Things to Do in Albany in December
December weather, activities, events & insider tips
Shoulder Season · Good Value
December Weather in Albany
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
23°C (73°F)
High Temp
13°C (55°F)
Low Temp
20 mm (0.8 inches)
Rainfall
65%
Humidity
⚠ Expect extreme summer UV. The index reaches about 11 in December. Unprotected skin can burn within 15 minutes in the middle of the day.
⚠ Strong afternoon sea breezes, the Albany Doctor, can make harbour cruises and exposed clifftop walks rough and chilly from early afternoon.
⚠ Cold water and rip currents lurk at unpatrolled beaches around Two Peoples Bay and the south coast. Swim between the flags at patrolled Middleton Beach where possible.
⚠ Monitor summer bushfire risk in the surrounding bushland and national parks. Check the day's fire danger rating before inland walks in the Porongurup or Stirling Range.
Is December Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + December flips the switch to summer in Albany, Western Australia. Long days stretch until sunset near 8pm. Warm, dry afternoons hover around 23°C (73°F). Low Southern Ocean light makes the white quartz sand at Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay glow. The turquoise water looks almost luminous.
- + School holidays do not hit until the week before Christmas. The first two to three weeks of December deliver real summer weather at Middleton Beach and The Gap. You dodge the late-month holiday crush.
- + The coast shines. Calm-ish mornings invite swims off Emu Point. Granite-fringed coves around Misery Beach offer clear water. Misery Beach was voted Australia's best beach in 2022. Sun-warmed rock lines the clifftop walks in Torndirrup National Park out at The Gap and Natural Bridge.
- + This is the road-trip sweet spot. The 50 km (31 mile) run west to Denmark's Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks feels easy. The drive north to the Porongurup and Stirling Range develops under mild, dry skies. Granite domes and karri forest reward the wheel time.
Considerations
- − The wind is real. Albany sits squarely in the path of the Southern Ocean afternoon sea breeze. Locals call it the Albany Doctor. Exposed beaches and clifftops can turn blustery and noticeably cooler from about 2pm. The comfortably warm window is often a morning affair.
- − The water stays cold. Air sits at 23°C (73°F). The Southern Ocean rarely climbs past roughly 19-20°C (66-68°F) in December. Swims at Little Beach and Misery Beach are bracing, gasp-and-grin dips. Forget long lazy floats.
- − The stretch from the week before Christmas through New Year is the busiest and priciest of the whole year. Accommodation around Middleton Beach and Emu Point books out well ahead. Rates climb. The drive in from Perth, about 415 km (258 miles), close to 4.5 hours, shares the road with holiday traffic.
Year-Round Climate
How December compares to the rest of the year
| Month | High | Low | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | -7 | 0.1 inches |
| Feb | 4 | -6 | 0.1 inches |
| Mar | 8 | -2 | 0.1 inches |
| Apr | 14 | 3 | 0.2 inches |
| May | 21 | 10 | 0.1 inches |
| Jun | 26 | 15 | 0.1 inches |
| Jul | 29 | 18 | 0.2 inches |
| Aug | 28 | 17 | 0.1 inches |
| Sep | 24 | 14 | 0.1 inches |
| Oct | 17 | 8 | 0.1 inches |
| Nov | 9 | 1 | 0.1 inches |
| Dec | 4 | -3 | 0.1 inches |
Best Activities in December
Top things to do during your visit
Torndirrup National Park coastal walks (The Gap and Natural Bridge)
December's dry, clear mornings are the time to walk the granite headlands of Torndirrup. It's a short drive across the harbour from central Albany. The steel viewing platform at The Gap juts out over a 40 m (130 ft) drop. The Southern Ocean booms into the rock. You feel the spray and the thud through the deck on a swelly day. Go early. The surface heats fast under the summer sun. The Albany Doctor sea breeze stiffens by mid-afternoon. An easy stroll can turn into a buffeting one.
Booking Tip: This is a self-drive, free-entry national park. It is not a ticketed tour. Several Albany-based operators run half-day coastal sightseeing trips that fold in The Gap, the Blowholes and Salmon Holes. Book 5-7 days ahead in December. Look for licensed operators with their own transport. You skip the parking pinch during school holidays. See current options in the booking section below.
South coast beach day (Little Beach, Misery Beach, Middleton Beach)
December is when Albany's beaches earn their reputation. Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay is the postcard. Squeaky white sand, granite boulders, water in a blue you'll struggle to photograph honestly. Middleton Beach, walkable from town, is the easy patrolled option. A café strip sits behind the dunes. The catch every first-timer learns the hard way: that gorgeous water is cold. Plan swims for late morning. The air is warmest then. The wind is still soft.
