As a destination, New Zealand has a wide range of offerings to suit every season. So, one of the most common questions we get from clients is this: What season should I visit in? Spoiler: it’s probably not what you think. When it comes to tourism, the summer is routinely pushed as being the best time to go on holiday. After all, if there is one thing that we all wish for on vacation, it’s great weather! But in the case of New Zealand, we usually recommend against this. Autumn is the ideal season to travel around New Zealand, and this post will explain why.

The Seasonal Calendar in New Zealand

When you are planning a trip to New Zealand, you need to get your head around the seasons. If you haven’t visited the Southern hemisphere before, this can really throw you! Generally you can travel New Zealand at any time of the year. As long as you are prepared with the key facts. The easiest way to think about the seasons in New Zealand is that they are the total opposite of the Northern hemisphere:

Spring in NZ: September to November – weather can be changeable, often it’s getting windy from October onwards, temperatures are between 15-20 degrees (celsius). Great time to travel in the ‘shoulder season’.

Summer: December to February – weather is more stable, temperatures getting summery with 20-25 degrees in average. Great for water sports and outdoor activities. Peak summer season!

Clothing for travel through New Zealand

Autumn: March to May – weather is generally most settled, calm sunny days, mornings and evenings starting to get chilly, days getting shorter, temperatures 15-20 degrees. Perfect time for hiking and outdoors!

Winter: June to August – day light hours are shorter and temperatures getting below 15 degrees. This is the low season for New Zealand, unless for skiing holidays. Able to travel, but preparation needed.

The high season of tourism in New Zealand is during the summer months, whilst the winter season sees a sizable influx of skiers and snowboarders in the Queenstown area. Spring and Autumn in New Zealand are the ‘shoulder seasons’ as they fall in between these main peaks.

For more information on this, you can check out our dedicated seasonal guide.

1. The Autumn is much quieter in New Zealand

Most travellers will anticipate the summer season being busy with other travellers. But a lot of people don’t realise that summer in New Zealand overlaps with the long school holidays as well as Christmas. (Northern hemisphere visitors are used to associating school holidays with the June – September period, and so often don’t make the connection.) This means that a lot of locals will be taking their holidays during this time as well, often with families in tow. In fact, many New Zealand workplaces completely shut from the 16-17th December (when schools usually finish) right up until the middle/end of January! (those lucky kiwis…)

new zealand accommodation options

So, key tourist spots will be much more crowded, there will be more traffic on the roads, and accommodation will book up incredibly fast. In fact, for especially busy areas such as Queenstown and Fiordland, you may need to book accommodation up to a year in advance of when you are visiting. For some travellers, this might not be much of a concern. But if you are someone who really likes to get away from hustle and bustle during their travels, this will be much more difficult during the summer.

Visiting New Zealand during the Autumn allows you to skip out on the local traffic of New Zealanders on holiday, and a lot of overseas visitors as well. We experienced this for ourselves on the West Coast – so we can guarantee that it gives you a much more peaceful vacation!

Top tip: It’s a really great idea to look up school holiday dates when you plan your trip, as schools also give two-week holidays at the end of each term. This helps you to avoid the times where there’s likely to be more local travellers around.

Check out some Off the Beaten travel itineraries – North Island and South Island.

2. The Autumn is much cheaper in New Zealand

Most of us know that peak season equals ‘expensive’ when it comes to accommodation and flights. We’ve already mentioned that you’ll have to be a lot more organized with booking places to stay in the summer months. However, you’re also likely to pay more as well. Remember: prices always get pushed up when demand is higher! This is especially the case with providers such as Airbnb, who have grown in popularity in New Zealand. This means that flights are more expensive (and they usually aren’t cheap to begin with).

By comparison, the Autumn is when New Zealand’s seasonal price hikes start to drop along with visitor numbers. It’s true that the ‘shoulder seasons’ are more popular than they used to be. A lot of this is due to Tourism New Zealand encouraging people to holiday in these times to take pressure off infrastructure during the summer. However, it’s still noticeably cheaper to travel from March onwards.

Check out some some multi-island itineraries for North & South Island.

Autumn Kaiteriteri

3. The weather in the Autumn is still fantastic

New Zealand could have been a case study for the saying ‘four seasons in one day’. Visitors are often surprised by how volatile the weather can be! As a small island nation with mountains and coastline very close to each other, any sort of weather system can be thrown at you at any time. This can mean fierce southerly weather systems which skirt up from Antarctica, bringing massive squalls and temperature drops to the South Island. It’s not unheard of for a sunny, 30-degree day to end with lashing rain and 6 degrees! So, travelling in the summer certainly doesn’t guarantee you perfect weather.

In many cases, Autumn is actually a more pleasant season in New Zealand. Granted, you will likely experience cooler mornings and evenings at this time of year. But it’s also much drier in areas like the West Coast. In the North Island, you’ll also avoid the often punishing summer humidity. Best of all, you’ll still get those sunny days!

Believe it or not, the photo above was taken in April. The only indication that it’s Autumn is the extra layer of clothes I’m wearing! If you are wanting to get into some outdoor recreational activities like hiking or cycling during your visit, it’s actually a lot more enjoyable at this time of year. Summer heat definitely makes exercise hard work! The New Zealand sun is strong, and the UV levels here are some of the highest in the world. This relaxes a bit in the Autumn months, so you are far less likely to end up with sunstroke!

autumn colours in central otago

4. You’ll get spectacular views in the Autumn months

The turning of the seasons is an incredible sight, and New Zealand is no exception. The sight of the golden and red colours of Autumn make self-driving tours of New Zealand such a pleasure! You’ll find the best Autumn scenery throughout Canterbury and Otago, the regions with the most deciduous trees. You’ll also be visiting just in time for the first snowfall on the southern alps! This usually happens in late April or May, which makes for some incredible photos. Because New Zealand’s mountains aren’t especially high, most don’t keep any snow during the summer months. If you really want to experience the snowy vistas of the New Zealand tourism ads, Autumn is the perfect time to visit.

Things to do in New Zealand Autumn

The Great Taste Cycle Trail Nelson/Tasman

Besides hiking hopping on a cycle is a great way to explore many parts of New Zealand. With the roads peaceful and virtually empty in places, the bike trails throughout New Zealand are fantastic to ride during the Autumn months. Hiring a touring, mountain and e-bikes is easy at many locations throughout the country.

Kaiterteri Mountin Bike Park

The “Great Taste” cycle trail in Nelson Tasman is a cyclist’s dream, and compared to other tourist areas, underpopulated!  We rode the Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park from Motueka. It can be challenging with a bit of hill work, but stopping for a ‘breather’ gives you a chance to absorb views like this:

Kaiteriteri Cycle Ride

You probably won’t meet many cyclists in the Autumn in Nelson/Tasman, or in most parts of New Zealand for that matter! Where else can you get this all to yourself?

Kaiteriteri cycle ride return

In the summer season, the golden beaches of Kaiteriteri are packed with travellers. In April, they are almost completely deserted! This is something you will see across New Zealand during the Autumn. It’s one of the best things about the season!

Helpful New Zealand travel links

Happy Travelling New Zealand in the autumn season!

18 responses to “The Top 4 Reasons to Visit New Zealand during the Autumn”

  1. Jan Roberts says:

    Pam – couldn’t have said it better. We love autumn, like you say weather much more settled – sure little cooler but sun still shining and hardly any people around so all those “hot spots” you get to enjoy without jostling for the best position. That bike ride looks awesome – well done you, the downhill looked well deserved!

  2. Marc says:

    I love autumn. we have traveled during that time and loved it. Great article and nice pictures.

    • GuestNZ says:

      Thank you for your comments Marc. Although we love the summer buzz of happy travellers, it is very relaxing to travel in our shoulder season as you get a sense of seclusion and there’s more availability for good accommodation. The light is also denser and that’s good news for photographers.

  3. Jane Smith says:

    Looks wonderful – what a stunning Autumn we are having. That tree is an amazing colour. Still in shorts when the sun is out and almost half through the year! Travel well you two, J X

    • GuestNZ says:

      Each Autumn seems to get better every year. It really is a big fav and just when salads are getting quite tedious, it’s a relief to see apples and pears coming onto the market. And of course red wine slots into place very nicely.

  4. Rose Quedley says:

    Hi Pam – it looks fabulous! Totally agree – autumn is a fabulous time to travel – warm days, no crowds and fabulous colours. Spring is equally good – days are warming up, trees and bulbs bursting into life, wee lambs everywhere, not too many people travelling which means no queues and lots of accommodation choices with vacancies!

    • GuestNZ says:

      Actually Rose, you make a very good point about travelling in Spring with the trees plump with blossom.It’s the accommodation choices that are so appealing for both these seasons.

  5. Yim ching ming hyde says:

    Hi,
    I am hyde from Hk. I would like to visit NZ south island on coming 2020 autumn,
    But not sure should come on mid of april or late of april
    We would like to see the golden and redest leaves just like the photos in web site.

    Please kindly advise and tell us the situation in 2019.

    Thanks million.

  6. Amruth says:

    Hi,
    I’ve booked tickets with two other from March 20-29 to visit NZ, across Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo (sky-diving), Queenstown (bungy), Kaikoura, Franz Joseph glacier and Christchurch. What do you think about the timing of our visit and the weather on average? Will it be bright enough during the days and have the golden scenery of autumn?
    Thanks a lot – very nice blog!

    • GuestNZ says:

      Hi Amruth, March/April is a lovely time to travel NZ, I think it’s actually the best time of the year. Temperatures are a little cooler, but generally less wind. As long as you have quality clothing, the weather does not matter too much. In only 9 days you are trying to ‘pack in’ a lot. Try to staying longer at key locations instead of racing around. Hope this helps. Cheers Michael

  7. Pragya Rai says:

    Hi ,

    May I know when one can see red and yellow coloured autumn leaves along with snow covered mountains ?
    Should we go in April or May ?
    Also please suggest end / start of months mentioned above .

    • GuestNZ says:

      If you want to experience the autumn colours you are best to travel in April. Though, keep in mind each year is a bit different. The other key current travel issue for international travellers to NZ is the border closure. Most likely it will be from mid-2021, so April is most likely not possible for 2021. So, maybe you want to plan for 2022.

  8. Lawrence Feldman says:

    Hi, is it possible to see fall colors in mid to late March? If so, where? Thanks Larry

    • GuestNZ says:

      Yes Larry, from mid-March it’s a good time for autumn colours. Best in the Central Otago region (lower South Island). Keep in mind NZ native trees are evergreen, so the ‘autumn colours’ come from the ‘exotic trees’ planted by settlers over the past 200 years.

  9. Gracy says:

    Hi, I have booked auckland_Christchurch from 13 May to 18 May. Planning to drive Christchurch- Lake Tekapo- Wanaka-Franz Josef- Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass. Planning stops on this route and hoping to see autumn colours, have I left it too late ? Will I still get to see Autumn colours ?

    • GuestNZ says:

      Hi Grace, mid-May is a lovely time of the year. NZ nature forest is ‘everygreen’, such as the West Coast of the South Island. Some some parts of the country, such as Wanaka & Queenstown, has introduced tree species. Generally the best time to see them is from late-March until mid-April. Sometimes a bit later, pending on the year and weather conditions. Cheers Michael

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