What's on in Lord Howe Island, Australia through the year

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Summer holidays and Easter

• Rule

  Four hundred visitors at a time

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  The island caps beds at four hundred visitors, so the flights and the lodges are effectively the same booking. Christmas and the Easter fortnight go a year out; nothing is decided last minute here. Source ↗

Still on: Seabird nesting season (1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually)), Summer holidays and Easter (18 Dec – 27 Jan (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Seabird nesting season (1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Nature

  Providence petrels

  1 Mar – 31 Oct · usuallyBirdlife season

  The petrels nest on the mountains through the cool months and will drop out of the sky onto the ridge when you call to them, most reliably from March to May. They breed nowhere else.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Seabird nesting season (1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Autumn / Easter break in Australia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Providence petrels (1 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)), Seabird nesting season (1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Providence petrels (1 Mar – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Winter (July) break in Australia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Winter, half the island shut

  1 Jun – 31 AugOff-season shutdownClosures

  Lodges and restaurants take their own break through the coldest months and some close outright; the diving drops off with the water temperature and the birds on the mountain take over.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Providence petrels (1 Mar – 31 Oct (usually))

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Winter (July) break in Australia

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Providence petrels (1 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)), Winter, half the island shut (1 Jun – 31 Aug)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Providence petrels (1 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)), Winter, half the island shut (1 Jun – 31 Aug)

Busy — Spring break in Australia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Seabird nesting season

  1 Sep – 15 Apr · usuallyBirdlife season

  Sooty terns, noddies and tropicbirds come back to nest from spring, some of them on the ground beside the road. It is loud, it smells, and it is why the island is on the heritage list.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Providence petrels (1 Mar – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Spring break in Australia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Providence petrels (1 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)), Seabird nesting season (1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Seabird nesting season (1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Summer holidays and Easter, Summer holidays in Australia

• Holiday

  Summer holidays and Easter

  18 Dec – 27 Jan · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  The cap means the island never feels crowded, but the summer and Easter weeks are the ones that sell out first and cost the most. Repeat guests rebook before they leave. Source ↗

Still on: Four hundred visitors at a time (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Seabird nesting season (1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually))