Hi Never been to the Caribbean in July only March and have never had any problems with humidity but I think its a personal thing really and only you can make that decision but I would say don't forget the hurricane season may be starting!!!

don't forget the hurricane season may be starting!!!

There's no 'may' about it - the hurricane/tropical storm season will be well under way come July in the Caribbean. This is not to say that Mexico will be hit by one (and it does depend a lot on where you will be staying) but it will definitely be much more humid than anything that is likely to be encountered in March. I've never been to Mexico but I can assure you that Cuba in July is very different to Cuba in March with regards to the humidity levels.

SM

Went to Florida middle of July a few years ago - the humidity some days was quite overwhelming - remember queueing at ~ 9:00am one morning for a theme park. It was almost foggy it was so humid and I ended up drenched in sweat !
As a result all of our subsequent Caribbean trips have been between February and April.

I went to Mexico in August & i'd say that the humidity was the worse thing about it (especially in the evening), I found that we didn't enjoy having drink in the evening as we were so hot & sticky we couldn't wait to get back to our room for the air con.

We would return to Mexico but never at that time of year.

Jo x

Went to Cuba end of June the humidity was high but nowhere near as high like Cyprus, for instance, at the same time of year.

Poley, I think you may be confusing humidity with temperature???

No it was 100% humidity in Cyprus nowhere near as much in Cuba which was always hovering around 60-70%.
Duhhh!!LOL

When humidity is expressed as a percentage ie relative humidity, the figure doesn't mean much unless you also know the temperature. Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage of the total amount of moisture the air can hold at that temperature. 100% humidity represents the point at which the air is saturated with water vapour and after which condensation will occur at that temperature. I don't like sleeping in a bedroom that is too warm and I have only single glazing in my bedroom, so in conditions like we have now, the dew point is actually quite low - hence why there was a lot of condensation on my windows this morning. The air doesn't have to contain that much water vapour before it reaches the 100% humidity level for the temperature of the air against the glass. I would suspect that by the end of the night the relative humidity level in my bedroom is actually very high but it's not unpleasant because the saturation point for temperatures below 15C is so low - the water vapour starts to condense out of the air long before it's going to feel humid. We're all been experiencing these really heavy snowfalls in the east of Scotland because the relatively warm damp air brought in by the prevailing westerly winds is then hitting the very cold air being brought in from the east and all that water vapour is then condensing out as snow because the air temperature is so low. 100% humidity levels and very unpleasant but not for the reasons that 70% humidity in Cuba in the summer is so awful!

One can only realistically compare relative humidity levels if the air temperature is actually the same. I would expect the temperature in Cuba by late afternoon in June to exceed that in Cyprus. Thus the condensation point for Cuba would be much higher than in Cyprus and the air would absorb considerably more water vapour before achieving a 100% humidity level. The net effect of this is that 70% humidity in Cuba in the much higher tempertures could potentially be and feel a whole lot worse than 100% humidity in lower temperatures because the actual amount of water vapour in the air will be lower too. To be able to compare like with like one would need to know the absolute humidity levels ie the parts per million for both locations, and not the relative humidity level expressed as a percentage of the saturation level.

A much more reliable guide re comfort is to check the 'Dew Point' ie the temperature at which water vapour will start to condense out of the air for the current absolute levels of humidity. Dew Points of between 10-15C are comfortable for most people but once they start to climb over 15C then most will start to feel uncomfortable and generally anything higher than 20C will be perceived by most people, especially those used to UK humidity levels, as being oppressive. On June 5th last year, humidity levels in Paphos and Havana were 70% and 80% respectively and the Dew Points were 18C and 21C which means that most people would find it humid but tolerable in Paphos but very humid and oppressively 'close' in Havana. In contrast, on August 5th last year the Dew Point in both places was 22C and so despite the fact that the average relative humidity level in Paphos was only 70% compared to 85% in Havana, there is a good chance that most of us would feel that the humidity levels were equally uncomfrotable in both places.

Interestingly, on August 5th last year in Santiago in Cuba the max temp was 33C, exactly the same as Havana, and the humidity was actually lower than Havana at only 79% but with a Dew Point of 25C most of us would perceive the humidity to be much higher and close to intolerable, hence Santiago's reputation for being a much more humid city than Havana in the summer. Having out of interest compared the data for when I was in Havana and Santiago in July 2009, I can confirm that the weather in Santiago felt much more humid and 'close' than it did in Havana despite the fact that the temps were comparable and the relative humidity was lower in Santiago. The difference was the Dew Points which confirms for me that this is more accurate indicator of the confort level to be expected.

SM

In a nutshell, SMa.

Having been to the Caribbean and Cyprus on a few occasions in June and July i can honestly say that it felt much more Humid in Cyprus on both occassions.
I was sweating like a donkey on Brighton Beach!!

Hubby has been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis. We have been to Mexico twice in August, and although the humididty is very high (you will perspire profusely), he had no breathing difficulties. Having been to Cyprus in August as well, we didn't find the humidity there high at all.

Oh well i must be the the only donkey on Nissi Beach!!

Hi,

I haven't actually been to Mexico, but had booked to go in August, but due to my concerns regarding humidity I have changed location and am now going to Aruba, which also has the added bonus of being outside the hurricane zone.

Regards,
Pat

Went to Aruba in 2008,Absolutely brill...

Hi Poley,

Yep ..... really looking forward to it!

We have booked to go the Tamarjin. Can I ask which hotel you went to?

Pat

Yes it was the the Tam also

Hi again Poley,

How did you find the Tamarjin?

We are thinking of requesting block 13 (nearer our departure time) What is your opinion of this block? Also, have been reading on Trip Advisor that there seems to be a lack of palapas on the beach. Did you have this problem when you were there?

Regards,
Pat

As of the beach conditions before we went we requested block 1300.

And when we arrived we were given 1303 lower floor as requested"perfect",near to everything great beach in front with no rocks.

Palapas!Yes you have to get up early to reserve one, but its no different to any other holiday when reserving your sun bed.We went on July8th and did not see a shortage.

If you have any more questions just PM me.