What's on in Raglan, New Zealand through the year

Peak crowds — Soundsplash, Summer holiday peak

• Festival

  Soundsplash

  15–25 Jan · usuallyMusic festivalCrowdedBook early

  An all-ages music festival that grew out of an eco-reggae gathering in 2001, held over two days and nights at Wainui Reserve with camping on site. The town's summer beds are gone well before it. Source ↗

Still on: Ngarunui Beach rips (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)), Summer holiday peak (20 Dec – 31 Jan (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ngarunui Beach rips (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Season

  Southern winter swell

  1 Mar – 30 Sep · usuallySurf season

  The long lefts from Indicators to Manu Bay and Whale Bay connect on the autumn and winter groundswells, with lighter winds and far fewer people in the water than in summer. Bring a thick wetsuit. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Easter long weekend

  3–6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays, and on Good Friday and Easter Sunday most shops must stay shut unless local rules or a tourist-area exemption let them open. New Zealanders make it a long weekend away, so motels, holiday parks and campsites fill. Source ↗

Still on: Ngarunui Beach rips (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Easter long weekend, Anzac Day

• Holiday

  Anzac Day

  25–27 AprNational holidayClosures

  25 April remembers those who served in war. Dawn services are held at memorials in towns across the country, and by law most shops stay closed until 1 pm. When it falls on a weekend the public holiday moves to the Monday. Source ↗

Still on: Southern winter swell (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually)), Easter long weekend (3–6 Apr)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Southern winter swell (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Southern winter swell (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Term 2 (July) break in New Zealand, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Southern winter swell (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually))

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: Southern winter swell (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Term 3 (Sept/Oct) break in New Zealand, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Southern winter swell (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Term 3 (Sept/Oct) break in New Zealand, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Raglan Arts Weekend

  24–26 OctArts festival

  Over Labour Weekend dozens of local artists open their studios on a self-guided trail around town and out along the coast. It is also the weekend the surf club starts patrolling the beach again. Source ↗

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Peak crowds — Summer holiday peak, Christmas Day closures

• Hazard

  Ngarunui Beach rips

  1 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallyRip currents & big surf

  Raglan's surf club carries out more rescues than any other in New Zealand, most of them at Ngarunui, where rips and holes catch swimmers outside the flags. Lifeguards patrol weekends and holidays from Labour Weekend to Easter. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Summer holiday peak

  20 Dec – 31 Jan · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Accommodation demand peaks from mid-December through January, when holiday parks and baches fill with Waikato and Auckland families. Manu Bay's line-up gets crowded even on small days. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Christmas Day closures

  25–26 DecChristmas & New YearClosures

  Christmas Day is one of the few days most shops must close by law, and many cafes, restaurants and tours shut too. Boxing Day is a public holiday as well, when shops reopen for the sales and the roads fill with families heading off on summer holiday. Source ↗