Many have the impression that the perfect example of an Australian summer beach holiday is spending time in Queensland with family or friends. However, for those that love the daylight, your number one choice during summer should really be Victoria.
With Queensland not observing daylight saving time, and being closer to the equator which ensures its summer days don’t get too long, both those factors ensure that sun lovers should consider Victoria for that summer beach holiday.
Let’s compare the summer sunrise and sunset times for an iconic beach location in those two states:
| 21st December | 21st January | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Sunrise | Sunset | Sunrise | Sunset |
| Sorrento (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria) |
5:54am | 8:44pm | 6:21am | 8:43pm |
| Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast, Queensland) |
4:47am | 6:42pm | 5:09am | 6:46pm |
If you’re planning to get the first rays of the morning sun on Queensland’s Gold Coast, you’ll need to ensure you’re up at the unearthly hour of 4:47am on 21st December. However, you can almost forget that evening BBQ in the sun, with darkness falling from 6:42pm.
Compare that to a summer beach holiday at Sorrento, on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Sunrise is at the more reasonable time of just before 6am on 21st December. And you can still feel the warmth of the sun until just before 9pm at night – perfect for those evening meals, walks and swims. Fast forward one month, and while the days are half an hour shorter near the end of January, all that lost daylight time is taken out of the morning, so you can sleep in a bit longer and still enjoy those sunny evenings.
If your ideal summer holiday is evenings filled with daylight right up until quite late, then Victoria is a much better choice than Queensland…by 2 hours a night!
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