ten days at 20 C days and 14 C nights, so “dry season” misleads on a packing list.
Malaysia splits too. Langkawi and Penang are fine. The east coast, the Perhentians and Tioman, is in the north-east monsoon and many resorts close.
South Africa runs two opposite rainfall regimes. Cape Town in January is roughly fourteen times drier than Johannesburg, in the same month in the same country, at 9 mm against 132 mm: the Western Cape has a winter-rainfall climate and the Highveld a summer-rainfall one. January is also Cape Town’s hottest month at 29.0 C, and Delhi fares sit 59% above April.
The warnings most lists skip
Thailand is mid-change, and both of the flat answers you will read are wrong. The 60-day exemption was withdrawn on 2026-05-19 and a 30-day replacement is approved but not yet gazetted, so Thailand is not visa-free for Indians today. The routes are a 15-day visa on arrival at THB 2,000 or a tourist e-visa at thaievisa.go.th . The free arrival card at tdac.immigration.go.th is filed within 72 hours either way, and it is not a visa.
Nepal lifted its ban on Indian INR 500 notes on 2026-07-24. INR 200 and INR 500 notes are now permitted up to a combined INR 25,000 per person, if dated 9 November 2016 or later. INR 2,000 notes are still excluded. Almost every Nepal tips page still says the ban is in force.
Bali’s peak visitor season is its peak rain season. 299 mm in December and 388 mm in January over 16 and 19 rain days, against 30 to 60 mm from July to September, in heavy bursts rather than all-day drizzle. Go in January for the fare, not for a beach holiday.
Mauritius and Seychelles carry different cyclone risk. The South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season runs 15 November to 30 April, formally extended to 15 May for both. Mauritius sits at about 20 degrees south, inside the belt. Mahe sits at about 4 degrees south, too close to the equator for a system to be steered in. Seychelles is wetter, Mauritius carries the exposure.
The Mara River crossings do not happen in December or January. The herds cross northbound in July and August and southbound around October. From December to March they are on the southern Serengeti plains, where January into February is calving season, roughly 500,000 calves in two to three weeks. An excellent safari window, but the product is calving on the Tanzanian side, not crossings on the Kenyan side.
Booking for the New Year window? The most expensive fortnight of the travel year is also the one where a cancelled connection or a hospital visit costs the most to absorb. A Zurich Kotak travel insurance quote takes a few minutes: enter your dates and travellers, pick a plan, download the policy.
What to carry, whichever month you pick
· A pre-arrival authorisation where one applies. Sri Lanka’s ETA, Thailand’s TDAC, Malaysia’s MDAC and the Maldives IMUGA declaration are free, mandatory and filed before you board. The TDAC does not replace Thailand’s visa.
· A return or onward ticket, asked for at almost every visa-free and visa-on-arrival counter here.
· Proof of funds and confirmed accommodation. Qatar accepts only a hotel booked through discoverqatar.qa .
· The official portal, not a lookalike. Sri Lanka’s ETA is free, so any site charging for it is a reseller. Kenya’s eTA is a flat USD 30.
· Warm layers. Luxor at dawn, the Mara at dawn and northern Vietnam are colder than expected.
Where a country’s immigration authority asks for insurance as part of entry, its official checklist will say so. Check the destination portal, not a listicle.
Where this sits
If the decision is really about cost, start with cheapest countries to visit from India and countries where the Indian rupee is stronger . If it is about paperwork, the visa on arrival countries for Indians list and the visa-free countries for Indians pillar sort by what you need before you fly. Travelling as a group changes the shortlist ( with friends ); travelling with children changes it again ( with family ).
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper to travel in, December or January?
January, on most India-origin routes. December is the most expensive month of the year on ten of the routes with a full year of fare data, while January is the cheapest month on six, including Delhi to Kathmandu, Denpasar and Manila, and Kolkata to Bangkok. Fares reviewed 2026-08-27.
Where can an Indian go in December and January without applying for a visa first?
Nepal, Malaysia, the Philippines, Qatar, Mauritius and Kazakhstan admit an ordinary Indian passport with no visa application. Malaysia and the Maldives still need a free arrival card or declaration filed before you board, and Sri Lanka needs a free ETA obtained in advance at eta.gov.lk . Thailand is not on this list any more.
Is the Maldives good in December?
January is the better month. The Maldives dry season starts in January, not December. Male averages 212 mm over 12 rain days in December and 87 mm over about 5.5 days in January. December is both the wetter month and the more expensive one, at fares 31% above average.
Is Bali a good idea in January?
Only if you accept that it is the wettest month of Bali’s year. Bali takes 299 mm in December and 388 mm in January, against 30 to 60 mm in its July to September dry season. The offset is real: January is the cheapest Delhi to Denpasar fare month.
Which destination is the best value in this window?
Manila in January and Doha in December. Manila is the cheapest fare month at 25% below average, is the drier of the two months at 19 mm, and costs an Indian passport holder nothing in visa fees for 14 days. Doha is the cheapest fare month of its year at 13% below average, at the best weather window of the Gulf year, with no visa fee.
Is Thailand visa-free for Indians this December and January?
No, not at present. The 60-day exemption Indian passport holders held from 2024 was withdrawn by a Thai Cabinet decision of 2026-05-19. Indians now enter on a visa on arrival of up to 15 days at THB 2,000, or a tourist e-visa applied for in advance at thaievisa.go.th for up to 60 days. A restored 30-day exemption is approved but pending Royal Gazette publication, so it is not in force. The free TDAC applies either way.
