Best Time to Visit Christmas Island

One place, two seasons

Christmas Island is a small Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, and Flying Fish Cove is the main settlement. It's the only place on our site here, and the island is small enough that timing barely changes from one side to the other. What matters is the season, not the spot.

The year splits into a wet season and a dry one. The best window runs from July to October. Days are drier and the sea is calmer, which helps if you want to snorkel or dive off the Cove's edge or at Lily Beach. You'll still get the odd shower, so don't expect a desert.

The wet months

March is the wettest month, with 181 mm of rain. April is the hottest, at 28°C. Together they make for sticky afternoons and heavy downpours. The rainforest looks its greenest, but walking tracks get muddy and slippery. Seas can turn rough, and some shore spots become tricky to reach.

Here's the twist. The wet season is also when the famous red crab migration usually starts. Millions of red crabs leave the forest and head for the sea to breed. The timing follows the rains and the moon, so it shifts from year to year. October to December is the usual window, and it can slip either side. If crabs are your reason to come, check with Parks Australia before you lock in flights.

Crowds, holidays and getting there

Christmas Island is never crowded. Flights are limited, and rooms are few. That makes the dry season, July to October, the busiest stretch, and you'll want to sort flights and a place to stay early. Australian school holidays push demand up, especially in July and around Christmas and New Year.

Wet months are the quiet time. You'll have trails and beaches to yourself, but you'll trade that for rain and rougher seas.

Want bird-watching? Look for the Abbott's booby and the golden bosun bird in the forest. Time it for the drier months, when the tracks are easier to walk. For most visitors, the sweet spot is late in the dry season, when the weather is kind and the crab migration may be close.