Fiji · Month comparison

September vs May

May ranks #1 overall vs September at #2. Dry season begins — 90mm of rain, 7 hours of sunshine, and the best diving conditions returning.

Fiji September — a coral garden in the Somosomo Strait with excellent dry-season visibility and tropical fish

September

#2 of 12 months

Best match

The sweet spot — dry season conditions with crowds and prices easing from the August peak.

  • ↑Excellent dry-season weather with 15–20% lower prices than August: September gives essentially the same conditions as July–August with a meaningful cost reduction as the Australian school holiday influx ends
  • ↑Whale season extending into September: humpback encounters remain available throughout the month, with sightings becoming slightly less predictable toward the end as the migration moves on
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
FactorSeptemberMay
Weather score
9
8
Value score
4
6
Crowd score
5
6
Events score
4
4
Atmosphere
9
8
Avg high temp27°C28°C
Monthly rain70mm90mm
Daily sunshine7.5hrs7hrs

September trade-offs

  • ↓70mm of rain starting to nudge up from August's 58mm: September is still very much the dry season, but the occasional isolated shower is more likely than in August
  • ↓Whale encounters less predictable toward late September: operators can no longer guarantee sightings as the migration moves south — earlier in the month is better
  • ↓Visibility at dive sites marginally below August peak: the very best conditions are in July–August; September is excellent but slightly behind the peak

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 →September in detail →May in detail →
Scores compare months within Fiji. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →