Queenstown weather by month & the best time to visit

🇳🇿 New Zealand · alpine / mountain town · oceanic / maritime climate

The best time to visit Queenstown is February — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 74/100), with January and December close behind. Queenstown averages about 2,268 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 20°C / 68°F and roughly 100 mm of rain in February.

Jump to: month-by-month table · nearby alternatives · embed this data

Sun hours / year

2,268

Sunniest month

February

Peak score

74/100

Rain / year

1,279 mm

Snow / year

≈41 cm

Midday UV at peak

8 (very high)

Population

10k

Elevation

355 m

When is the best time to visit Queenstown?

For sunshine, the best time to visit Queenstown is February, then January and December. The dullest month is June (0/100, 103 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.

How sunny is Queenstown?

Queenstown gets a moderate 2,268 hours of sunshine a year. 74 Sunshine Score points separate February (74) from June (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #15 of 26 destinations in New Zealand for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,342 hours. The year's 1,279 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.

Sunshine Score by month

See Queenstown on the interactive sunshine globe →

Nearby places for sunshine

• Dunedin New Zealand · 152 km · best in Feb · 2,093 h sun/yr
• Invercargill New Zealand · 159 km · best in Feb · 1,949 h sun/yr
• Christchurch New Zealand · 346 km · best in Feb · 2,377 h sun/yr
• Blenheim New Zealand · 569 km · best in Feb · 2,486 h sun/yr
• Wellington New Zealand · 640 km · best in Feb · 2,510 h sun/yr
• Palmerston North New Zealand · 767 km · best in Jan · 2,196 h sun/yr

Nearest destinations

• Wanaka New Zealand · 51 km · 2,430 h sun/yr · best in Feb
• Westport New Zealand · 431 km · 2,175 h sun/yr · best in Feb
• Nelson New Zealand · 550 km · 2,486 h sun/yr · best in Feb