📍Best Time To Visit Ipswich, QLD From A Long-Time Local. (2024.)

WANT LOCAL KNOWLEDGE ON THE BEST TIME TO VISIT IPSWICH, QUEENSLAND?

Ipswich is a gorgeous heritage city that seamlessly blends old-world nostalgia, urban modernity and quaint country charm 40km from Queensland’s vibrant capital, Brisbane, and 80km from the glittering Gold Coast in the state’s beautiful South East.

With plenty of fantastic attractions, unique experiences, stunning outdoor spaces and an exciting calendar of events and festivals throughout the year, it is well worth visiting for a day trip, weekend adventure or as a road trip pit stop, but when is the best time to visit Ipswich?

From the different seasons and changing climates, to what events are on and what days to avoid, here is a comprehensive look at the best time of year to plan a trip to this beautiful destination.

Ipswich’s climate is considered subtropical oceanic. It typically has very hot summers with storms often developing in the mid-afternoon and evenings with heavy rainfall and lightning sweeping through. Meanwhile, winters are usually mild, and dry, with the early morning and night being cold.

Summer.
December-February.

Starting with summer, the season and even late spring generally experience hot days with temperatures averaging in the low 30s (Celius). It’s not uncommon for it to occasionally reach above 35.  These temperatures are sometimes uncomfortable, even for locals who’ve lived with this weather for many years as I have, even if you are indoors without air conditioning. It’s even humid after dark, making it hard to sleep.

However, what people enjoy about it is that it’s perfect swimming weather, and for staying out later thanks to the warm nights and my favourite thing, to sit outside and watch the frequent summer storms lighting up the sky.

Autumn.
March-May.

Autumn is a great time to visit Ipswich as the weather starts to cool down, but it’s not quite cold enough to warrant needing heavier clothes. It’s more comfortable in general, and the weather is perfect for being outdoors for picnicking, hiking, biking, picnicking, swimming and boating, Nights are still pleasant making going to restaurants, bars and the Tivoli Drive-In fun and not freezing.

Winter.
June-August.

Winter in Ipswich is generally mild. The days are usually pleasant, but the nights are colder with early mornings chilly.

Still, it’s much warmer than many other parts of Australia. Many people from the southern states come to Queensland because the winters are too uncomfortably cold down there.

Spring.
September-November.

Spring is one of the best times to visit Ipswich because it’s not quite as searingly hot as summer, and the storms aren’t as frequent either. It’s warm enough to go swimming, but not so much that it feels like all you want to do is swim, and, as the season progresses, the weather is pleasant enough to stay out late into the night.

Additionally, flowers are coming into bloom with Jacaranda trees making the scenery look particularly beautiful with their purple blossoms. Plus, it’s also when baby animals begin arriving on the scene, which always makes this season such a magical time. Except there’s an important thing to note about springtime all across Australia that makes it the most hellish time of year.

Magpies! The infamous magpies. These ordinarily docile creatures become horrifying fiends when spring comes around. Understandably, their instincts kick in, and they want to protect their young. But it does mean heading outside can be a dangerous endeavour as magpie parents swoop at anyone or anything they deem a threat to their babies. I generally try to steer clear of parks and anywhere with an abundance of trees, particularly during September when they are most active to avoid risking attack. By mid-October, they are usually back to being their sweet selves, but a few may still be out to get you.

When figuring out the best time to go to Ipswich, one thing not to overlook is holidays and events because they may impact your trip in various ways, such as but not limited to increased accommodation prices, less activity availability, locations getting more crowded, and roads being more congested, so unless you can only travel to the heritage city during a particular timeframe or are coming specifically for an event, here are the top occasions to avoid.

➡️ School Holidays.

When the school holidays are on, that is the number one time to avoid. While Ipswich doesn’t get a huge influx of families travelling making the most of bonding with their kids during their breaks as nearby cities, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, it can still impact a holiday here. Queensland has four sets of school holidays.

The longest is the summer break which extends from December to January and incorporates Christmas and New Year. The starting date varies depending on whether the kids are in primary or high school and lasts, on average, six weeks long and usually concludes after Australia Day or the Australia Day long weekend.

Easter is essentially the Autumn Break and changes depending on when the religious occasion falls, with the remaining days of the holidays either starting or ending with the Easter long weekend. They are also the shortest of the school holidays at just ten days long.

The winter holidays spands across two weeks and three weekends and straddle the months of June and July.

Lastly is the September holidays or spring break. Like the winter holidays, it also takes place over two weeks and three weekends and typically commences during the second half of September and concludes in October.

➡️ Public Holidays.

There are many annual public holidays also to consider when planning a trip to Ipswich. The most notable are Christmas (25 December), Good Friday, Easter Sunday (both change yearly) and Anzac Day (25 April).

While Christmas and Easter have many magical events celebrating Jesus‘ birth and paying tribute to his death leading up to the day, and Anzac Day has poignant ceremonies held all across Australia and New Zealand to commemorate all those who served in the armed forces, many attractions and tour operators do not open or operate on these significant holidays. However, with Anzac Day, it’s often only half a day where they don’t conduct their typical activities.

There’s also New Year’s Day (1 January), Australia Day (26 January), Labour Day (1 May), the King’s Birthday (changes yearly) and Boxing Day (26 December). On all these holidays, some businesses remain open but may operate on reduced hours or have surcharges, particularly restaurants.

➡️ Annual Events.

Ipswich host many annual events, but only a few of them would affect holidaymakers who aren’t visiting the city for that reason.

CMC Rocks is Australia’s largest Country Music Festival. It’s held at Willbowbank Raceway and takes over 3 days in March. Because it’s on the outskirts of the urban areas, there are no traffic problems. However, if you are travelling along the Cunningham Highway near the venue, you could experience significant delays. Luckily there are a few roads you can take to avoid it.

Ipswich Spark is a great reason to come to the city. The 11-day festival happens in July across the CBD with has music, performances, activities, and light projections. But it may make street parking close to the attractions more difficult. However, there’s plenty of parking underneath the mall.

Christmas Time also has festivities in the Central Business District and throughout smaller communities across the region, but they aren’t usually too impactful to tourists for most events.

➡️ Orion Lagoon.

➡️ Colleges Crossing.

Month.	Weather.	School Holidays.	Public Holidays.	Annual Events.
January.	Very hot & humid. Frequent storms.	Most of the month.	New Year’s Day. Australia Day.	Australia Day. (Typically on the date or weekend before)
February.	The hottest month. Frequent storms.	No	–
March.	Hot but a lot more pleasant. (Second half is ideal for me.)	Dependant on Easter Weekend.	Sometimes Easter.	CMC Rocks.
April.	Still a nice temperature for swimming.	Dependant on Easter Weekend.	Sometimes Easter. Anzac Day.	Anzac Day Ceremonies. (24 April)
May.	Starting to get cold.	No.	–	Planes, Trains & Autos.
June.	Cold.	Late June- Early July	–	–
July.	Coldest.	Late June – Early July.	–	Ipswich Spark.
August.	Cold.	No.	–	–
September.	Warming up. Watch out for magpies!	The second half of September.	–	Galvanized.
October.	Nice temperature. Occasional storms.	Sometimes at the beginning.	Kings Birthday.
November.	Getting hot. More frequent storms.	No.	–	Schoolies. (Late Nov-Early Dec.)
December.	Very Hot! Frequent storms.	Most of the month.	Christmas Day. Boxing Day.	Christmas Events.

The best time to visit Ipswich, QLD is mid-October to mid-November when the weather is warm for outdoor activities, pleasant in the evening for nights out and when all the plants are blooming and baby animals are being born.

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