Santa’s trip “starts” from the North Pole, but most modern Santa trackers show his first stops around the International Date Line in the Pacific, usually the South Pacific islands, then New Zealand and Australia. In other words, the very first kids he visits are generally in that South Pacific region because their time zones hit Christmas Eve night before the rest of the world.

How Santa’s route usually begins

  • Santa is said to take off from the North Pole before Christmas Eve reaches the earliest time zones on Earth.
  • From there, official trackers say he heads to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and starts delivering in the South Pacific.

First places Santa visits

Most tracking sites and news reports describe this order:

  1. South Pacific islands (around the International Date Line).
  2. New Zealand.
  3. Australia.
  4. Then on through parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, and finally the Americas as the night reaches each region.

These early stops line up with where midnight on Christmas Eve arrives first on the globe.

Does Santa always follow the same path?

  • Trackers say Santa “usually” follows this route, but that his exact path can change and is a bit mysterious.
  • One constant in the stories: he only arrives at each home once the children there are asleep.

So if you’re watching a tracker: look to the South Pacific, then New Zealand and Australia to see where Santa goes first.

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Wondering where Santa goes first on Christmas Eve? Learn how Santa’s route typically starts in the South Pacific near the International Date Line, then moves to New Zealand, Australia, and beyond.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.