The Philippines has two seasons, not four. Which one you are in decides how wet the road will be and how hot the day will get. A little planning around the calendar makes riding easier, most of all for anyone coming back to the bike after a long time.
Two seasons
PAGASA, the national weather agency, describes the climate in two seasons. The rainy season runs from June to November. The dry season runs from December to May.
The dry season has two parts. December to February is the cool dry season. March to May is the hot dry season. For most of the country, the cool dry months are the best time of year to be on a bike.
| Season | Months | For riders |
|---|---|---|
| Cool dry | December to February | The most comfortable months. Good for longer rides. |
| Hot dry | March to May | Dry roads but strong heat. Ride early and keep it short. |
| Rainy | June to November | Wet roads and heavy showers. Plan shorter rides and watch the forecast. |
How warm it gets
Across PAGASA’s weather stations, leaving out Baguio, the mean temperature for the year is 26.6°C. January is the coolest month, with a mean of 25.5°C. May is the warmest, at 28.3°C.
The gap between the coolest and the warmest month is under three degrees. The gap between early morning and mid-afternoon on the same day is much wider. So the hour you ride matters as much as the month.
Height makes a difference
Altitude changes the temperature more than how far north you are. Baguio stands 1,500 m above sea level and has a mean annual temperature of 18.3°C, according to PAGASA. That is why riders on the Halsema Highway pack a jacket.
The two monsoons
Two winds shape the year. The northeast monsoon, called amihan, blows from October to late March. The southwest monsoon, called habagat, runs from about May or June to September, which falls within the rainy season.
Not every island follows the pattern
The eastern side of the country faces the Pacific and does not follow this calendar closely. Siargao is one example. Before you travel to ride there, ask locally which months are wettest. Our page on the Siargao loop says more.
December in Pampanga
Rainfall records for Clark, in Pampanga, show how dry the end of the year is there. These are PAGASA’s long-term averages, which it calls climatological normals.
| Period | Normal rainfall at Clark |
|---|---|
| December | 34.2 mm |
| January | 17.4 mm |
| August | 429.4 mm |
| Whole year | 2,026.8 mm |
December brings less than a tenth of the rain that August does. It is one of the driest months of the year at Clark.
December is also in the cool dry season. We do not have a temperature figure for December alone. Records for Clark from 1953 to 1991 give a mean daily low of 23.1°C and a mean daily high of 31.2°C across the year, and nights in the cool season can fall to about 18°C. A ride that starts soon after sunrise gets the coolest air of the day.
That is why late December suits a morning ride in Pampanga. The first event listed on Pedalan, a ride in Angeles City, is on December 27, 2026. You can find it on the events page.
Planning a ride around the weather
The points below are our own advice, drawn from the pattern above.
- Save your longest rides for the cool dry months, December to February.
- From March to May, start at sunrise and shorten the route. See riding in the heat.
- In the rainy season, check PAGASA’s forecast the evening before and again in the morning. Be ready to postpone.
- Keep routes with unpaved sections, such as the Mount Arayat loop, for the dry season.
- Rain can fall in any month. Carry a light rain jacket and lights.
- Do not ride when a storm warning is in force. The road will be there next week.