Fiji · Month comparison

April vs May

May ranks #1 overall vs April at #7. Dry season begins — 90mm of rain, 7 hours of sunshine, and the best diving conditions returning.

Fiji April — calm turquoise lagoon clearing after wet season rain with a coral atoll and coconut palms

April

#7 of 12 months

Best match

The dry season transition — rain drops by 40% from March and the first clear days of the year arrive.

  • ↑154mm versus 241mm in March: the improvement in April is significant — genuinely clear days become available, underwater visibility starts to recover, and outdoor activities become reliably plannable again
  • ↑Sea temperature still at 27°C: the warmest water available without the wet-season rain risk — excellent for both snorkelling in the Mamanuca shallows and scuba diving at more exposed sites
Fiji May — clear water around a coral reef in the Mamanuca Islands as the dry season begins

May

#1 of 12 months

Best match

Dry season begins — 90mm of rain, 7 hours of sunshine, and the best diving conditions returning.

  • ↑Dry season properly underway: 90mm versus 154mm in April — the pattern shifts to occasional light showers rather than heavy rain, and multi-day stretches of clear weather become normal
  • ↑Diving visibility recovering to dry-season clarity: 15–25 metres of visibility in the Somosomo Strait (Taveuni) and the Mamanuca outer reefs as river runoff subsides
FactorAprilMay
Weather score
6
8
Value score
7
6
Crowd score
7
6
Events score
4
4
Atmosphere
7
8
Avg high temp29°C28°C
Monthly rain154mm90mm
Daily sunshine6.5hrs7hrs

April trade-offs

  • ↓154mm is still moderate-to-heavy rain: April is better than March but not the dry season — some days will still see significant rain, and island transfers carry weather risk
  • ↓Coral spawning events in some areas can reduce dive visibility temporarily in April — check with specific dive operators for local conditions
  • ↓Easter weekend inflates some resort prices back toward dry-season levels — avoid that specific weekend if cost is a factor

May trade-offs

  • ↓90mm is still light rain: May is not reliably dry, and island transfers to the more exposed Yasawa Islands still carry occasional weather delays
  • ↓Cooler evenings by Fiji standards: 22°C lows mean a light layer is useful after dark — nothing dramatic, but a shift from the wet-season warmth
  • ↓Visibility still building toward its best: while dramatically better than March–April, May's visibility is below the July–August peak at many dive sites
See all 12 months for Fiji →April in detail →May in detail →
Scores compare months within Fiji. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →