Weather in Avarua in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in Avarua. You should expect rain on 18 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

December ranks 9 of 12 in Avarua: past the worst of the year but short of June, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 18 days, 5 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: it never really gets hot: not one day in an average December reaches 30 °C; the day barely swings — 0.7 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 28 °C and the coldest night fell to 22.4 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 84 mm — roughly 48% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 48 mm in the driest year against 388 mm in the wettest, around an average of 175 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind sits around 19.2 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 82%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 25.1 °C in November, 25.9 here, 26.7 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Avarua's year: 13.4 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 26.9 °C in December — warm enough to stay in as long as you like. The sea peaks at 28.1 °C in March and bottoms out at 24.8 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Quiet. Few other visitors, cheaper rooms, and a real chance some seasonal operators are shut.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

December in Avarua versus nearby

If Avarua is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Vaitape is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 5 days more rain. Faaa is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 6 days more rain.

So: December works, with June the better month by 16 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Avarua

See all twelve months in Avarua, or where else to go in December.