Beautiful Broome in northwest Australia is best visited during the dry season, from May to October. The town enjoys warm, dry days with low humidity during this time. It’s perfect conditions to enjoy Broome’s famous 22 km long Cable Beach and other nearby attractions. The warmth remains well into the evenings, allowing you to dine outside and enjoy the spectacular sunsets over the Indian Ocean and the even more spectacular moon risings.
While the dry season is undoubtedly the best time to visit Broome, it’s also the most expensive. However, the town still has much to offer visitors, even during the wet season. So, through the course of this article, we’ll be looking at what attractions and events are on throughout the year, as well as the variations in weather, which significantly influence the cheapest time to visit.
Broome is a popular tourist town located in northwest Australia. It’s situated just off Highway 1 in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. Despite its relatively small population of just 21,000 residents, it’s a significant stop in northern Australia, given the region’s sparse population. Broome is over 2000 km from the state capital of Perth and 1940 km from Darwin, the closest major city.
Broome’s location in northern Australia, just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, guarantees it a warm year-round climate. Temperatures are consistently 30°C+ and often much warmer. So, in terms of temperature, there’s no best or worst time to visit Broome, although the humidity of the wet summer season can make it feel considerably hotter.
The amount of rainfall is the biggest factor in determining when to go to Broome in pursuit of good weather. Broome has a distinct wet season and dry season. The wet runs from November through April, while the dry runs from May through October. Frequent, short, heavy tropical downpours characterize the wet season. While the rainfall isn’t as regular as in Darwin, for example, you can still expect rain every 3 days on average during the height of the season. This can often be in the form of cyclones, which tend to occur later in the wet season. The extra moisture from all the rain, combined with the heat of summer, notably increases humidity.
In contrast, the dry season has very little rain and much lower humidity. While the days are slightly cooler on account of the winter months, it’s still plenty warm enough to enjoy the beach and swim in the warm Indian Ocean. The table below demonstrates the consistency of temperature but the rainfall variability between the dry and wet seasons.
Month | Maximum Temp | Minimum Temp | Days of Rain |
January | 33°C | 26°C | 8 |
February | 33°C | 25°C | 9 |
March | 34°C | 25°C | 7 |
April | 33°C | 23°C | 2 |
May | 32°C | 18°C | 1 |
June | 29°C | 16°C | 1 |
July | 29°C | 14°C | 1 |
August | 30°C | 17°C | 0 |
September | 31°C | 19°C | 0 |
October | 32°C | 23°C | 1 |
November | 33°C | 25°C | 1 |
December | 34°C | 27°C | 5 |
Like many other towns and cities, Broome has many festivals and celebrations throughout the year. Often, timing your visit to coincide with one or more of these events can significantly influence your view on the best time to visit.
Here are some of the best and most popular social and cultural events in Broome:
Australia Day – Celebrated annually on 26th January and a national holiday, you’ll find town-wide organized celebrations on the town beach. Celebrations, entertainment, and food are on offer, creating a real carnival atmosphere.
Broome Fringe Festival – Running for 10 days across early June each year, this popular festival celebrates various arts and performances. You can see comedians, circus performers, musicians, and many other live performances across the festival.
Broome Marathon – Held annually in July, this popular marathon is run primarily along the vast expanse of Cable Beach down to Gantheaume Point and back. Short runs are also available, including a half marathon and 10k.
Kimberley Cup – The Kimberly Cup is an annual horse race held in July and is the climax of the Broome racing season. Expect plenty of crowds, entertainment, and parties to mark the occasion.
Staircase to the Moon – This amazing natural phenomenon is unique to Broome and only occurs for a few days per month. It’s caused by a full moon rising over the tidal flats of Roebuck Bay. The combination of water reflecting and sand absorbing the moonlight creates the impression of a ladder leading up to the moon. It’s amazing to see in person, and pictures don’t do it justice.
Broome Night Market – These popular night markets run throughout the peak months of the dry season. They also run once a month on one of the nights of the Rising of the Staircase to the Moon. Featuring local cuisine, arts and crafts stalls, live music, and entertainment, it’s a great way to spend an evening.
As a tourist town whose biggest attraction is its stunning 22 km long beach, it’s no surprise that Broome’s busiest and most expensive period coincides with its best weather. As we’ve covered above, the best weather is during the dry season, which runs from May to October. The peak of this season is during July when prices are at their very highest. On the flip side, January, February, and March are the worst months for weather with lots of rainfall and humidity, but also the cheapest prices. If price is your only consideration, this would be the time to visit, but you could have a wretched time.
A good time to visit that is a compromise between both cost and weather is the shoulder seasons. These periods falls across May, September, and October. Hotels and flights are considerably cheaper than during July (but still more than January through March), but the weather is still bright and dry.
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