Weather in Tauranga in December

A good month. December works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 20.5 °C, lows 15.8 °C, and rain falls on 13 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 6 of 12 in Tauranga: past the worst of the year but short of January, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 13 days, 2 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 — 4.7 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 24.4 °C and the coldest night fell to 9.5 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 81 mm — roughly 79% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 18 mm in the driest year against 258 mm in the wettest, around an average of 102 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind sits around 16.2 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 78%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

The month is on the way up: 1.8 °C warmer than November, and January adds another 1.7 °C. Late in the month feels noticeably different from the start of it, which is worth knowing if the trip is short.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Tauranga's year: 14.7 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 19.2 °C in December — swimmable, but it takes a moment to commit. The sea peaks at 21.6 °C in February and bottoms out at 15.9 °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

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

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

December in Tauranga versus nearby

If Tauranga is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Taupo is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, the same number of rain days. Auckland is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 2 days less rain.

So: December works, with January the better month by 7 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Tauranga

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