Hello all-

I was wondering if someone might suggest the ideal time of year to travel to Australia -- weather wise. As with most anywhere, I understand that weather varies greatly depending on the climate of the region. I am planning on taking the Reefs and Rainforest tour and therefore will be traveling along the eastern coast. I was hoping to travel towards the ending months of 2009 or the beginning months of 2010. I know that is a while away but I want to plan well in advanced! Being a native Texan I am accustomed to high temperatures (say, 40+ degrees celsius), but seeing as a lot of this tour will be spent outdoors I don't want to be too uncomfortable. A person can only take so much heat! Could anyone recommended one month over the other? I would love to be in Australia for Christmas and New Years but heard from some Australians that I'd be insane for considering traveling to Australia during that time of year. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you!

Shannon

I live in Oz, and Christmas/New Year is def the BEST time to be here.

ITs Summer, and really warm from about Oct to Feb, where average temp is probs about 30 C (depending where abouts you want to go)

I reccomend Perth (most isolated city in the world, but def the best), also Melbourne and Sydney, and the Gold Coast in QLD.

As for rainforests.. i didnt know we had any of those??

but if you want to do the tourist thing, great ocean road is also something to look into.

ok, back to best times to travel...depending how long you want to be here, id def say dec/jan are the best months. yes all the little kiddies are on school holidays, but when your travelling you dont really notice that a whole lot. New year absolutely goes off here, and AUSTRALIA DAY is def a worth while experience as thats the day of the year we will show you how to party. thats the 26th of Jan

Hope that helps

Kellie

I went in Nov and it was very nice not too hot not too cold. Only 1 rainy day out of 28 days I was there. Tasmania was a little cold but that was also in the mountains. But it was great.

I am an aussie and travelling to Australia between november-feb is absolutely fine. Not too hot, especially if you are from Texas! What Kellie said is right, experiencing 'Australia Day' on Jan 26th is a must do if you are a tourist! Christmas and New years is also something different if you are used to having those celebrations in winter!

I want to thank all three of you for responding to my post! I am very appreciative of all the advice you have given me. If anyone has any further suggestions, please feel free to post them.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Hi Shannon!

Pretty much anytime is great to travel to Australia. My favourite time is either March - May or September - November (I am not a massive fan of the heat and travelling combined!). If you enjoy hot weather then Dec/Jan would def be great time to travel, provided you are going to the coast. Being a Queensland girl I can comment that anywhere in Queensland is going to also be VERY humid and sticky. North QLD particulary.

Just check where your tour is going, usually Tropical North QLD is difficult to go to beaches etc during summer because of the blue bottles and jellyfish... sometimes they will close beaches....

You will have a ball!!!!
Chell

Hey shannon,

even though im from down south, i can tell you that up north in qld at that time of year (Dec/Jan) it is the wet season, so expect rain and alot of it. And it will be VERY humid and sticky as Chell said. So whilst you might be used to heat, humid heat is very very different!

I myself prefer north queensland in November (which is the time of year i go to cairns every year), its before the rain, it is still really humid and warm, and the rest of the east coast has nice weather too!

Hope that helps!
Katie

Thank you all for the advice you have given to me. It has been most helpful!

I am now trying to decide between traveling in November (to avoid the rainy season, seeing as I will be visiting Cairns, Cape Tribulation and the Whitsundays before heading down south) or travelling in December-early January in order to be in Australia for Christmas and New Years.

I hope time will help me make up my mind. I am certain that I will have an amazing time no matter when I choose to travel!

Thank you all-
Shannon

The IDEAL time for a trip would be Dec-Jan of 08/09

This time is the best time to come! Most eastern cities are very very hot in summer and once you get into QLD it gets humid too. I think December is a great month(although expensive) as it generally doesn’t get too hot until January.

Hi Shannon!

I just came back from Reefs and Rainforests (Cairns to Sydney) a week ago, and had an absolute blast. It was a little cold and wet the past few weeks, but the weather should be fantastic from November to January. Feel free to drop me a message if you have any queries.

ming

Hey

It really depends on your tollerence for heat and humidity. It isn't the heat that gets most people but the feeling of drowning in the wet mugginess of the weather. If like me you are born and bread in this weather you thrive on it but tourists and people who move here quite often find it pretty unbareable.

Apart from that it really is one of the best times to travel but if you want to miss the worst of the heat come in our spring or at the very end of the summer. The Daintree rainforest is just beautiful i went their in winter and it was only 24 degrees C the whole time i was their we went swimming and snorkeling it was great.

Also if you come in novbember you miss the tourist season and the school holidays which are just a scramble of screaming children and their parents. but if you do come over at the end of november be aware of schoolies! the right of passage of our graduating students that take over the gold & sunshine coast and anyother party destination on the east coast of queensland. it starts around about the 20th of nov.

Sam

I love the hot weather so i love summer but it depends where you want to go. Up North like other people have said is the wet season. It rains heaps its also very muggy and hot but its is also Stinger season with box jelly fish etc so lots of beaches can be closed and ones that are not closed may still be dangerous. That is only really north QLD thou, coming south further summer is a great time for swimming etc.

Everyone's been talking about dec/jan, but that's just not possible for us due to school and work and such. We were thinking end of July/August. We wanted to do the Aussie Explorer - a bit of everything. How are the weather conditions in the Outback and along the Eastern coast?
We absolutely have to do the great barrier reef thing, visit the kangaroos, and learn to surf. What can 2 girls from Montreal, Canada expect?

quote:

Originally posted by Explorer1121639:
Everyone's been talking about dec/jan, but that's just not possible for us due to school and work and such. We were thinking end of July/August. We wanted to do the Aussie Explorer - a bit of everything. How are the weather conditions in the Outback and along the Eastern coast?
We absolutely have to do the great barrier reef thing, visit the kangaroos, and learn to surf. What can 2 girls from Montreal, Canada expect?

thats when i was planning of going, and also being from canada was wondering what you aussies thought?