Oban weather in December
December in Oban: cold, soaked, with clean air — not the time — 21 rainy days.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#12 of 12 months in Oban · #1327 of 1413 destinations to visit in December · comfort 35/100 (tier F)
- Days
- 7°C
- Nights
- 4°C
- Wet days
- 21
- Sun
- 1.8 h
- Humidity
- 90%
- Daylight
- 7 h
Traveller notes on Oban in December
Forum posters describe December in Oban and the wider Scottish Highlands as cold, damp and short on daylight - on a cloudy, rainy day it can feel like it barely gets light at all. Posters are direct that this isn't the tourist season, with a number of B&Bs and smaller businesses closing for the winter while their owners take their own holiday. Posters visiting nearby islands warn that up to 16 hours of darkness calls for real wet-weather gear, patience for cold and wet conditions, and something to keep you entertained indoors. Posters do note Oban itself holds up better than more remote spots thanks to its shops, bars and restaurants offering somewhere to spend the long evening hours. Posters generally rate December as genuinely challenging weather-wise for Oban, workable as a town base even if outlying island day trips become more of a gamble.
Other months in Oban
Forum posters call May-June the best window for this part of Scotland: long daylight hours, before peak season crowds, and often the best weather odds of the year, even if the classic 'four seasons in a day' pattern (locals joke it's sometimes three in June alone) still applies. One poster recalled a June with 'wall to wall sunshine' breaking local heat records, though that's treated as a lucky outlier rather than the norm. June is also singled out as prime timing for the boat trips out to Mull, Iona and Staffa, since smaller seasonal ferry services are still running at full schedule before they wind down later in the year.
Add your own note from Oban's card on the map.
Oban climate normals — December
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Oban in December
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Peak crowdsOban Winter Festival, Christmas holidays in United Kingdom, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Oban's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Toughest weatherOban's weather peaks May–July, best around June.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Oban in December
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Season
Out of season
1 Nov – 25 Mar · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosuresA good share of the guesthouses and the island boat trips run April to October only, and the ferries drop to a winter timetable. Wet, dark and cheap, with the distillery and the chip shop still open. Source ↗
- Festival
Oban Winter Festival
13 Nov – 20 DecChristmas & New YearCrowdedFive weeks of lights, markets, ceilidhs and a haggis competition from mid-November, which is the one reason to be here in the dark half of the year. Everything else on the seafront has shut by then. Source ↗
- Season
Wet season
MonsoonRisk21 rainy days and about 252 mm in the month — the real kind of rainy season, not afternoon showers.
from the climate normals
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Oban — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Oban?
Oban in December — FAQ
- Is December a good time to visit Oban?
- December in Oban: cold, soaked, with clean air — not the time — 21 rainy days. It ranks #12 of 12 months for Oban on SeasonMap's comfort score (35/100).
- What is the weather like in Oban in December?
- In December, Oban averages a daily high of 6.9°C and a low of 3.5°C, with about 251.5 mm of rain over roughly 21.4 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Oban in December?
- Oban has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 30 in December.
- Does it snow in Oban in December?
- Oban sees roughly 6.1 cm of snowfall in December.
Within 300 km: Glasgow's Christmas lights and market around 15 Nov – 31 Dec, and Isle of Skye's Aurora season around 15 Sep – 31 Mar.