Santa Elena in Fall

In fall (March, April and May), Santa Elena sees average daytime highs around 29°C and overnight lows near 24°C, with 303 mm of rain over about 44 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Over the season highs ease from about 29°C in early March to 27°C by late May. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across fall, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Fall is Santa Elena's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Santa Elena has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Santa Elena's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
29°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
24°C
Rainfall
303 mm
44 wet days
Avg wind
8 km/h
Travel score
4.7
weakest season of the year
Months
Mar · Apr · May

Temperature in Santa Elena in Fall

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 29°C in early March to 27°C by late May.

A typical fall day in Santa Elena reaches about 29°C and drops to 24°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is March, the coolest May.

20°25°30°35°MarAprMay

How fall really feels in Santa Elena

Once humidity and wind are folded in, fall brings about 63 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
63
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in fall is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Santa Elena weather by month

How the three fall months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 24°8712.312.15.0
Feb29° / 24°1451712.14.0
Mar30° / 24°14317.2124.1
Apr29° / 24°9914.9124.6
May28° / 23°6112.211.95.4
Jun27° / 22°398.911.96.4
Jul26° / 21°307.111.96.9
Aug25° / 21°194.511.97.3
Sep26° / 20°245.8127.0
Oct26° / 21°205127.0
Nov26° / 21°204.212.17.0
Dec28° / 22°456.912.16.4

Cloud cover in Fall

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across fall.

0%25%50%75%100%MarAprMay

Chance of precipitation in Fall

Any precipitation

Santa Elena gets around 303 mm of rain over 44 wet days across fall. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%MarAprMay

Humidity in Fall

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of fall feels oppressive — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%MarAprMay

Wind in Fall

Winds average 8 km/h across fall.

051015MarAprMay

Sunrise & sunset in Fall

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 hours in early March to 11 h 54 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMMarAprMay

Solar energy in Fall

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across fall, about 5.0 kWh/m².

0246MarAprMay
Planning a trip in fall

Hazard calendar for Santa Elena

In seasonPeak

In fall, Santa Elena overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Santa Elena's rainy season runs January–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is fall a good time to visit Santa Elena?

Our two travel scores rate fall for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

4.7
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
5.9
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

fall is a reasonable time to visit Santa Elena for sightseeing.

What to pack for Santa Elena in Fall

From fall's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In fall, Santa Elena sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 44 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Santa Elena in Fall

The nearest coast averages about 26°C across fall — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in March at about 26°C and coldest in August near 23°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

22°24°26°28°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan25Warm
Feb26Warm
Mar26Warm
Apr26Warm
May25Warm
Jun24Warm
Jul23Refreshing
Aug23Refreshing
Sep23Refreshing
Oct23Refreshing
Nov23Refreshing
Dec24Warm

UV index in Santa Elena in Fall

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across fall averages around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Santa Elena peaks around February 21 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 14 at about 9 (very high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highExtremeFeb 21UV 15Jul 14UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar15Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug10Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec12Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Santa Elena?

Santa Elena sits at 2.2°S, 80.9°W, 43 m above sea level, in Ecuador. The nearest listed city is La Libertad, 6.0 km away.

JipijapaEl Triunfo

Topography around Santa Elena

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Santa Elena.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Santa Elena has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 86 m around an average of 36 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 119 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 847 m.

The land around Santa Elena is covered by grassland (44%) and artificial surfaces (35%) within 3 km, water (49%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and water (51%) and trees (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
86 m
16 km
119 m
80 km
847 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Fall weather nearby: La Libertad 6.0 km · Salinas 10 km · Playas 69 km · Puerto López 74 km · Pedro Carbo 83 km · Posorja 87 km · Jipijapa 102 km · El Triunfo 104 km

Ecuador travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 43% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$7,125
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
70%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
45.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
20.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 466
Religion
Roman Catholic 68%Protestant 19%none 8%other 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Santa Elena (-2.2265°, -80.8581°, elevation 43 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.