Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best weather in Eilat is from March, November, December. — consistent weather climate
🌡Hot & dry
| Score | 85 | 95 | 98 | 86 | 60 | 45 | 35 | 34 | 45 | 82 | 99 | 97 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Mild | Mild | Pleasant | Pleasant | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Pleasant | Mild |
| Temperature | 10–20°C | 11–22°C | 14–25°C | 18–31°C | 22–35°C | 24–38°C | 26–40°C | 26–39°C | 25–37°C | 21–32°C | 16–27°C | 12–22°C |
| Feels like | 8–17°C | 9–19°C | 12–23°C | 16–28°C | 20–33°C | 24–36°C | 27–39°C | 28–39°C | 26–36°C | 22–31°C | 16–25°C | 10–19°C |
| Precipitation | 6mm 1 days | 10mm 2 days | 9mm 1 days | 3mm 0 days | 2mm 0 days | 0mm 0 days | 0mm 0 days | 0mm 0 days | 0mm 0 days | 2mm 0 days | 2mm 1 days | 3mm 1 days |
| Sunshine | 9.5h ☀︎ 90% | 9.8h ☀︎ 88% | 10.9h ☀︎ 91% | 11.9h ☀︎ 92% | 12.6h ☀︎ 93% | 13.1h ☀︎ 93% | 13.1h ☀︎ 95% | 12.6h ☀︎ 95% | 11.4h ☀︎ 93% | 10.8h ☀︎ 94% | 10.0h ☀︎ 93% | 9.3h ☀︎ 90% |
| Wind | N · 15 km/h | N · 16 km/h | N · 17 km/h | N · 19 km/h | N · 19 km/h | N · 20 km/h | N · 19 km/h | N · 19 km/h | N · 20 km/h | N · 18 km/h | N · 16 km/h | N · 14 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 53% | 50% | 42% | 34% | 30% | 32% | 33% | 38% | 44% | 49% | 51% | 54% |
| Day length | 10.5h | 11.2h | 12.0h | 12.9h | 13.6h | 14.0h | 13.8h | 13.2h | 12.3h | 11.4h | 10.7h | 10.3h |
The Red Sea Jazz Festival brings international and Israeli jazz musicians to outdoor stages in Eilat's port area for sev…
Eilat sits on one of the world's busiest bird migration routes, and each spring the city hosts a birdwatching festival t…
Conventional travel wisdom will tell you to visit Eilat in November for its golden warmth, but March is the city's true sweet spot, offering near-identical desert perfection with barely half the crowds.
Pinnacled between the red crags of the Arava valley and the deep, ink-blue waters of the northern Red Sea, Eilat exists as a stark geographical exclamation mark. It is a desert resort town where sheer sandstone bluffs collide with coral reefs, and where four nations share an intimate horizon. Most visitors arrive seeking an escape from northern chills, yet the timing of that escape dictates everything. Come at the wrong turn of the calendar and you face either suffocating summer heat or a chaotic crush of holidaymakers that swallows the shoreline whole. Read the rhythms right, however, and you get quiet reef edges, crystal-clear water, and warm desert air that feels entirely unhurried.
If you look purely at meteorological perfection, November might tempt you on paper, but March is the undisputed champion of the Gulf of Eilat. In March, the intense bite of winter nights in the Negev desert has softened, leaving daytime temperatures that hover in a comfortable mid-twenties warmth. The air is dry, crisp, and clean, and the sun shines with genuine gentleness rather than midsummer hostility.
Crucially, March gives you all this without the suffocating foot traffic. While domestic travelers and package tours flood the boardwalks in late autumn, early spring sees the city running at half-capacity. You can stroll right into the Coral Beach Nature Reserve and slip into the water without dodging throngs of flippers, or spend an unhurried morning watching schools of parrotfish weaving through shallow reef crests.
