Gold Coast · Month comparison

November vs August

August ranks #1 overall vs November at #9. The locals' favourite — 22°C, 8 hours of sun, perfect surf, no crowds.

Schoolies crowd along Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise in November

November

#9 of 12 months

Worth considering

Schoolies week — 30,000 school-leavers descend on Surfers for ten days of mayhem.

  • 27°C, sea at 24°C, conditions warming nicely for summer-style swimming
  • Outside Schoolies dates: quieter than December, cheaper than January
Burleigh Heads point break with clean glassy lines in August

August

#1 of 12 months

Best match

The locals' favourite — 22°C, 8 hours of sun, perfect surf, no crowds.

  • 8 hours sun, lightest winds of the year, glassy point breaks at Burleigh and Snapper
  • Pan Pacific Masters Games (every two years) — biggest masters event in the world
FactorNovemberAugust
Weather score
7
10
Value score
5
8
Crowd score
4
8
Events score
6
7
Atmosphere
5
9
Avg high temp27°C22°C
Monthly rain110mm45mm
Daily sunshine8hrs8hrs

November trade-offs

  • Schoolies (mid-late Nov) — Surfers Paradise CBD locked down, families avoid the strip entirely
  • Storm season ramps up — 110mm rain in 10 wet days

August trade-offs

  • Sea at 20°C — swim caps needed for distance work
  • Westerly winds late August can drop humidity to bushfire levels
Scores compare months within Gold Coast. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →