gowhereandwhen.comGo from roughly June to October, the drier trade-wind months on Tarawa. Kiribati sits on the equator, so there is no cyclone season at all, but rainfall swings hard between El Nino and La Nina years, so treat every average loosely.
A 0 to 100 comfort rating from daytime heat, overnight chill, rainfall and storm risk, for Tarawa. Higher is better. Some booking links earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The steadiest weather, peaking around Mar.
Other months to compare; prices and crowds depend on your destination and dates.
Rainy season.
The year at a glance
Kiribati is ocean more than land: 33 atolls straddling both the equator and the date line, spread across an area wider than the continental United States. Tarawa, the capital atoll, carries the country's WWII history; far-flung Kiritimati (Christmas Island) is a world-class bonefishing flat. We rate on Tarawa.
The year splits gently rather than sharply: December to April is the wetter half, June to October the drier, breezier one. The equator spares Kiribati cyclones entirely, and the heat is remarkably constant, 31 degrees nearly every day. The big variable is El Nino, which can double the rain in a wet year; La Nina years can run bone dry.
Kiribati month by month
Highs, lows, rainfall and the rating, for Tarawa.
JanuaryHot and very wet, monsoon rains.Good 45
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 230 mm
Hot and very wet, monsoon rains.
FebruaryHot and wet.Good 53
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 170 mm
Hot and wet.
MarchHot and wetGreat 64
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 130 mm
Hot and wet.
AprilHot and wet.Good 56
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 150 mm
Hot and wet.
MayHot and wet.Good 53
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 170 mm
Hot and wet.
JuneHot and wet.Good 55
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 160 mm
Hot and wet.
JulyHot and wet.Good 56
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 150 mm
Hot and wet.
AugustHot and wetGreat 60
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 140 mm
Hot and wet.
SeptemberHot and wetGreat 64
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 130 mm
Hot and wet.
OctoberHot and wet.Great 60
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 140 mm
Hot and wet.
NovemberHot and wet.Good 56
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 150 mm
Hot and wet.
DecemberHot and wet.Good 49
- Daytime high
- 31°C / 88°F
- Overnight low
- 26°C / 79°F
- Rainfall
- 200 mm
Hot and wet.
Where you go changes when you go
Tarawa
The capital atoll and the site of one of the Pacific war's fiercest battles, with guns and wrecks still on the reef.
Kiritimati (Christmas Island)
The world's largest coral atoll, a bonefishing and birding mecca served separately from Honolulu and Fiji.
The outer Gilberts
Traditional atoll villages reached by boat and small plane, at their most accessible in the calm mid-year months.
Best time to visit Kiribati for
Bonefishing
Year round on Kiritimati's flats, one of the sport's great destinations, with calm dawn tides the daily rhythm.
WWII history
Tarawa's battle sites and relics, easiest to walk in the drier mid-year months.
Snorkelling the lagoons
June to October, when the trades steady the water. It is warm, around 29 degrees, every month.
The date line
Kiribati is the first country to see each new day, and greeted the millennium first at aptly renamed Millennium Island.
What is on, and when
Trade-wind season, Jun to Oct
The drier, breezier half of the year on Tarawa and the Gilberts.
Independence Day, 12 Jul
A week of dancing, canoe racing and feasting across the atolls.
Watch out
Rainy season
all year.
Where to stay in Kiribati
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Good to know
What is the best time to visit Kiribati?
Does Kiribati get cyclones?
How do you get to Kiribati?
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