Best time to visit Pietermaritzburg

June is the best month in Pietermaritzburg, scoring 95 out of 100, with February the weakest at 60. The 35-point spread means timing is worth planning around without being decisive. The good window runs May to August — 4 months within ten points of the best.

January is the warmest month at 28.1 °C and July the coolest at 21.5 °C — a 6.6 °C spread across the year. Around 64 days a year top 30 °C, concentrated in January and the months either side.

There is a real wet season here. January, February, November and December carry the rain — up to 25 wet days in a month — while May to August drop as low as 3. That 22-day gap is the biggest single difference between a good month and a bad one in Pietermaritzburg, and it moves further than the temperature does.

Daylight runs from 10.3 hours in winter to 14 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

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

Pietermaritzburg month by month