Australia is (finally) open to international tourists after nearly two years! It’s been a long journey, but it’s officially time to visit and explore Australia now. To help, this post will go over the best time of year to visit Australia and where.
For those that may not have visited Australia yet, it’s a huge country. Depending on the time of year, and personal preferences there are better places to visit than others (arguably). With such a big country, there’s something for everyone in Australia, including for weather and region.
Use this article to help research the best time of places to visit in Australia depending on the seasons and regions.
Table of Contents
Fast facts on the best time of year to visit Australia
- Australians love to travel locally and internationally, so keep School Holidays in mind for booking a vacation as these are busier times to visit.
- This large country has diverse seasons, consider difference of the dry season and wet season conditions for visiting.
- Spring and fall are typically the ‘shoulder seasons’ and less busy for travelling—which may also be more affordable. See below for the times of each season.
- There’s pros and cons to visiting Australia during different seasons, and there’s always a way to make the best out of visiting this hugely diverse country and its regions.
There’s a good range of budget or high-end options, for all travel bookings in Australia. Check out deals for travelling and bookings—like for staying in the humid northern Australia during the wet season!
School Holidays in Australia
One of the most important aspects of visiting Australia may be coordinating with the country’s school holidays. Coming from North America, I was surprised by the amount and length of school holidays in Australia, which is different than what I grew up with. In Australia, there’s short school holidays for each of four terms.
Every state has its own school holiday schedule, albeit they are similar. See Australia.com for a full list of updated school holiday dates. Each school holidays lasts about two weeks, a brief summery of these dates includes:
- Term 1: April (early April to late April/early May)
- Term 2: July (late June/early to June to Late July)
- Term 3: September/October (early/late September to early/mid October)
- Term 4: December (mid/late December – mid/late January)
Note that during these times booking vacations ahead is extra important as Australian’s are also booking vacations. Remote areas especially with limited accomodation and tourist attractions will book up fast during these times. And of course, prices will be higher than other times of the year.
It might be worth booking vacations outside of school holidays to avoid busy times and higher prices.
Seasons in Australia
Australia is a country of many regions, and diverse seasons. Depending on the time of year and region, you may be in hot and humid temperatures, or warm and dry.
No matter what time of year—and if you can put up with some hot weather—it’s always a good time to visit Australia.
Northern Australia’s Seasons
Focusing on Australia’s seasons, think about dividing the country by the north and south. There’s isn’t a strictly defined line between the south and north, but it’s around the latitude 26°. On the east coast, this is in Queensland, and it includes most of the Northern Territory and Western Australia’s Top End.
Starting with the north first, the area has ruffly two season, the wet and dry. The wet occurs during the rest of Australia’s summer, but in the north it starts around October until April. This is just an estimate and depends on the year and how long, or short the seasons are. Sometimes the wet starts late, around November and could go until May. Or, it could start early around September and end in April.
The wet season is commonly the low tourist season for Australia’s top end, due to the weather events (cyclone seasons, hurricane warnings, flooding, etc). However, all of that adverse weather also brings northern regions the most rain throughout the entire year. That means it’s green, lush and a completely different landscape than any other time of the year. However, the wet season can also bring crocs, and stingers (more than usual).
No season or year in Australia is identical, some wet seasons may be extreme and bring serious rain to only one side of the country, or only in certain regions such as the middle. This could include rain in Australia’s desert rock, Uluru, an amazing sight that doesn’t occur often.
The wet also means extreme temperatures. It could be over 40° Celsius, and feel close to 50° C with the humidity.
And of course, the extreme weather of the Wet also brings the possibility of natural disasters. Such as cyclones, hurricanes, and torrential and damaging rain—think about New South Whales and Queensland’s flooding in 2022.
For travelling, this means many people avoid Australia’s top end during the wet season. But, I recommend if you can stand some humidity and heat, heading north during the wet is actually really rewarding. See the state-specific section below for more details on this!
As for the dry season, for many people it’s the most practical time to visit northern Australia. Especially, considering the rest of Australia might be cold and less enjoyable for a vacation. Depending on where you’re visiting from that is.
The dry season in the North is characterised by warm temperatures (20°-30°C in Darwin around June) and a dry heat, at that.
It’s okay to visit Northern Australia during either season. Always stay up to date with weather trends, but be careful heading north during the wet!
