Best time to visit Te Anau

January is the best month in Te Anau, scoring 58 out of 100, with July the weakest at 26. The 32-point spread means timing is worth planning around without being decisive. 4 of the twelve months sit within ten points of the best, so there is more than one right answer.

January is the warmest month at 17.9 °C and July the coolest at 7.8 °C — a 10.1 °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. 6 nights a year dip below freezing.

There is a real wet season here. May, July, August and October carry the rain — up to 23 wet days in a month — while January to March drop as low as 18. That 5-day gap is the biggest single difference between a good month and a bad one in Te Anau, and it moves further than the temperature does.

Daylight runs from 8.7 hours in winter to 15.6 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

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

Te Anau month by month