Best time to visit Tauranga

January is the best month in Tauranga, scoring 83 out of 100, with August the weakest at 52. The 31-point spread means timing is worth planning around without being decisive. 6 of the twelve months sit within ten points of the best, so there is more than one right answer.

February is the warmest month at 22.6 °C and July the coolest at 13.8 °C — a 8.8 °C spread across the year. It never reaches 30 °C in an average year, which takes heat off the list of reasons to avoid any particular month.

There is a real wet season here. August carries the rain — up to 16 wet days in a month — while January, February and November drop as low as 9. That 7-day gap is the biggest single difference between a good month and a bad one in Tauranga, and it moves further than the temperature does.

The sea is comfortable for swimming in February to March — 21.6 °C at its warmest against 15.9 °C at its coldest. The water peaks a month or two after the air does, so the best swimming falls later in the year than the best weather. Daylight runs from 9.6 hours in winter to 14.7 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

The three strongest months are January, February, March. The one to think twice about is August. Each month below has its own page with rainfall reliability, extremes, daylight, sea temperature and crowd levels.

Tauranga month by month