We are planning a 3 week trip to Australia (Sidney, GBR, Brisbaine, etc) and plan to go either next February or April. Which is a better time regarding the weather?
Ann

February is of course the height of summer here in Australia. You will experience severe humidity in Brisbane, although this will be lesser (but by no means non-existent)in Sydney. The further north you go the more humid it will be and as northern Australia is subtropical you will probably get quite a bit of rain on the GBR.

April however is Autumn. No more humidity and certainly Brisbane and Sydney experiences quite nice weather in Autumn (this April in Sydney was quite lovely). The nights are cooler but the days are often sunny and bright. Of course daylight savings is finished, but you wouldn't get the benefit of the longer daylight hours in Queensland anyway.

I would vote April rather than hot and humid February.

Hi, akclub1!

Daneille is exactly right. April is the very nicest month of the year in Sydney, and, while it is always hot in the tropics, the rains of February should have left the reef by April. Brisbane is also too warm for comfort in February. Definitely choose April.

akclub 1 - I'd usually agree with the above comments about April being a better month for GBR than February - NOT this year. There were intermittent tropical downpours in February, but due to a long-awaited wet season it rained every single day in April, with windy conditions on GBR. Who knows if this is a pattern for the future; the old-time locals are saying weather is returning to its normal cycle.

Thanks for the advice, we are lucky enough to have enough airline miles for 4 tickets from Alaska to Australia so the reservations the airline was holding for us in February we have changed to April due to your advice. Thanks again, this is a major trip for my husband and I, and our 2 children. If you have any more advice for us that would be great. Also a friend recommended Brampton Island as a good family friendly resort in the GBR. Any thoughts on this place would be great.

These days Brampton considers itself a "adult escape" destination - kids are better catered for at nearby Daydream Island.

Sorry to butt in, but I had previously done some research and decided April would be a good month to visit Australia. Pat's comments about the rain and other recent trip reports have me rethinking this. I am planning on visiting Sydney, Uluru and the GBR. One of my main goals is to snorkel/dive on the reef. So while I would like the best all around weather, I am most concerned about good weather for visiting GBR. I am leaning towards Lizard Island as the best spot for these activities.
Given all that, would Pat and others familiar with the area and weather still say April/May would be a good time for this?
(I realize no one can predict the future, but since I will have limited time in the area, I won't have the luxury of waiting out a couple days rain. Also, I am trying to use frequent flier miles to get there, which means reserving 330 days in advance. I was planning on the last week in April and first week in May '05, so need to decide this week if that is the best time period. I had also thought about October. Would I have any better luck then?)
By the way...another thing to factor in... I live in Florida, so heat and humidity are a way of life. Around here, while northerners flock to the beach in the winter, I find it a little too chilly for my tastes. Ideal weather for me would be air temps in the mid to upper 80's F (sorry, don't know what that converts to in celcius), water temps in the 70's, sunshine and good underwater visibility. (I know, trying to be too picky, but that is my ideal)
Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks for the help.

Hi Kevin - I know it's a long wait but I would go for October if I had the choice. It's nearly always a glorious month for weather in the north - after the prevailing SE trade winds of our "winter" and before the real humidity of summer sets in. Having said that, today is perfect - midday temperature is 84F (cooler at night), barely a cloud in the sky and light breeze. It rained nearly every day this past April which is unusual - this was due to a very late and protracted "wet" season - great for the farmers but not so good for the tourist - two of our guests missed out on their Lizard Island day trip because of the weather. Then again the two Aprils before that were fine.

akaclub: We took our kids (then 17,14 and 11) to Brampton Island for 5 nights in July 2002. The "adult escape" image in the island's marketing did concern me, but as it turned out we all had a wonderful time. There were a several other kids their age at the resort - they spent a lot of time in the water - swimming, sailing, jet boating, jumping off the giant "inner tube", playing tennis, golf, pool, etc. My wife and I loved Brampton for the hikes around the island and up to the lookout at its highest point. There are beautiful secluded beaches and magnificent views across to the mainland and to other islands in the Whitsunday chain. The only disappointment was the snorkeling, at least on the side of the island the resort is on. Nothing to compare to the outer reef or a true reef island. The July weather was spectacular most of the time (70s and low 80s probably), though we did get some strong southerlies on a few afternoons. Made for some good sailing, however. April should be great.