The best time to visit Australia

Australia is a BIG country and the number 1 question I get asked is “When should I visit?”. The tricky part is, there’s no single answer. The answer depends on where you plan on visiting, since half of Australia can be beautiful warm weather while the other half can be experiencing rain and cyclones in the exact same season.

To put it simply, the top half of Australia is best seen during the cooler months (May - September), while the southern half of Australia is best during the warmer months (September - May).

Here’s a quick breakdown by region to help you plan your trip:

• Northern Australia (NT, Kimberley, Top End, Cape York): Best during the dry season (May–September). Avoid the wet season (Oct–Apr) when flooding, humidity, and cyclones are common.

• Southern Australia (Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia): Perfect in summer (Nov–Mar) for beaches, hikes, and festivals. Winter (Jun–Aug) can be cold and wet, particularly in Tasmania.

• Western Australia: WA is broken up into 2 sections, the North and the South. North (Broome/Kimberley) is best in dry season (May–Sept). South (Perth, Margaret River) is ideal spring–summer (Sept–Apr).

• Eastern Australia: Queensland’s north is perfect in the dry season (May–Oct), while NSW & ACT are great spring–summer (Sept–Apr).

• Outback & Desert regions: Mild months (Apr–Sept) are safest. Summer (Oct–Mar) can be dangerously hot.

Another thing to consider on your trip is peak periods. These are when schools in Australia are on holidays. During these times, places can get very busy with families on holiday. If you can’t avoid school holidays, it definitely won’t ruin your trip, but you’ll notice more crowds around. The main way this affects travellers is that campsites can become very quickly booked out, so make sure you take this into consideration when booking campsites in popular regions. 

School holidays vary slightly from state to state, but they’re generally around these times of year:

Summer Holidays: Mid-December – Late January

Autumn / Easter Holidays: Mid-April – Late April

Winter Holidays: Early July – Mid July

Spring Holidays: Late September – Early October