When to go · Sydney
Sydney in December
Mixed month. Peak prices, New Year's Eve closures around the harbour.
Key facts
- Verdict
- Mixed
- Crowds
- High
- Australia overall
- Prices
- High
- Australia overall
Verdict
Peak prices, New Year's Eve closures around the harbour.
Weather in December
- South-east coast, Australia · Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaidebest weather
Summer is beach season and school-holiday peak; Melbourne swings between cool and 40 °C in a day. Winter is mild and sunny in Sydney, grey and cool in Melbourne.
Festivals and holidays
Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.
New Year's Eve
Dec 31
Harbour foreshores close to walk-ups; transport is crowded and hotels sell out.
New Year big impact
31 Dec – 1 Jan · Australia
Sydney Harbour fireworks: vantage points ticketed or claimed from morning; beds book out months ahead.
Summer school holidays big impact
Mid-Dec to late Jan · Australia
Coast, campsites, ferries and Tasmania fill; prices peak.
Christmas and Boxing Day big impact
25–26 December · Australia
Shops closed on Christmas Day; Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the Sydney–Hobart yacht race start.
Crowds and prices
- Crowds · Australia overall
- High
- Prices · Australia overall
- High
Australia overall: Summer holidays begin; bushfire risk and heatwaves in the south, wet season in the north; book everything early.
High-price month: see what to book ahead.
What to pack
Nothing unusual for the weather this month.