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When planning a big international holiday it’s the first question you should be asking and if you’re touring Australia then it’s no different. So then, what is the best time to visit Sydney? As a local Sydney tour guide I get asked this quite often so I am sure that you will find the post below to be a helpful guide as you plan your travel to our sparkling harbour city.
Before I get started let me say that I am hoping because you are reading this you are actually planning a trip to Sydney…if that’s the case then I am really happy to hear it and know that you are in for a great experience as our city is a massive crowd pleaser and has so much to offer travellers of all ages at all times of year. To introduce myself quickly (if you’ve just landed on this page) my name is Scott and I run private Sydney tours in and around this beautiful city and have been doing so for a total of about 5 years. Aside from having guided hundreds of Sydney tours I am a life long local so you can take the advice as being very reliable. So here goes…
I promise you I am not trying to come up with a cheesy marketing tagline and this post is not endorsed by Tourism Australia…what I mean by saying this is that unlike tropical climates or snowy climates, Sydney is very much a temperate climate and so there is no time of the year that you should avoid visiting. We can have long periods of rain at any time during the year and we can also have stretches where we have sunshine for weeks on end. We have experienced heavy rains and extended dry conditions in recent years so we get a bit of everything.
It’s probably not surprising for you to hear that summer is the most popular time to visit Sydney as it’s the longest holiday period, has warm weather and one very famous new years eve party. Summer in Sydney (and all of Australia of course) lasts from December through to February and can be a long hot ordeal some years. Temperatures in Sydney in Summer can get above 40 degrees celsius (110 Fahrenheit) and humidity can be in the 80 – 90% range so if you are coming in Summer then be ready for some warm days and balmy nights. Summer is also the season of the classic Sydney electrical storm, that usually pops up in the afternoon, makes a huge noise, loads of lightning and then is usually over again within an hour. At night the temperature can stay high so if you are not used to that then ensure your hotel choice in Sydney has good air conditioning. The big upside of touring Sydney in Summer is the longer daylight hours as we have daylight saving in place. This means you can expect daylight through till after 8pm for most of Summer. If the long days are the upside then the downside would be the large numbers of visitors. It is by far the busiest time of year to visit and particularly the time from before Christmas through to after new years (famous Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks) gets very busy, meaning that hotel and flight pricing will be at peak rates.
I already mentioned that there is no bad time to visit and that is certainly true but as a private Sydney tour guide I have my own preferred time of year to be in Sydney and here it is…for me it is the cooler months of Autumn from March through to May. (FYI it is April as I write this and I have been loving the weather over the past few weeks) So why do I think it’s an ideal time to visit? The biggest reason would be the generally fantastic weather that we get this time of year. Temps are usually below 25 degrees celsius (80F) and there is usually a slight coolness in the air that just feels great to be in. For the international visitor it also means it’s easier to get a Sydney hotel room at a good rate, crowds have dropped off and the locals are all pretty happy and relaxed having got through another hot Summer. Daylight saving has ended which means it is getting dark closer to 5.30pm but that’s the only drawback. It’s a great time to be taking private guided tours of Sydney as the cooler weather is so comfortable and although we don’t have a true Autumn here (our native trees keep their leaves on all year) it is possible to take a Blue Mountains tour in Autumn (or a Southern Highlands tour) and see some stunning seasonal colours due to all the exotic trees that were planted years ago. It’s a small detail that only a Sydney local would know about but during Autumn we also typically get the most amazing sunsets of the year and for me that is always a huge bonus.
Okay shameless plug time…yes of course you can. I provide Sydney city tours for discerning travellers from around the world and can cater for solo travelers through to 24 guests. Whatever time of year you visit I am sure you will have an amazing Sydney experience and if I can help to make it even more memorable then please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected] or you could also try the chat widget on the right hand side and if I am not out on tour then I will be happy to discuss your Sydney travel ideas. Happy travels 🙂
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