Været i Placencia i mai

May is the month regulars name for the whale sharks, which are here April through June, and the window tightens to a lunar one: the animals gather off this coast within about three days either side of the full moon, and the snorkelling trips are timed to it. The same honesty applies as in April - sightings have thinned in recent years - so book it as a chance. On weather, May ends the dry season, with occasional rain unlikely to spoil plans and the rains officially due on the 1st of June, though nobody knows if they will be early. Our row already carries 101.9mm across 19.1 days. Wind, not rain, is what cancels boats here. The record: 31C reading as 37C, 25.5C nights, a 30.3C sea and AQI 59.

Regulars are specific a cold front moves in from the north roughly every 7 to 10 days here, each one bringing a real temperature drop and often rain along with it, the coastal town itself running cooler at night and milder in the day than inland spots like San Ignacio. Our row backs that warm, genuinely wet read, 26.3C over 22.2C nights feeling 25C, with a substantial 135.3mm of rain across 22.7 days and humidity at 85 percent. Regulars are consistent hot, sunny stretches between fronts remain the more common experience day to day, evenings staying warm and pleasant rather than genuinely cold even after a front passes through. The sea sits at a warm, swimmable 27.3C. The record: 8.9 hours of sun, a 14.3 kph wind and AQI 30.

January here is the dry season starting properly, and regulars give a specific shape to the rain that remains: it does not fall every day, seldom lasts all day when it does, and often arrives overnight so the days stay sunny and fine. Our row carries a heavier total than their casual estimate of about 150mm - 89.3mm across 19.5 days by our count, still frequent but each fall lighter - alongside 26.2C reading as 30C at 82.8 percent humidity and 21.8C nights. Occasional cold fronts can move through in January specifically, which they flag as more of a January than a February risk. This is also peak season, so prices sit at their highest. The sea is 26.8C. The record: 9.1 hours of sun, a 15 kph wind and AQI 43.

This is the one destination here whose calendar is lunar rather than monthly. Whale sharks gather at Gladden Spit, some 26 miles north-east of Placencia, to feed on the spawn of snapper and grouper, and the window regulars give runs from two days before the full moon to the last quarter, across March to June - with local studies pointing at three to five days after the April and May full moons. April also beats March on sea state, since March blows hard. Then the honest part: sightings have become thin, with one diver reporting a single success across eight days over three years, and locals blaming overfishing and too many boats. Book it as a chance, not a plan. The record: 30.1C reading as 35C, 54.3mm across 14.3 days, a 28.8C sea and AQI 55.

March in Placencia is hotter than February without being wetter, with the occasional cold front knocking a few degrees off and a couple of windy days that roughen the sea. The sargassum season starts around mid-February to mid-March, and from then on it is a daily rather than a monthly question - some days clear, some not, and no way to forecast it. The local geography helps: the point at the southern tip of the peninsula usually stays clear even when the main beach is being hit, because the weed often does not work its way round it, so that is where the swimming holds up. The record: 28.5C days that feel like 33C, 23.4C nights, 15.6 precipitation days carrying 61.1mm and a 28.3C sea.