By Harry Nara · Last updated
Hong Kong has a dry half and a wet half, and the choice between them matters more than the choice of month. From October to March the city gets 14% of its yearly rain. The other six months get the rest, along with the heat, humidity of around 80% and most of the typhoons. Inside the dry half, October to December has the lowest humidity and the least cloud of the year, which is why we recommend it.
Hong Kong Month by Month
| Month | Temperature | Rainy Days | Crowds | Budget / Day | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15–19°C | 6 days | Medium | HK$750–1,200 | Hikers, Families & Food Lovers |
| February | 15–19°C | 8 days | Very High | HK$850–1,400 | Culture, Festival Goers & Families |
| March | 18–22°C | 11 days | Medium | HK$800–1,300 | Art Lovers, Food Lovers & Culture |
| April | 21–26°C | 11 days | Medium | HK$800–1,300 | Sports Fans, Hikers & Food Lovers |
| May | 25–29°C | 15 days | Medium | HK$800–1,300 | Festival Goers, Culture & Food Lovers |
| June | 27–31°C | 19 days | Low | HK$750–1,200 | Festival Goers, Budget Travellers & Culture |
| July | 27–32°C | 18 days | Medium | HK$750–1,200 | Beaches, Families & Budget Travellers |
| August | 27–31°C | 18 days | Medium | HK$700–1,150 | Budget Travellers, Beaches & Families |
| September | 26–31°C | 15 days | Medium | HK$800–1,300 | Festival Goers, Culture & Food Lovers |
| October Best | 24–28°C | 8 days | High | HK$850–1,400 | Hikers, Food Lovers & Photographers |
| November Best | 20–25°C | 6 days | High | HK$900–1,500 | Hikers, Food Lovers & Photographers |
| December Best | 16–20°C | 5 days | High | HK$800–1,300 | Culture, Festival Goers & Families |
How to Choose Your Month
November. Highs of about 25°C, six wet days, 39mm of rain and humidity of 72% make it the most comfortable month for walking the city and its hills. Late October is nearly as good and still warm enough to swim. Book early, because everyone else has the same idea and rooms sit near their yearly peak.
Mid-October to December, when the air has dried out and the ridges can be walked in the middle of the day. The Dragon’s Back, the Sai Kung stages of the MacLehose Trail and the silvergrass on Sunset Peak are all at their most comfortable in that stretch. Summer hiking is possible only at dawn, and only with far more water than you want to carry.
The first ten days after the new year, on 6 February in 2027. Flower markets, a night parade, fireworks and packed temples make it the most colourful week of the year, and the most awkward: family-run restaurants and small shops close for several days, and rooms are the dearest of the winter. Come for the spectacle rather than for the food.
Cheung Chau on Buddha’s Birthday, Thursday 13 May in 2027, or Tai Hang on the three nights around Mid-Autumn, 14 to 16 September. One has children floating above a parade and a midnight race up a tower of buns; the other has a straw dragon stuck with burning incense. Both are free, and both fall in the wet half, so bring an umbrella.
Late May to October, and the safest choice is one of the 39 open gazetted beaches with shark nets and lifeguards on duty. October gives you warm water without the summer heat, though a late typhoon remains possible.
August, if you can accept the storm risk, and January outside the New Year. Summer rooms are usually the cheapest of the year, while mid-January is the cheapest time with reliably good weather.
Worst Time to Visit Hong Kong
August, for the odds of a storm rather than for the rain alone.
June is wetter, but August carries the most typhoon-signal days of the year, at about four, the most No. 8 days, at 0.8, and the most thunderstorms, on about nine days. It also has 453mm of rain, at 31°C with humidity of 81%. Any one storm can close ferries, stop boat trips and cancel flights.
Against that, the odds of losing a day to a No. 8 in any one week are low, rooms are often the cheapest of the year, and the sea is warm. If you are coming in August, keep your plans flexible, leave a spare day before an onward flight, and book a rate you can change.
Hong Kong Season by Season
Spring
Spring here is about moisture. Humidity runs at 82 to 83%, cloud covers about three-quarters of the sky, and the harbour can vanish into fog for a day or two, mostly in March. Walls and floors sweat in the dampest spells.
What the season lacks in views, it makes up for in dates: Art Basel and Easter in late March, the Sevens at Kai Tak in April and the Bun Festival in May.
By the end of it, summer has arrived. Rain nearly doubles between April and May, thunderstorms come on about six days, and the Observatory’s rainstorm warnings start to matter.
