When is the best time to visit the Kimberley?

The best time to visit the Kimberley, Western Australia, is the dry season. This is roughly between April and October, although June, July and August have the best combination of temperature and rainfall.

The best time to visit the Kimberley region of Western Australia is largely determined by the weather. Come at the wrong time of year, and you’ll encounter either ferocious heat or impassable roads.

As with the rest of northern Australia, the Kimberley theoretically follows a distinct pattern of a wet season and a dry season. In reality, it is more complicated than that, with stormy mini-seasons flanking either end of the true wet season.

The best time to visit the Kimberley: When is the dry season?

Nevertheless, the dry season is clearly the best time to visit. The Kimberley dry season runs roughly from April to October, with both April and October potentially a bit stormy.

Therefore, the safest bet for the Kimberley weather is May to September. Looking at the historic weather patterns in Kununurra in the eastern Kimberley, there is virtually no rain in this period. August is the driest month.

4 top Kununurra experiences to book

Take a cruise along the Ord River – including the spectacular Kimberley sunset.
Or go for the Ord River lunch cruise instead.
Dine in the outback – cooked in a camp oven at an atmospheric secret location.
Take a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles – and land for the Cathedral Gorge Walk.

Hottest month in the Kimberley

Heat is as big a factor as rain, however. While it is always hot in the Kimberley, some months are considerably hotter than others. The true monsoon season is between December and March, but in October and November beforehand, the Kimberley gets brutally hot. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, in November, the mean maximum temperature is 38.8 degrees Celsius.

In July, that goes down to 30.3 degrees Celsius. Which is still hot, but much more manageable.