Hong Kong · Hong Kong
December
Hong Kong at Christmas — the most photogenic city lights in Asia.
Best match
#4 of 12 months
There are better months for Hong Kong — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
19°C
Low
14°C
Rain
28mm
Sun
5.3hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How December scores in Hong Kong
Weather
Excellent
Value
Above average
Crowds
Average
Events
Very good
Atmosphere
Excellent
What you gain in December
- ↑Hong Kong's Christmas is architecturally spectacular: Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is covered in illuminations, the IFC and ICC towers display festive light shows, and the Harbour City mall complex runs one of Asia's most elaborate Christmas light installations. The harbour at night in December is the city's most photogenic visual.
- ↑New Year's Eve fireworks over Victoria Harbour draw 400,000+ people to the waterfront promenades — the countdown display is one of the world's great public celebrations, and for once the crowds feel appropriate to the scale of the setting.
- ↑December's cool, clear air makes outdoor Hong Kong enjoyable again after the summer's humidity. A Star Ferry crossing at 18°C in December is the most pleasant version of the experience.
What you sacrifice
- ↓Christmas week and New Year's Eve are Hong Kong's most expensive travel days: flights from Europe and Australia surge, hotel rates across the board spike, and Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront crowds on December 31 are genuinely intense.
- ↓December can bring grey, overcast days — the winter cloudiness that arrives in late November can persist for days, flattening the harbour light and eliminating the Peak views that summer-escapees come to find.
How December compares to October (best month)
| Factor | December | October ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 8 | 9 |
| Value | 5 | 5 |
| Crowds | 4 | 4 |
December in other destinations
Lisbon (14.4°C)Barcelona (13.8°C)Tokyo (12°C)Bali (30.3°C)Santorini (14.5°C)Paris (6.9°C)New York (5.1°C)Marrakech (18.1°C)Amsterdam (6.4°C)Maldives (30°C)Rome (11.7°C)Bangkok (30.4°C)Istanbul (9.4°C)Vienna (3°C)Seoul (3.7°C)Dubrovnik (11.6°C)Rio de Janeiro (29.5°C)Kyoto (11.3°C)Phuket (31.8°C)Cape Town (25.6°C)Prague (3°C)Amalfi Coast (13°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (30°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (25°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (27.5°C)Miami (25.6°C)Florence (9.8°C)Queenstown (21°C)Madrid (9.5°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (5°C)Budapest (5°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (7°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (20°C)Osaka (11°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (29°C)Mykonos (14°C)Zanzibar (31°C)Sri Lanka (30°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (14°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (28°C)Havana (26°C)Split (11°C)Taipei (20°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (16°C)Ho Chi Minh City (31°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (6°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (27°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (17°C)Jordan (14°C)Azores (18°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (20.4°C)Cairo (20.8°C)Kenya (26°C)Jaipur (22.8°C)Las Vegas (14.7°C)San Francisco (13.8°C)Madeira (20°C)Vancouver (7.1°C)Muscat (27.8°C)Lima (24.2°C)Cinque Terre (12°C)Kotor (11°C)Tel Aviv (19°C)Santiago (29°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (6.8°C)Penang (30.9°C)Lombok (30.9°C)Cape Verde (26.8°C)Fez (15.2°C)Kerala (31°C)Kigali (26°C)Oslo (2°C)Auckland (22°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Hong Kong, not across destinations. Methodology →