Spring also turns the desert sky into a dynamic highway. During the Eilat Bird Festival, birdwatchers with telephoto lenses quietly gather along the perimeter salt pans to witness millions of raptors, storks, and songbirds funneling north between Africa and Eurasia. It lends the town a contemplative, observant pulse that vanishes later in the year.
By mid-April, the spring breeze gives way to the first serious waves of desert heat. The shift is rapid: daytime air pushes past thirty degrees and stays there, warming the shallows along the coast. April still carries a lingering freshness, especially in the early mornings before the sun reflects harshly off the granite mountains, but by May, outdoor activity is governed entirely by shade and proximity to the sea.
This is a compelling window if your idea of a holiday revolves entirely around the water. The waters of the Gulf of Eilat are noticeably warmer than in winter, making prolonged snorkeling along the reef drop-offs luxurious. Crowds remain blissfully low throughout May, meaning iconic spots like the Dolphin Reef feel tranquil rather than chaotic.
The trade-off is that dry desert afternoons begin to feel intensely draining. Strolling the exposed city marina in the middle of the day loses its charm; you adapt quickly to early-morning swims followed by retreat into air-conditioned sanctuaries like the Ice Mall until the sun dips behind the western ridges.
Summer in Eilat is an exercise in extremes. By June, daytime temperatures routinely brush forty degrees, radiating relentless heat off the bare desert floor. The sun is an absolute force from breakfast until dusk, and the landscape blazes in bleached, dry light. To wander the streets in the afternoon is to endure an open furnace.
Yet summer remains a lively paradox. Israeli families arrive in waves in June, filling resort pools and diving boats, while July and August see the beachfront settle into an intense, sun-dazed hum. Daily life essentially bifurcates: during daylight, survival means staying submerged beneath the surface of the Red Sea—where the deep marine trenches offer genuine, cooling relief—or taking refuge inside the Coral World Underwater Observatory.
When darkness finally breaks the midday fever, the city jolts to life. The Red Sea Jazz Festival in August anchors this night-shift culture, staging open-air concerts by the port after sundown, when the desert wind off the water turns the promenade into a balmy, buzzing amphitheater. If you come in these months, come to live by night and swim by day.
September is Eilat at its most frenetic. The summer heat lingers stubbornly in the high thirties, yet the city experiences one of its biggest surges of the entire year, as holiday crowds overwhelm hotels, beaches, and tax-free shopping strips. It is noisy, crowded, and physically demanding under the unyielding sun.
By November, however, the climate delivers what many consider flawless conditions. The scorching edge drops away, leaving daytime warmth around twenty-five to twenty-seven degrees, virtually zero rain, and glass-calm water that holds the residual heat of the long summer. It is objectively spectacular weather. But that perfection comes at a steep price: November is the absolute peak of the calendar, registering maximum crowds across every stretch of sand and coral.
Visiting in November means accepting that every good viewpoint, dive center, and shoreline lounger will be contested. The tranquility that makes the surrounding desert landscapes so magnificent is largely drowned out by holiday buzz. If you crave quiet water and empty horizons, this is not the time to be here.
Winter along the gulf is mild, clear, and strikingly different from anywhere else in the country. While winter storms soak northern cities, Eilat remains overwhelmingly dry and sunny, with temperatures sitting comfortably around twenty degrees during peak daylight. For travelers from colder climes, it feels like an effortless, sunny reprieve.
December draws significant crowds fleeing colder weather, but January and February settle down into a quiet, sleepy calm. The Gulf of Eilat waters do drop in temperature, requiring a thin wetsuit for anything longer than a quick dip at the Coral Beach Nature Reserve, but underwater visibility is often at its crystalline peak.
The real secret of winter lies in the desert behind the resort strip. The dramatic canyons of the Arava and the stark hills of the Negev are blissfully cool enough for full-day hiking, something impossible for eight months of the year. Evenings, however, bring a swift desert chill—pack a proper jacket for after the sun drops behind the Sinai peaks.