North Island New Zealand Weather in March

Average Temperatures in the North Island in March

Overall, average temperatures in the North Island for March are mild and warm, without being too hot. Perfect for getting out and about!

Generally speaking, temperatures are warm across the entire North Island throughout the whole month of March. Daytime highs well over 20°C (68°F) are the norm across February for most of the North Island, while in some places nightly lows start to dip below 10°C (50°F), especially towards the end of the month.

If you want to know exactly what to expect in the areas you plan to visit, here’s a rundown of the average March temperatures in the North Island’s main cities and regions:

Average Sunshine Hours Per day in the North Island in March

The summer sun is still out in full force for much of the North Island throughout March. Depending where you plan to go, you can look forward to around 6 or 7 average sunshine hours per day. Also, with March’s relatively long daylight hours, the nice days also stretch long into the evening!

Average rainfall in the North Island in March

March can bring patches of rain to the North Island – particularly in the subtropical far north. Still, other areas like the Hawke’s Bay and Taupo are relatively dry, and overall there aren’t too many wet days to worry about having your North Island holiday interrupted!

Best Things to do in the North Island in March 

Get cultural in the city 

With festival organisers making the most of the long evenings, sunny days and warm temperatures, March is a fantastic month for culture vultures and festival lovers visiting New Zealand. New Zealand’s two premier art festivals – the Auckland Arts Festival and the New Zealand Festival of Arts (in Wellington) – take place, as well as the renowned NZ Fringe Festival (Wellington), WOMAD festival (New Plymouth), and the food-art-design fusion of Auckland Indulge Festival.

Go bird-watching or wine-tasting in Hawke’s Bay

Hawke’s Bay can make a rather unique claim: being home to both a world-class wine industry AND the world’s largest mainland gannet colony – and March is a perfect time to visit both of them. With the grape harvest season in full swing and warm, sunny days still the norm, March is an ideal time for tasting vintages (both new and old) around Hawke’s Bay wineries. At Cape Kidnappers, half an hour south of Napier and east of Hastings, young chicks at the world’s largest gannet colony are nearly ready to take their first flight off stunning, sandstone cliffs in April, meaning you get to witness some thrilling (and occasionally funny) early attempts at take-off!

Get a taste of the Bay of Plenty

There’s a good reason why early European explorers gave this region its name – nature’s bounty is abundant here, and there is plenty of amazing food coming from the region as a result. The best time to get a taste of it is from late March to early April, when the Plenty of Flavours Festival takes place. From the ​​kūmara gardens of the Bay of Plenty’s strong indigenous Māori populations to a world-leading kiwifruit industry and bountiful seafood, you’re bound to find plenty to tickle your tastebuds.

Like the sound of a North Island holiday in March? Take a look at the different North Island tour packages and self-drive itinerary options provided by First Light Travel. 

Contact FLT’s travel advisers directly, online, to customise your own version. If you still have questions, the many articles on FLT’s dedicated New Zealand travel blog could help to answer them.

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