Philippines Weather by Month: 27 mm of Rain in Manila's March, 435 mm in July

Pick a Cebu or Boracay resort for a July holiday and two words come up: rainy season and typhoons. According to PAGASA, the Philippine weather agency, an average of 20 tropical cyclones enter the country's area of responsibility each year, 8 or 9 of them crossing the islands, and nearly 70% form between July and October. Manila's monthly rainfall rises sixteen-fold, from 27 mm in dry-season March to 435 mm in July.

But "July in the Philippines = rain" isn't the whole story. The wet season varies by region: typhoons track over Luzon (Manila) more often than over the Visayas, home to Cebu and Bohol, and most wet-season rain falls as afternoon showers. Temperature is barely a factor: Cebu's monthly daytime highs stay between 28.4 and 30.8°C all year.

The difference between west (Manila, Palawan) and centre (Cebu, Bohol) comes from the wind. The June–October south-west monsoon (habagat) dumps rain on western Luzon and Palawan; the November–March north-east monsoon (amihan) brings cooler, drier air. Cebu and Bohol, caught between the two, see less contrast — and more showers even in the dry season.

Palawan, home to El Nido, has one of the sharpest contrasts: 36 mm in February, 319 mm in July. Island-hopping boats are often cancelled in the wet season, so aim for December–May.

On Boracay the "good beach" depends on the wind. During amihan (November–April), White Beach on the west side is sheltered and calm — perfect for swimming and sunsets — while Bulabog Beach on the east gets the waves and the kitesurfers. During habagat (June–October) it reverses: White Beach gets waves and seaweed, and on some days the boat jetty for the island switches too.

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Boracay's high season is amihan, when White Beach is calm — and above all March–May, when it's driest.

Manila's hardest month isn't mid-monsoon but April, at the end of the dry season: 33.6°C highs and 20 days above 33°C. It often overlaps Holy Week, when domestic travel and hotels fill up. December–February, by contrast, brings 29–30°C days and 23°C nights — the most comfortable of the year.

Packing checklist

• Basics: T-shirts, shorts, swimwear, a rash guard (strong UV), water shoes.
• Wet season: a poncho and a dry bag — island-hopping boats soak everything.
• December–February evenings: one thin long-sleeve for the sea breeze.
• Churches: cover your shoulders; the Philippines is overwhelmingly Catholic.

• Period and source: daily values from Open-Meteo's historical weather data (ERA5 reanalysis), 2016–2025, averaged by month at each city-centre coordinate.
• Versus official normals: reanalysis temperatures usually land within 1–2°C of station normals, but downpours get smoothed out, so monthly rain totals come out lower and rainy-day counts slightly higher. For the Visayan islands (Cebu, Bohol, Boracay) reanalysis rainfall runs close to double PAGASA's station figures, so the text uses only the seasonal shape there, not the millimetres.
• Rainy day: at least 1 mm of precipitation. Reanalysis picks up even light showers, so counts run high — especially in the tropics, where monthly millimetres are the better guide. Most tropical rain is an hour or two of downpour, not a washed-out day.
• Best months: a first pass from temperature, rainy days and humidity, then adjusted for seasonal factors such as typhoon timing, the habagat and amihan monsoons and Holy Week. It is a judgement call.