Southern Australia’s Seasons
The rest of Australia has somewhat regular seasons, with the most clearly defined seasons closer to the South of Australia. This includes Australia’s south coast, and popular cities Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. These can vary a bit, depending on the year and location.
- Summer is from December to February
- Fall is March to May
- Winter is June to August
- Spring is September to November.
Key times to visit: Across Australia, the busiest times to visit are summer in the south of the country, and the dry season in the north. Spring and Fall are the ‘shoulder seasons’ and are less busy, but still have good weather to explore. These high times for tourism can hike up costs for travelling, but also have more options for visiting. Whereas, the shoulder season may be more budget-friendly.
Melbourne is known to have drastic weather changes, such as temperatures as high as 40°C one day then down to 24°C the next day.
Opposite to Northern Australia, the southern end has much less rainfall in the summer, with the majority in the winter.
What’s unique to Australia’s seasons is that it’s not typical to other countries winter. In Perth, winter is around 18°-10°C, Sydney is similar, and Melbourne is a tad colder from 15°-8°C. Just a note: that these temperatures are an average estimate, and temperatures could go higher or lower than this.
There’s generally only snow in the mountainous areas such as the Snowy Mountains in southern NSW, or Stirling Ranges National Park, WA.
While there are ski resorts in Victoria and NSW, it’s a short season and the snow quality is much different than North America and Europe.
Average summer temperatures in Sydney are 26°-19°C, though this definitely varies as there could be days above 40°C. Perth’s summer temperatures are higher, with an average of 30°-19°C, although from experience there’s weeks in the high 30°s. Once in a while it can go over the 40°s, but it’s not common.
Spring and Fall is really just an average of the summer and winter temperatures, which is in the low 20°s in Perth and Sydney alike.
Read on to learn more about the differences about each state during the different times of year. This will help to figure out an ideal preference on the best time of year to visit Australia, and where.
State and Territory Guide on Visiting Australia
What makes it hard to define the best time of year to visit Australia, is that everyone has a different preference. And of course, what each season brings to the region during that time.
Northern Australia definitely gets some bad reviews during the wet season, including from both locals and tourists. However, summer in the rest of Australia is also hot and busier due to school holidays.
Visiting Northern Australia during the wet season shouldn’t be written off, although it’s definitely an adjustment compared to the rest of the country’s summer. Fall and Spring are the less busy seasons, but the beaches may not be as warm for swimming, although it’s a great time for hiking.
This is a list of each state and goes into more depth over the best time of year to visit Australia per state. Each state’s description is broken up into what each time of year brings and pros and cons of visiting during those times.
Check out this full guide on visiting Northern Australia during the Wet.
Queensland
Queensland is Australia’s sunshine state, it’s a tropical paradise with rainforests and outback ruggedness. It’s also the most populated northern state in Australia, and big for tourism with the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns, the Whitsundays near Airlie Beach and Brisbane and the sunshine coast.
Starting with the wet season, Northern Queensland features the typical wet season weather: hot, humid, and rainy. This goes for both the outback, and along the coast. The wet season makes entering the ocean harder as it’s stinger season. Although local governments and surf clubs make a point to protect and warn the public of dangers.
What it means for visiting, is there could be days or even weeks of not-ideal travel outdoorsy weather. This includes heavy winds and rain, and even hail storms. This is also a less busy time to visit Queensland and could be more affordable and less busy than other times of the year.
The dry season is a popular time to visit Queensland as the weather is still warm (in the 20s Celsius), but not humid and extreme as the wet season. With few storms, it’s also a good time to do snorkelling in the Whitsundays or Great Barrier reef, and to visit the outback.
In the outback, flooding can close specific national parks and even highways temporarily.
New South Wales
Part of northern NSW may attract the wet season weather, but it’s generally not as bad as the rest of northern Australia. NSW is home to Australia’s most visited city, Sydney, which is a multi-faceted city and great to visit year-round. Byron Bay is another top destination for celebrities and backpackers alike, which is a surfing and outdoor paradise.
For weather, NSW has had a few brutal years in a row, starting with the bush fires in 2019/2020 and the mass flooding in 2022. Summer is a busy time for all of NSW as people head to the coast. The beaches are perfect along the coast, and NSW doesn’t have the same intensity of stingers compared with Queensland. Stingers often come in with the wind, and surf clubs will warn visitors if they’re spotted.
