A free golden hour calculator that shows the golden hour, blue hour, sunrise and sunset anywhere, on any day, in that place's time.
Pick a place and a day to see its golden hours, blue hours, sunrise and sunset, in that place's own time.
The place
The day
The light in
Pick a place to see its light.
This free golden hour calculator shows when the golden hour and blue hour start and end, anywhere in the world, on any day.
Pick a place and a day. It shows the times in that place's own time zone, where the sun rises and sets, a bar of the day's light, and the next 7 days.
Here's what the golden hour is, why its length changes so much, and how to plan a shoot around it.
What is the golden hour?
The golden hour is the time after sunrise and before sunset when the sun is low, and the light is warm and soft.
The calculator uses a definition common in photographers' planning apps: the sun between 4° below the horizon and 6° above it.
What is the blue hour?
The blue hour is the deep blue light just before sunrise and just after sunset, when the sun is between 6° and 4° below the horizon.
It sits right next to the golden hour, so a shoot at sunset can run from warm light into blue.
How long the golden hour lasts
The golden hour isn't always an hour. The farther you are from the equator, the lower the sun's path, and the longer the light lasts.
Here's the evening golden hour in 7 places, on the longest and shortest days of 2026:
| Place | June 21 | December 21 |
|---|---|---|
| Ubud, Bali | 5:39 PM to 6:23 PM, 44 min | 6:05 PM to 6:49 PM, 44 min |
| Medellín | 5:48 PM to 6:32 PM, 44 min | 5:23 PM to 6:07 PM, 44 min |
| Mexico City | 6:45 PM to 7:32 PM, 47 min | 5:31 PM to 6:18 PM, 47 min |
| Lisbon | 8:25 PM to 9:24 PM, 59 min | 4:36 PM to 5:36 PM, 60 min |
| New York | 7:49 PM to 8:50 PM, 62 min | 3:48 PM to 4:50 PM, 63 min |
| London | 8:27 PM to 9:49 PM, 83 min | 2:51 PM to 4:18 PM, 87 min |
| Oslo | 9:24 PM to 11:35 PM, 131 min | 1:05 PM to 3:48 PM, 163 min |
Near the equator, in Bali or Medellín, you get about 45 minutes all year. In Oslo in December, the sun never climbs high, and the golden light lasts most of the afternoon.
Where the sun sets
The sun doesn't set in the west all year. In the northern summer it sets in the northwest, and in winter in the southwest.
In Lisbon, the sun sets at 301° on June 21, and at 240° on December 21. That's 61° apart, enough to put the sun behind a building that was clear in summer.
The calculator shows the direction for sunrise and sunset, so you know which way to face before you get there.
Sunrise or sunset?
Both give the same low, warm light. They differ in what's around it.
Sunrise is quieter: fewer people at the viewpoint, calmer water and cooler air. Sunset is easier to plan, because you're already out, and it runs straight into the blue hour.
On a trip, shoot the first sunset to learn the place, then go back for the sunrise you now know how to frame.
In Europe's summer, the evening golden hour starts as late as 8:25 PM in Lisbon and 8:27 PM in London, so plan dinner around it. Planning a summer there? Count your days on the Schengen calculator.
The midnight sun
In June, Hammerfest in northern Norway has no sunset. The sun stays low, and the golden hour runs through the night, from about 10:39 PM to 2:14 AM.
In December, the sun doesn't rise at all. The calculator marks both, the midnight sun and the polar night.
How to use the golden hour calculator
Plan a shoot around the light
Great light is planned, not found. Here's the checklist:
If your shoot is on a trip, check how the day lines up with your calls on the time zone overlap calculator.
Time in nature is non-negotiable for me. It's where my best thinking happens.
How accurate is it?
The sun times come from NOAA's solar equations. Sunrise, sunset and solar noon match the US Naval Observatory's published times to the minute, in Lisbon, Bali, Mexico City and Oslo.
Clouds, mountains and buildings aren't in the math, so a valley loses the sun before the times say.
Who is the golden hour calculator for?
It's for creators, photographers and videographers planning shoots, and for travelers who want the best light on a trip.
Photo and video are among the things I love. I shoot on the road as a global citizen, and my favorite places are a good place to start, and the countries visited map keeps track of where you've been. More tools are on the free travel tools page.
Golden Hour Calculator FAQs
Questions about the golden hour? Here's what to know.
The golden hour is the time after sunrise and before sunset when the sun is low and the light is warm and soft.
The calculator uses the sun between 4° below the horizon and 6° above it.
When the golden hour is today depends on where you are: the golden hour calculator starts on your city and shows today's morning and evening golden hours in its time.
The golden hour lasts about 45 minutes near the equator and over an hour far from it.
In Lisbon it's about 60 minutes, and in Oslo in December over 2 hours.
The blue hour is the deep blue light before sunrise and after sunset, when the sun is between 6° and 4° below the horizon.
The sun sets in the northwest in the northern summer and in the southwest in winter.
The golden hour calculator shows the exact direction for any place and day.
The golden hour calculator uses NOAA's solar equations, and its sunrise, sunset and solar noon match the US Naval Observatory's times to the minute.
The golden hour calculator is free, with no sign-up and no location permission.
The golden hour calculator is for creators, photographers, videographers and travelers who want the best light.
I did. I'm Navid Moazzez, and the golden hour calculator is one of my free tools on navid.me.
Read about me.
For travel, you can also use the passport index, the passport comparison, the second passport calculator, the visa-free countries map, the Schengen calculator, the 183-day rule calculator, the travel advisory map, the time zone overlap calculator, the time zone converter and the countries visited map, all free on navid.me.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
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