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Photo by Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Wellington
New Zealand · Oceania
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Wellington
Tap a month for its page
- JanJWellington in January: sweet spot, busy
- FebFWellington in February: sweet spot, busy
- MarMWellington in March: sweet spot
- AprAWellington in April: sweet spot
- MayMWellington in May: ok
- JunJWellington in June: ok
- JulJWellington in July: ok
- AugAWellington in August: ok
- SepSWellington in September: sweet spot
- OctOWellington in October: sweet spot
- NovNWellington in November: sweet spot, busy
- DecDWellington in December: ok, busy
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
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Flights from
Flights
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Where to stay
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Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
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Things to do in Wellington
- Weta Workshop The studio that made the hit movie trilogy The Lord of the Rings.
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa New Zealand's national museum contains interesting exhibitions on the country's history…
- Wellington Cable Car From Lambton Quay (next to the McDonald's).
- Parliament Buildings Home of New Zealand's lawmakers and leaders, the complex consists of four building…
- Zealandia A predator-proof fence encloses an old water catchment area…
- Matiu/Somes Island Out in the middle of the harbour, this island has its share of history.
- Old Government Buildings This is the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere and the second-largest in…
Tours and tickets in Wellington
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Wellington/City), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20° | 6d | 78% | 11.9h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Feb | 20° | 6d | 78% | 10.7h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Mar | 18° | 7d | 78% | 9.5h | sweet spot | 18C max, 7 rainy days |
| Apr | 17° | 8d | 79% | 8.2h | sweet spot | 17C max, 8 rainy days |
| May | 15° | 8d | 79% | 7.1h | ok | 15C max, 8 rainy days |
| Jun | 13° | 10d | 80% | 6.2h | ok | 13C max, 10 rainy days |
| Jul | 12° | 12d | 80% | 6.4h | ok | 12C max, 12 rainy days |
| Aug | 12° | 10d | 79% | 7.5h | ok | 12C max, 10 rainy days |
| Sep | 13° | 9d | 77% | 8.9h | sweet spot | 13C max, 9 rainy days |
| Oct | 15° | 9d | 79% | 9.7h | sweet spot | 15C max, 9 rainy days |
| Nov | 17° | 9d | 79% | 10.8h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Dec | 18° | 9d | 80% | 11.3h | okbusy | busier than usual |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at the waterfront: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Wellington's December days now average 18.5°C, 1.8°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 18.3° | 18.3° | 17.3° | 15.6° | 13.5° | 12.0° | 10.9° | 11.3° | 12.3° | 13.4° | 15.0° | 16.7° |
| 2017–26 | 19.8° | 19.8° | 18.4° | 16.7° | 14.9° | 13.2° | 12.4° | 12.4° | 13.4° | 14.8° | 16.7° | 18.5° |
| Change | +1.5° | +1.4° | +1.1° | +1.1° | +1.4° | +1.2° | +1.4° | +1.1° | +1.1° | +1.4° | +1.7° | +1.8° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
How far Wellington is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Auckland
- from Sydney
- from Melbourne
- from Perth
- from Jakarta
- from Manila
- from Singapore
- from Kuala Lumpur
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Wellington, flying or not.
Before you go
Type I plugs at 230 V. Drives on the left. The currency is the New zealand dollar. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise normal security precautions. US State Department: Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions. Everything for New Zealand: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Cards and contactless (called paywave) work almost everywhere; a few small shops take only New Zealand cards, so carry a little cash. Some shops add a surcharge for credit or contactless payments, which must be clearly shown.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Not expected, even in restaurants; prices include service. Rounding up a taxi fare is fine.
Getting around Wellington
- Apps — Rides: DiDi, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: Messenger, Text messages (SMS), WhatsApp.
It's easy to get around the central city on foot, as it's very compact and pedestrian-friendly. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Wellington, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — 111 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (13)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/new-zealand/getting-help
- consumerprotection.govt.nz/general-help/ways-to-buy-and-pay/card-payment-surcharges
- at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/contactless-payments/using-contactless-payments-on-auckland-public-transport
- uber.com/global/en/cities/auckland
- web.didiglobal.com/nz/driver/cities
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/New_Zealand
- scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2603/S00003/social-media-still-has-an-internet-stronghold-new-research-finds.htm
- infobip.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- orc.govt.nz/orbus/fares
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Wellington in pictures
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Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Mandy Simpson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Wellington is like
Wellington (Māori: Te Whanganui-a-Tara) is the capital and second largest urban area of New Zealand. It is also the world's southernmost capital city of a UN member state. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- As the capital city, Wellington is the centre of New Zealand's government. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- The Wellington Botanic Garden is a nice place to go for a picnic, or just an afternoon walk (or run for a challenging fitness experience). More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Wellington International Airport (WLG IATA) is in Rongotai, about 5 km (3 mi) southeast from the central city. It sits on an isthmus between the Miramar Peninsula and Mount Victoria. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Wellington is reasonably safe at night, but common sense should prevail, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Occasionally, tourists relax security in New Zealand, thinking that it is a crime-free paradise. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Wellington, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Wellington
Also in New Zealand
Nearby
- Sydney Australia · 2,224 km
- New Caledonia New Caledonia · 2,253 km
- Brisbane Australia · 2,506 km
- Melbourne Australia · 2,572 km
Kind of place
Wellington is in New Zealand, Oceania. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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