Australia in January

January is Australia's weakest month (rank 12 of 12): its 31 destinations average 68/100, led by Hobart at 96 — 23°C and 5 rainy days — while Kakadu is warmer at 40°C and scores 35.

#12 of 12 months for Australia · 31 destinations · updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

🇦🇺 Australia, month by month

68/100 in January

Where in Australia in January

#	Place	Type	Feels-like high	Rain	Comfort	At its best
1	Hobart	City	23°C	36 mm · 5 days	96 tier S	Yes
2	Launceston	City	26°C	47 mm · 4 days	93 tier S	Yes
3	Cradle Mountain	National park	17°C	89 mm · 10 days	92 tier S	Yes
4	Exmouth	Beach	35°C	11 mm · 1 day	91 tier S	—
5	Margaret River	Beach	27°C	23 mm · 3 days	90 tier S	Yes
6	Lord Howe Island	Island	28°C	60 mm · 8 days	89 tier A	Yes
7	Hervey Bay	Beach	34°C	96 mm · 8 days	88 tier A	—
8	Kangaroo Island	Island	26°C	21 mm · 3 days	88 tier A	Yes
9	Byron Bay	Beach	33°C	129 mm · 11 days	86 tier A	Yes
10	Melbourne	City	28°C	66 mm · 6 days	86 tier A	—
11	Adelaide	City	30°C	26 mm · 3 days	85 tier A	—
12	Canberra	City	30°C	58 mm · 5 days	85 tier A	—
13	Gold Coast	Beach	33°C	141 mm · 10 days	85 tier A	—
14	Noosa	Beach	32°C	166 mm · 10 days	85 tier A	—
15	Wollongong	Beach	27°C	105 mm · 11 days	85 tier A	Yes
16	Perth	City	31°C	23 mm · 2 days	82 tier A	—
17	Sydney	City	27°C	126 mm · 10 days	82 tier A	—
18	Katoomba	Trekking hub	26°C	162 mm · 17 days	79 tier B	—
19	Airlie Beach	Beach	34°C	283 mm · 12 days	75 tier B	—
20	Broome	Beach	39°C	337 mm · 11 days	70 tier B	—
21	Brisbane	City	34°C	130 mm · 9 days	68 tier C	—
22	Cairns	Beach	37°C	424 mm · 24 days	60 tier C	—
23	Port Douglas	Beach	39°C	461 mm · 19 days	59 tier D	—
24	Alice Springs	City	37°C	55 mm · 5 days	55 tier D	—
25	Darwin	City	39°C	467 mm · 20 days	40 tier F	—
26	Uluru	National park	35°C	39 mm · 4 days	39 tier F	—
27	Kakadu	National park	40°C	360 mm · 19 days	35 tier F	—
28	Falls Creek	Ski resort	20°C	146 mm · 10 days	12 tier F	—
29	Mount Buller	Ski resort	18°C	113 mm · 8 days	12 tier F	—
30	Perisher Valley	Ski resort	19°C	187 mm · 13 days	12 tier F	—
31	Thredbo	Ski resort	19°C	162 mm · 10 days	12 tier F	—

Comfort is SeasonMap's 0–100 score; each place is judged through the lens that suits it — beaches on beach weather, ski resorts on snow. "At its best" means January is one of that place's own top three months. Feels-like highs fold in humidity, wind and sun.

What's on in Australia in January

Australia Day · Hobart and 7 more places · 26 Jan
Sydney to Hobart finish · Hobart · 26 Dec – 3 Jan
Tasmanian summer holidays · Cradle Mountain · 18 Dec – 1 Feb (usually)
Turtle nesting and hatching · Exmouth · 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)
Western Australian summer holidays · Margaret River · 17 Dec – 31 Jan (usually)
Seabird nesting season · Lord Howe Island · 1 Sep – 15 Apr (usually)
Summer holidays and Easter · Lord Howe Island · 18 Dec – 27 Jan (usually)
Queensland summer holidays · Hervey Bay and 3 more places · 11 Dec – 27 Jan (usually)

Seasons in force

Cyclone season · 9 places Smoke season · 7 places Insects & disease · 6 places Trail season · 4 places Extreme heat · 3 places Monsoon · 2 places Storm season · 2 places Summer season opens · 2 places Extreme cold · 1 place Flood season · 1 place Off-season shutdown · 1 place Sea warm enough · 1 place Wind season · 1 place

Peak crowds at 17 of Australia's 20 well-known places this month.

Better months for Australia

September · 80/100 August · 79/100 October · 77/100

← Australia in December Australia in February →Best time to visit Australia, month by month Compare: Hobart vs Launceston in January