Tauranga weather by month & the best time to visit
🇳🇿 New Zealand · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Tauranga is January — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 81/100), with February and March close behind. Tauranga averages about 2,513 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 22°C / 72°F and roughly 70 mm of rain in January.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,513
- Sunniest month
- January
- Peak score
- 81/100
- Rain / year
- 1,149 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 10 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 21°C / 70°F
- Population
- 161k
- Elevation
- Sea level
When is the best time to visit Tauranga?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Tauranga is January, then February and March. The dullest month is July (35/100, 124 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Tauranga?
Tauranga gets a lot of sun: around 2,513 hours a year. 46 Sunshine Score points separate January (81) from July (35), so the month you pick matters. Tauranga is the sunniest of the 26 destinations tracked in New Zealand. The year's 1,149 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 81 | 22° / 72°F | 17° / 63°F | 70 mm | 10 | 21° / 70°F |
| February | 79 | 23° / 73°F | 18° / 64°F | 79 mm | 9 | 21° / 70°F |
| March | 78 | 21° / 70°F | 17° / 63°F | 84 mm | 7 | 20° / 68°F |
| April | 68 | 19° / 66°F | 15° / 59°F | 107 mm | 4 | 19° / 66°F |
| May | 55 | 17° / 63°F | 13° / 55°F | 110 mm | 2 | 17° / 63°F |
| June | 41 | 15° / 59°F | 11° / 52°F | 123 mm | 1 | 16° / 61°F |
| July | 35 | 14° / 57°F | 10° / 50°F | 124 mm | 2 | 15° / 59°F |
| August | 37 | 14° / 57°F | 11° / 52°F | 112 mm | 2 | 14° / 57°F |
| September | 45 | 15° / 59°F | 11° / 52°F | 94 mm | 4 | 15° / 59°F |
| October | 59 | 17° / 63°F | 12° / 54°F | 84 mm | 6 | 16° / 61°F |
| November | 76 | 19° / 66°F | 14° / 57°F | 60 mm | 8 | 17° / 63°F |
| December | 75 | 21° / 70°F | 16° / 61°F | 102 mm | 9 | 19° / 66°F |
Sea temperature in Tauranga by month
The sea off Tauranga is warmest in January at around 21°C / 70°F, and coolest in August at 14°C / 57°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 2 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Tauranga on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Auckland New Zealand · 145 km · best in Jan · 2,479 h sun/yr
- Napier New Zealand · 208 km · best in Feb · 2,256 h sun/yr
- New Plymouth New Zealand · 230 km · best in Jan · 2,321 h sun/yr
- Palmerston North New Zealand · 299 km · best in Jan · 2,196 h sun/yr
- Wellington New Zealand · 424 km · best in Feb · 2,510 h sun/yr
- Blenheim New Zealand · 472 km · best in Feb · 2,486 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Rotorua New Zealand · 50 km · 2,193 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Whakatāne New Zealand · 69 km · 2,513 h sun/yr · best in Nov
- Hamilton (New Zealand) New Zealand · 79 km · 2,216 h sun/yr · best in Nov
- Taupo New Zealand · 119 km · 2,194 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Claris New Zealand · 172 km · 2,462 h sun/yr · best in Jan
Head-to-head
How Tauranga compares month by month: Tauranga vs Auckland · Tauranga vs New Plymouth · Tauranga vs Napier · all comparisons
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