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When is the best time to visit Ningaloo and Exmouth?

Q: When is the best time to visit Ningaloo and Exmouth?

April to October is the window for Ningaloo and Exmouth. Whale sharks arrive around March and stay to about July, which is also when the heat is bearable at 24 to 33 degrees against 38 in January.

April to October, and the whale sharks decide it. They arrive around March and stay to about July, which is also when the heat is bearable — 24 to 33°C against 38°C in January. It is bone dry from September to December, under 6mm a month.

Checked on 6 October 2026.

Exmouth sits on the Tropic of Capricorn, which means hot, and very dry. The reason to time a trip is not really the weather — it is what is in the water, and that runs to a calendar of its own.

Exmouth month by month

Month	Average top	Average overnight	Rain	What it gives you
January	38.1°C	23.1°C	29.2 mm	Very hot. The water is the only comfortable place to be.
February	37.6°C	24.1°C	38.0 mm	Hot and the wettest month, which still means very little rain.
March	36.6°C	23.1°C	39.7 mm	Still hot, and the whale sharks start arriving.
April	33.4°C	20.4°C	19.4 mm	The window opens. Heat easing, whale sharks in.
May	28.7°C	16.0°C	41.3 mm	Excellent — comfortable days and the reef at its best.
June	24.9°C	13.1°C	43.2 mm	The pick — mild days, cool nights, whale sharks still here.
July	24.4°C	11.4°C	20.7 mm	Coolest month, and the tail of whale shark season.
August	26.6°C	12.2°C	11.8 mm	Humpbacks arrive as the whale sharks leave. Warming, dry.
September	29.7°C	13.9°C	2.2 mm	Almost no rain at all. Warm, clear, humpbacks about.
October	33.0°C	16.5°C	1.4 mm	The driest month. Hot by afternoon, lovely mornings.
November	34.6°C	18.5°C	1.8 mm	Hot and dry, and the season winding down.
December	37.1°C	21.0°C	5.6 mm	Very hot. Snorkelling early and sheltering after.

Bureau of Meteorology averages for Learmonth Airport, the station serving Exmouth, over 51 years.

What is in the water, and when

Whale sharks, roughly March to July.The reason most people come. Booked separately on the day because it is weather and spotter-plane dependent.
Humpback whales, roughly August to Octoberon their migration south.
Manta rays year roundon half-day boat trips at extra cost.
Turtles nest November to Marchon the beaches, and hatch from January.
The reef itself is always there.It is a fringing reef, so you snorkel it off the beach at Coral Bay and Turquoise Bay any month of the year.

So when would we book?

May or Juneif you can choose freely — the coolest comfortable days and whale sharks still in.
Aprilat the start of the window, hotter but with the sharks arriving.
August to Octoberfor humpbacks, almost no rain and warm, clear water.
December to Marchonly if the dates are fixed — it is genuinely hot, and the days get built around the water.

Getting there

Exmouth is about 1,250km north of Perth and the trips take six to eight days to cover it, stopping at Kalbarri and Monkey Mia on the way. That drive is most of the trip, which is why the season matters for the whole route and not just the destination.