Summer
Over half the year’s rain falls in these three months: 1,330mm of the 2,431mm total, with highs of 31 to 32°C and nights that stay near 27°C.
A wet day here needs only 0.1mm, though, so eighteen or nineteen of them do not mean a washed-out month. Rain tends to come in hard bursts, and a morning storm often clears by lunchtime.
The real variable is the typhoon. Warning signals average about nine days across the season, and No. 8, which closes schools, offices and ferries, averages 1.6. The price of that uncertainty is paid by the hotels, whose rates are usually the lowest of the year.
Autumn
Two trips share this name. The first weeks are still summer, at 31°C with signals up on nearly four days of the month, redeemed by the lanterns and the Fire Dragon of Mid-Autumn.
Then the monsoon swings to the north-east, and within a few weeks humidity falls from the high 70s to 72% and rain from 321mm to 39mm. No other change in the Hong Kong year is so welcome. The trails fill, the rooftops reopen and hairy crab arrives.
Rooms know it. These are among the dearest weeks of the year, and worth paying for.
Winter
Mild is the word: 15 to 20°C, with five to eight wet days a month and the year’s lowest rainfall in the first of them. A jacket covers most days.
Cold fronts are the exception. They can push urban lows below 10°C, and many rooms here have weak heating, so pack a warm layer for the night.
The cloud returns in the last weeks of the season, up to 72% from 57%, as the damp of spring begins.
Events Worth Planning Around
The dated reasons to pick one month over another. Each has its own page with where to watch, what it costs and how to get there.
- Lunar New Year in Hong KongFriday 5 February to Tuesday 9 February 2027Hong Kong’s biggest festival: flower markets, a night parade, fireworks and packed temples
- Art Basel Hong KongThursday 25 March to Saturday 27 March 2027Asia’s leading art fair, and the week of free shows that surrounds it
- Hong Kong SevensFriday 9 April to Sunday 11 April 2027Three days of international rugby and fancy dress at the new stadium in Kowloon
- Cheung Chau Bun FestivalThursday 13 May 2027A Taoist island festival with a parade of floating children and a race up a tower of buns
- Tuen Ng Dragon Boat Races in Hong KongWednesday 9 June 2027The summer holiday when dragon boats race around the Hong Kong coast, free to watch
- Hungry Ghost Festival in Hong KongMonday 2 August to Tuesday 31 August 2027A lunar month of offerings for wandering spirits, with bamboo opera stages and paper gods
- Tai Hang Fire Dragon DanceTuesday 14 September to Thursday 16 September 2027A 67-metre dragon of burning incense, carried through the back streets at Mid-Autumn
- Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong KongWednesday 15 September to Thursday 16 September 2027A night of lanterns, mooncakes and family walks under the full moon
Seasonal Guides
Browse Every Month
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to visit Hong Kong?
October to December, and November above all. That stretch has the lowest humidity and the least cloud of the year, with five to eight wet days a month. Lunar New Year is the best time for spectacle rather than comfort.
When is typhoon season in Hong Kong?
Tropical cyclones can reach Hong Kong from May to November, and the warning signals are up most often from July to September. Over 1991–2020 any signal averaged about sixteen days a year, while No. 8, the one that shuts the city, averaged 2.4.
What is the rainiest month in Hong Kong?
June, with an average of 492mm and about nineteen wet days. August is close behind at 453mm. December is the driest month at 29mm. About 80% of the yearly rain falls between May and September.
Is Lunar New Year a good time to visit Hong Kong?
For the spectacle, yes: flower markets, a night parade and harbour fireworks, by custom over the first days. For shopping and small restaurants, no, as family businesses close for several days. In 2027 the public holidays are 6, 8 and 9 February.
When is Hong Kong most humid?
April and May, at an average of 83%, and humidity stays above 80% through August. The driest air is in December, at 70%. A humid 26°C in April can feel harder on a hill path than a dry 28°C in October.
What is the cheapest time to visit Hong Kong?
Usually August, and summer in general, when the weather keeps visitors away and hotels cut rates. Mid-January is the cheapest time with dependable weather. Hotels add a 3% tax and usually a 10% service charge at any time of year.
What is the worst time to visit Hong Kong?
August, for the odds of a storm rather than for the rain alone. June is wetter, but August carries the most typhoon-signal days of the year, at about four, the most No. 8 days, at 0.8, and the most thunderstorms, on about nine days. It also has 453mm of rain, at 31°C with humidity of 81%. Any one storm can close ferries, stop boat trips and cancel flights.
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