Gold Coast weather by month & the best time to visit
🇦🇺 Australia · coastal city break · tropical — wet & dry seasons climate
The best time to visit Gold Coast is September — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 89/100), with July and August close behind. Gold Coast averages about 2,742 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 21°C / 70°F and roughly 34 mm of rain in September.
Jump to: month-by-month table · sea temperature · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 2,742
- Sunniest month
- September
- Peak score
- 89/100
- Rain / year
- 1,173 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 11 (extreme)
- Sea at warmest
- 26°C / 79°F
- Population
- 641k
- Elevation
- 5 m
When is the best time to visit Gold Coast?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Gold Coast is September, then July and August. The dullest month is January (68/100, 153 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Gold Coast?
Gold Coast gets a lot of sun: around 2,742 hours a year. September (89/100) is noticeably better than January (68). It ranks #87 of 118 destinations in Australia for annual sunshine, below the national median of 3,071 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around February, carries about 40% of the annual 1,173 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68 | 26° / 79°F | 24° / 75°F | 153 mm | 11 | 25° / 77°F |
| February | 68 | 26° / 79°F | 25° / 77°F | 161 mm | 11 | 26° / 79°F |
| March | 68 | 26° / 79°F | 24° / 75°F | 160 mm | 9 | 26° / 79°F |
| April | 79 | 24° / 75°F | 23° / 73°F | 90 mm | 7 | 25° / 77°F |
| May | 82 | 22° / 72°F | 20° / 68°F | 74 mm | 4 | 23° / 73°F |
| June | 77 | 21° / 70°F | 19° / 66°F | 100 mm | 3 | 21° / 70°F |
| July | 88 | 20° / 68°F | 17° / 63°F | 41 mm | 4 | 21° / 70°F |
| August | 86 | 20° / 68°F | 18° / 64°F | 49 mm | 5 | 21° / 70°F |
| September | 89 | 21° / 70°F | 19° / 66°F | 34 mm | 7 | 21° / 70°F |
| October | 80 | 23° / 73°F | 20° / 68°F | 83 mm | 8 | 22° / 72°F |
| November | 79 | 24° / 75°F | 22° / 72°F | 90 mm | 10 | 23° / 73°F |
| December | 70 | 25° / 77°F | 23° / 73°F | 138 mm | 10 | 24° / 75°F |
Sea temperature in Gold Coast by month
The sea off Gold Coast is warmest in February at around 26°C / 79°F, and coolest in June at 21°C / 70°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly all year round. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Gold Coast on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Ballina Australia · 74 km · best in Sep · 2,742 h sun/yr
- Brisbane Australia · 95 km · best in Jul · 2,861 h sun/yr
- Sunshine Coast Australia · 180 km · best in Jul · 2,956 h sun/yr
- Newcastle Australia · 539 km · best in Sep · 2,691 h sun/yr
- Rockhampton Australia · 613 km · best in Aug · 3,135 h sun/yr
- Sydney (Mascot) Australia · 680 km · best in Sep · 2,606 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Lismore Australia · 78 km · 2,742 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Toowoomba Australia · 181 km · 3,195 h sun/yr · best in Apr
- Coffs Harbour Australia · 243 km · 2,804 h sun/yr · best in Sep
Head-to-head
How Gold Coast compares month by month: Gold Coast vs Brisbane · Gold Coast vs Sunshine Coast · Gold Coast vs Ballina · all comparisons
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