Winter is an equally beautiful time to explore NSW, as it’s home to stunning national parks, and even snow resorts. Although it does make camping and outdoor exploration less enticing for those that need warmth.
Again, the shoulder seasons of Fall and Spring are some of the best times to visit NSW, if it’s available on your calendar.
Victoria
Summer is without a doubt the most popular season to visit Victoria. Think about exploring Melbourne, the Grampians, Wilson’s Promontory National Park and the Great Ocean Road.
As with any beach in Australia, there can be a risk factor with sharks and stingers in the water and the beaches, along with strong currents. Nonetheless, summer is an ideal time to spend at the beaches in Victoria—especially on those hot days.
The outback can get hot and exhausting with limited water and facilities in some parts, but with the right gear and stock it’s still a great place to be. Make sure to have air conditioning in vehicles and accomodation to survive those 40°C+ days.
Winter is known for being especially cold and windy along the coast in Victoria. In the outback it’s a desert winter so it can be warm during the day but definitely cold at night.
Tasmania
The cute and wild island of Tasmania is known for so many things. It has loads of wildlife, some of the friendliest people, and spectacular national parks. Tasmania definitely gets cold in the winter and shoulder seasons, making summer the best and busiest time to visit this small state.
Winter isn’t just cold, but also windy and icy. This can make camping and hiking during the winter more than a bit precarious. Some businesses focused on tourism may close or have limited hours during this season.
Although, come Summer the state is in full tourism swing. Campgrounds are open everywhere, national parks are buzzing and the wildlife is out and about.
Due to Tasmania’s smaller size, make sure to (more than other states), book ahead! This includes: accomodation, vehicle rentals, ferry tickets, campgrounds and tours.
South Australia
South Australia is definitely a lesser visited state than it’s NSW and Victoria neighbours, but still a great travel destination. Due to its wine regions, there’s lots to visit during the shoulder seasons, but summer tops the busy time of year around the coast.
Winter is definitely cold in SA, and has less to do around Adelaide and the wine regions. But, it’s the gateway to the outback, making it a good place to start a road trip through the Nullarbor, or north to the Northern Territory.
South Australia has plenty of wildlife ocean-based tours in the summer, and its capital Adelaide is known for its history, especially churches.
Western Australia
Australia’s most western and largest state of Australia covers both the north and south of the country. For weather, it makes this a diverse getaway year-round depending on where you go.
Summer specifically is perfect for visiting the south, such as Albany, Esperance, Busselton and Margaret River among others. It gets cold and windy in these places during the winter, making them less popular options, but also still great in the Spring and Fall. There’s loads of wineries from Albany all the way to Perth in WA’s south end to check out.
However, in WA’s top end, including Broome and the Kimberley, (and even down to Karijini and Exmouth) the dry season is the best time to visit. People still head to these parts during the wet season, but the weather is hot and humid. Extreme weather conditions can also bring evacuation orders (such as for cyclone warnings).
Northern Territory
The most northern and outback state, the Northern Territory is largely the outback. Darwin as a big city cannot be compared with the likes of Melbourne, Sydney or even Perth. It’s a relaxed, yet bustling party town for tourists and locals alike.
In terms of a road trip, this makes Darwin and parts of the Northern Territory an enjoyable stopover most times of the year. Functional and practical too, as it has so many options for reliable mechanics!
While there, in the wet season, I was covered in multiple layers of my own sweat (cute, I know). I thrived with my hotel A/C during the day. This was the same sentiment of every other traveller I met while there.
While in Kakadu National Park, also in the wet season, every chat with other travellers equally surrounded this common theme: “How are you hanging in there?” I truly couldn’t comprehend the (many) rangers in the park enduring manual labour during the heat of the afternoon.
Sweat and exhaustion aside, my photos compared with those of my friends that visited during the dry seasonal were infinitely greener and more vibrant. Visiting during the wet season does have benefits!
Common solutions to these sweaty problems, is visiting during the dry season. Additionally, the dry season is going to have more places, attractions and accomodation options open. Salt water crocodiles fill many swimming holes in the wet season making it impossible to swim. But, rangers remove these crocs from many spots in the dry season, and re-opening the swimming options.
There’s definitely more options for travelling during the dry season with a more comfortable climate during the day. Nights in the dry season can get chilly in the desert, but it’s fine if you go prepared.
Coming to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa? Check out how to get started in Australia, includes things like getting a bank account, and finding work.
