Weather in Faaa in December

Shoulder season. December is shoulder season in Faaa — cheaper, quieter, and a genuine gamble. You should expect rain on 24 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

December ranks 10 of 12 — near the bottom of Faaa's year. September is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 23 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 24 of the month's 31 days, 7 of them heavy. At that frequency a wet-weather backup is not a contingency, it is the itinerary — book the indoor things first and treat the clear days as the bonus. 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 — 1.2 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 29.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 23.3 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 71 mm — roughly 32% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 86 mm in the driest year against 509 mm in the wettest, around an average of 221 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 15.7 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 81%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 27 °C in November, 27.4 here, 27.5 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain has already shifted: 6 days more than November had.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Faaa's year: 13.2 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 28.1 °C in December — warm enough that the water offers no relief from the heat. The sea peaks at 28.9 °C in March and bottoms out at 26.4 °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 Faaa versus nearby

If Faaa 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, 1 day less rain. Avarua is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 6 days less rain.

So: December is a compromise. September is 22 points better and is what Faaa is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Faaa

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