best time of year for AUS/NZ cruising?

Trying to sort through all the choices for Australia/NZ cruising. What the difference between sailing in Nov-Dec VS Jan-March? Rougher seas? Hotter Temps?

Guess I need to start reading some Trip reports!

Bev

Trying to sort through all the choices for Australia/NZ cruising. What the difference between sailing in Nov-Dec VS Jan-March? Rougher seas? Hotter Temps?

 

Guess I need to start reading some Trip reports!

 

Bev

It would depend on your itinerary.

One thing to keep in mind, school ison holidays from roughly mid December (some schools from early Dec) to end of January.

February and March are the best months to cruise around NZ. The weather is generally warmer and more settled then, although NZ weather is variable at the best of times.

NZ weather is usually more settled in Feb / Mar.

I always tell people to come in Australia's winter (June-August), but the cruise lines do not have a big presence here then.

If it's a choice of January-March, I'd suck up the school holidays and go with January, as lately February & March have been hideously hot.

But it depends on what kind of weather you like and/or what you are planning to do.

What kind of weather to expect for Oct 5 to Dec 10. Doing a All Around Australia...Tasmania...New Guinea and New Zealand B2B on the Sun Princess. Any info you can share with me would be greatly appreciated. :)

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What kind of weather to expect for Oct 5 to Dec 10. Doing a All Around Australia...Tasmania...New Guinea and New Zealand B2B on the Sun Princess. Any info you can share with me would be greatly appreciated. :)

Cool to warm to hot. :D

NZ could still be quite cool, especially in the lower half of the South Island.

Tasmania may also be quite cool.

The Top End of Australia will be hot and humid, as will Papua New Guinea.

The rest will be pleasantly warm ... if you're lucky. :p

You might find this website useful. http://www.climatemps.com/ You should be able to check every port on your itineraries.

What kind of weather to expect for Oct 5 to Dec 10. Doing a All Around Australia...Tasmania...New Guinea and New Zealand B2B on the Sun Princess. Any info you can share with me would be greatly appreciated. :)

 

 

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I did Australia NZ Circumnavigation Oct-Nov 2015. Ranged from

33 and darn humid in Darwin, 34 and dry Bali, to top of 5 WITH wind chill factored in the negatives in NZ.

March is the peak of the cyclone season in northern Australia. We had a bad cyclone this year in the Whitsundays and it hit Hamilton Island on March 28th.

In an ideal world, now (May 1st) would be a great time to cruise, except perhaps for New Zealand. But you are covering a huge area and it there wil not be one time with ideal weather everywhere.