When to go

Any time is the best time to visit Australia, depending on which part of the country you are visiting and what you would like to do.

Australia is an extremely dry country, with about 35 percent of it receiving very little rain (if any). Almost 20 percent of available land is some form of desert. The northern third of Australia lies in the tropics and so is warm or hot year around. The rest of the country lies south of the tropics and has warm summers and mild or cool winters.

Seasonal variations in temperature are not extreme except in the deserts, where scorching daytime temperatures can approach freezing by night. Otherwise, it’s rare for temperatures to drop below zero on the mainland except in the mountains. As you head north, the seasonal variations become even less distinct except that summer is much wetter and more humid.

Australia lies south of the equator, and so it’s seasons are opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere. The southern part of the continent has four distinct seasons. Winter, the wettest and coolest season in Australia, lasts from June through August. Summer, which is the hottest and driest season, lasts from December through February.

Tropical northern Australia has only two seasons, a wet season and a dry one. The wet season corresponds with summer and lasts from November through April. The dry season corresponds with winter and lasts from May through October.

Summer can get uncomfortably hot the further north you head but it’s great beach weather makes up for it. Further north around Darwin it is very humid due to the wet season and the sea is alive with dangerous stingers. Winter offers skiing in some regions of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, most people will be amazed to hear that it actually snows in Australia. The Australian mountains could never compete with Europe or America in terms of snow cover or scale, but they offer a unique and fun atmosphere. The Australian Alps and the interior of Tasmania are the only areas of the country where temperatures remain below freezing for small periods. In Spring, September to November, and Autumn, March to May, the weather is mild and very enjoyable.