Best time to visit Hamilton

Hamilton is a city of two halves. September scores 80 and January scores 19 — a 61-point swing, which is the difference between a holiday and an endurance test. The month you pick matters more here than almost anywhere. 4 of the twelve months sit within ten points of the best, so there is more than one right answer.

July is the warmest month at 29.5 °C and January the coolest at -1.3 °C — a 30.8 °C spread across the year. Around 36 days a year top 30 °C, concentrated in July and the months either side. At the other end, 140 nights a year fall below freezing: the winter here is a real one.

Rain is spread evenly through the year — between 10 and 13 wet days in every month — so there is no dry season to aim for and no wet one to dodge. Whatever you plan, the odds of rain are much the same.

Daylight runs from 9 hours in winter to 15.4 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

The three strongest months are September, June, May. The one to think twice about is January. Each month below has its own page with rainfall reliability, extremes, daylight and crowd levels.

Hamilton month by month