Booking Tip: No booking needed for the beaches themselves. In the Christmas-to-New-Year window the small car parks at Little Beach and Misery Beach fill by mid-morning. Arrive before 10am. For guided wildlife-and-beach tours into the Two Peoples Bay reserve, book 7-10 days ahead. Use operators who hold national park access permits. See current tours in the booking section below.
National Anzac Centre and Mount Clarence
Albany was the last Australian port the WWI troopship convoys saw before sailing in 1914. The National Anzac Centre on Mount Clarence tells that story with real heft. Interactive personal histories fill the galleries. Windows frame the same King George Sound the soldiers watched recede. December's warm, bright weather makes the walk up through the Princess Royal Fortress grounds and out to the Padre White Lookout pleasant. The whole Sound and the wind farm turbines turning on the far headland lie below. It's the indoor-and-outdoor backup when an afternoon sea breeze chases you off the beach.
Booking Tip: Allow two to three hours. Tickets are sold at the door. In peak summer weeks an advance online time slot saves you a queue. Pair it with the adjacent Princess Royal Fortress, which is free. See current guided history and town tours in the booking section below.
Great Southern wine region day trip (Porongurup and Mount Barker)
Forty-five minutes north of Albany the country opens into the Great Southern. It is one of Australia's coolest-climate wine regions. Think crisp Riesling and structured Pinot Noir rather than anything jammy. December's warm, settled days are good for the drive out to the Porongurup range. Cellar doors sit among karri trees. The granite Castle Rock skywalk gives you the valley in one sweep. The dry summer air keeps the unsealed approach roads firm. The views stay sharp.
Booking Tip: If you want to taste rather than just drive, book a small-group tour 10-14 days ahead. Someone else takes the wheel. Look for operators that are licensed and insured for the regional roads. Self-drivers should call cellar doors' opening days in advance. Some scale back midweek. See current wine-region tours in the booking section below.
Denmark and the Valley of the Giants day trip
The 50 km (31 mile) coast road west to Denmark is the day trip locals send visitors on. Greens Pool is a sheltered lagoon. Granite boulders break the Southern Ocean swell into something even cold-water-shy swimmers will brave in December's warmth. The Elephant Rocks cove next door is all smooth grey boulders and clear shallows. Push another 45 minutes to the Valley of the Giants near Walpole. The Tree Top Walk lifts you 40 m (130 ft) into the canopy of red tingle trees. They grow nowhere else on earth. The steel walkway sways gently. It smells of warm eucalyptus.
Booking Tip: Self-drive works in one long day. Leave Albany by 8am to dodge heat and holiday traffic. Guided day tours that pair Denmark beaches with the Tree Top Walk need booking 10-14 days ahead in December. Check current choices in the booking section below.
Where to Stay in Albany in December
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for December travellers.
December Events & Festivals
What's happening during your visit
Late December (December 31)
Albany New Year's Eve fireworks (Princess Royal Harbour foreshore)
Albany greets the new year with fireworks over Princess Royal Harbour. Families spread along the town foreshore and the Anzac Peace Park lawns all evening. Arrive before dusk to secure a grassy patch with clear water views. Bring a windproof layer. The harbour breeze sharpens after sunset. The small centre stays lively yet easygoing, never chaotic.
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Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
Schedule exposed-coast activities for the morning. Albany's afternoon sea breeze, the Albany Doctor, reliably builds from early afternoon in December. The calm warm window for The Gap, Salmon Holes and clifftop walks ends around 1pm.
Do not skip Misery Beach despite the gloomy name. It was voted Australia's best beach in 2022. In December its sheltered cove and white sand rank among the Southern Ocean coast's finest.
Book accommodation before the Christmas school-holiday increase. Rooms around Middleton Beach and Emu Point stay calm and reasonably priced in early December. Availability tightens fast from roughly mid-month. Lock in two to three weeks ahead if travelling over the holidays.
Treat Albany as a two-to-three-day base, not a day stop. Squeezing The Gap, the National Anzac Centre, the beaches and a Denmark or Porongurup run into one day piles on driving and steals salt-and-sand time. That is the whole point of coming this far south.
Avoid These Mistakes
Do not underestimate the wind and the cold water. Visitors expecting tropical, all-day swimming meet a brisk Southern Ocean and a stiff afternoon breeze instead.
Avoid trying to see Albany, Denmark and the Stirling Range in a single day. That turns a relaxed coastal break into a four-or-five-hour driving marathon.
Never leave accommodation unbooked over the Christmas-to-New-Year week. Albany's limited beachside rooms sell out fast and prices climb.
Book Experiences in Albany
Top-rated things to do in Albany this December
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