Best Time to Visit New Zealand

Depending on what you want to do, you can virtually go all over New Zealand at all times of the year. The summer months are from November to April, peak season is December, February and March. This is not only because of foreign tourists but also domestic travellers who have holidays from 20th December to late January when schools close. Easter weekend and late October are also vacation times. So if you visit in this season, book in advance because it’s not so easy to find accommodation. In the non-peak months, the weather is still warm and accommodation easier to get.

For beach bums, January and February are the best time though other months are also quite warm. October and May are quieter and cheaper as all the rates start to come down, and if you avoid high altitude areas, then the weather can be cool and pleasant. If you're planning a ski trip then June to September are the best months to come in.

The ski resorts are booked solid so book in advance. Though some places shut down because of the cold, you can still see a lot of the North Island and parts of the South Island which are cold, but sunny and pleasant. Some transport services will have shut shop for the winter and some tramping trails might be shut, but what the heck. It's a gorgeous country and if you can put up with the cold, then you'll have the time of your life.

Climate

NZ is quite simply ‘The Windy Country’. Winds sweep in all the year round and can be chilly when they come from Antarctica and warm when they blow from across the Tasman Sea. The North Island is subtropical while the North is temperate. The coldest months are June, July and August; the warmest are December, January and February. Average summer temperatures range from 20 to 30 degrees and maximum winter temperatures from 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. . Summer season is the best season; up north it’s quite pleasant almost round the year, though it can get quite windy in the high altitude areas.

There is a fair bit of rainfall; the North Island gets it evenly, whereas in the South Island where the Alps act as a cloud-break, the western part is wetter than the eastern part. The Canterbury Plains are drier and hotter. Parts of the south get 330mm to 7500mm of rain whereas the north gets an even 1300mm every year. As a result, the South Island is cooler than the North Island. Snow falls in winter on the mountains as well as at sea level on the west coasts, more in the south than in the north. Thanks to a maritime climate, the weather can change at record-breaking speeds, especially at high altitudes.

Weather Alert! Before you go jazzing off in the mountains, make sure you're protected against the vagaries of the unpredictable weather. It can be a life-threatening situation