Plan · Seasons & timing
Twelve months,
honestly compared.
Two seasons, five archipelagos, and the events worth building a trip around — without pretending there is one best month.
01 / The two-season rule
Dry-ish,
wet-ish.
French Polynesia runs on two seasons. November through April is the warm season: hotter, more humid, with brief heavy downpours, the greenest islands, and a small cyclone risk concentrated December–March. May through October is the cool season: drier air, trade winds (the mara'amu), calmer heat, and the busiest calendar.
Archipelagos bend the rule. The Marquesas sit closer to the equator with their own drier rhythm and no lagoon sheltering; the Australs run several degrees cooler year-round — sweater weather on July nights; the Tuamotus are sunnier than the high islands in most months because there are no mountains to snag cloud.
02 / Month by month
Pick by priority,
not by myth.
Warm, humid, green; short storms and quiet hotels outside the holidays
Value monthThe wettest stretch for most islands; cyclone watch peaks
Divers still diveHeat eases late in the month; lagoons at their warmest
Good underwater visibility windowsTransition: drying trend, shoulder pricing, fewer crowds
A quietly excellent monthDry season settles in; trails firm up; whale scouts arrive late month
Book July stays nowCool, breezy, clear; mara'amu winds can chop south-facing water
Great hikingHeiva festival month: peak culture, peak demand
Reserve everything earlyPrime dry season: whales, festivals' tail, high occupancy
Peak pricingWhale season continues; crowds thin after French holidays
Sweet spot for manyWarming again; last reliable whale weeks; Hawaiki Nui crews train
Shoulder value returnsHawaiki Nui Va'a race; first warm-season rains; green returns
Race week fills the LeewardsWarm, lively, holiday-busy around Christmas and New Year
Book festive weeks far ahead03 / Match month to mission
Priorities
pick months.
- 01Whales
July to November, peaking August–October — Moorea, Tahiti, and famously close encounters off Rurutu.
- 02Diving
Good all year; many divers favor the warm season's clear, calm lagoon water and the June–July grouper events at Fakarava.
- 03Culture
July for Heiva i Tahiti; November for the Hawaiki Nui Va'a; island festivals dot the calendar.
- 04Value & quiet
April–May and September–October blend dry-season weather with shoulder pricing; deep quiet lives in the warm season.
One honest caveat
Weather is
a band, not a wall.
Dry-season squalls happen; wet-season weeks of sunshine happen. Build trips that survive a rainy morning — markets, museums, spa, a book — and no month will let you down.
Now build the route →Forecasts & warnings
Marine and island forecasts, cyclone bulletins in season.
Météo-France Polynésie ↗Keep planning