El verano es mi estación favorita (summer is my favorite season). How about you? I’ve always enjoyed summer, probably because I grew up in Michigan where winter is long and brutally cold! Ahora vivo en Puerto Vallarta y hace mucho calor en el verano (Now I live in Puerto Vallarta and it’s very hot in the summer). It can definitely get pretty sweaty here in the summer. ¡No hay problema, porque me encanta el verano! (No problem, because I love summer)! In this post we’ll learn some Spanish vocabulary about summer so you can chat about the season en español.

Clima de verano

Not all Spanish-speaking countries are experiencing summer at the moment. Por ejemplo, el verano en Chile es de diciembre a febrero (For example, summer in Chile is from December to February). That means it’s actually the start of el invierno (winter) there and in other countries like Argentina and Uruguay.

For much of the Spanish-speaking world, though, el verano es de junio a septiembre (summer is from June to September). In Spanish, you say “Tengo calor” to mean “I’m hot.” A funny Spanish mistake that a lot of people make is saying “Estoy caliente” instead, which actually means “I’m horny!”

Vamos a la playa!

At least where I live, I see a lot of el sol (the sun) in summer. ¡Es importante usar el bloqueador solar aquí! (It’s important to use sunblock here!). The last thing you want on a hot day is la quemadura del sol (sunburn).

También es la temporada de lluvias ahora (It’s also the rainy season now). In addition to sunscreen, I need to have un paraguas (an umbrella) as well. One minute it’s sunny, and the next it’s rainy. Sometimes it rains so much I can say “¡Llueve a cántaros!” (It’s raining buckets!).

It’s also very húmedo (humid) in the summer. Unfortunately, my place doesn’t have aire acondicionado (air conditioning). I live up on the hill, though, and I get a nice breeze from el mar (the ocean). Solo necesito encender el ventilador y abrir las ventanas (I just need to turn on the fan and open the windows).

Ropa de verano

What can you wear in these hot and humid summer months? Here’s a little vocabulary list of summer clothing in Spanish:

Durante el verano, uso una camiseta, los pantalones cortos y las sandalias (During the summer, I wear a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals). Actually, it’s so hot and sticky her that I usually just wear una camiseta sin mangas (a tank top). I also never leave the house without mi gorra favorita y mis gafas de sol (my favorite cap and my sunglasses). How about you?

Actividades de verano

¿A dónde te gusta ir en el verano? (Where do you like to go in the summer?). ¡Me gusta ir a la playa o la piscina! (I like to go to the beach or the pool!). Whether you go to the beach or the pool, you’ll want to take una toalla (a towel) and possibly una sombrilla (a big umbrella).

Once in a while it’s also nice to go to un parque acuatico (a water park) to cool down a bit. Mi lugar favorito en el verano es un festival de música (My favorite place in the summer is a music festival). I actually met my wife at a music festival ten years ago and we still go to at least one every summer. Last year we even went to a mariachi festival in Guadalajara, which was pretty cool!

Un festival de mariachi!

Here are some other common summer activities in Spanish:

La puesta de sol

I’ll add another activity that I like to do year-round, but especially in the summer – Me gusta ver la puesta de sol (I like to watch the sunset). How about you?

La comida y las bebidas de verano

¿Qué te gusta comer y beber en el verano? (What do you like to eat and drink in the summer?). Here’s some vocabulary for common summer food and drinks:

Me encantan los tacos!

I don’t eat a lot of ice cream in Puerto Vallarta because it melts too quickly! My perfect afternoon on the beach involves some ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice), possibly some tacos de pescado (fish tacos) and maybe una margarita.

If you have some other useful Spanish summer vocabulary to add, please leave a comment below! Also feel free to answer any of the questions I asked in the post to practice.

¡Que tengas un buen verano!