The best time to visit Nungwi
Two dry and two rainy seasons, a sea never below twenty-six, and three months when half of everything is shut — Zanzibar is chosen by rain, not by temperature.
- Best
- June–October: 26–29 by day
- Hot
- December–February: 30–33 and humid
- Long rains
- March–May: downpours lasting hours
Nungwi has no cold month: the sea is between twenty-six and twenty-nine all year, and the difference is rain and humidity. It is dry June to October; the short rains of November taper off through December, so January and February are dry and hot again. The long rains run March to May, when it is cheapest and when some hotels and restaurants simply close.
Zanzibar sits two degrees south of the equator, so the season is not measured by temperature — that is always between twenty-six and thirty-three — but by rain and humidity.
The dry season
The pleasantest part of the year: twenty-six to twenty-nine by day, nights you sleep through, dry air and a sea of twenty-six. Boats to Mnemba run daily, the sandbanks surface, everything is open. July and August are the busiest because they coincide with safari season on the mainland — anyone coming from the Serengeti comes then. September and October have the same weather with fewer people and a lower price.
Hot and humid
Thirty to thirty-three by day, humidity you feel the moment you leave the sea, and water at twenty-nine that no longer cools you. The short rains stop in December, so January and February are dry and hot. Around New Year hotels are full and prices the highest of the year; anyone coming then books months ahead.
The long rains
Downpours lasting hours, a murky sea afterwards, and humidity that does not let up at night. Prices halve and the beaches are empty — that is the only reason to come. The catch is that some hotels and restaurants close in April and May, so before booking you check whether that particular hotel is open, not just whether it is cheap.
Month by month
If you only get one — September
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
When is the best time to visit Zanzibar?
June to October: twenty-six to twenty-nine degrees, dry, a sea of twenty-six and everything open. September is best if you avoid the July and August crowds, when safari travellers arrive from the mainland.
Can you go in April?
You can, knowing what you get: the long rains, downpours lasting hours and some hotels and restaurants closed. Prices are halved. Before booking, check that this particular hotel is open in April and May.
When is the sea warmest?
In February, around twenty-nine degrees — warm enough that it no longer cools you. In the dry season it is around twenty-six, which is pleasanter for swimming.
Ready for Nungwi?
Where to next
Day trips from Nungwi
→Mnemba by boat, a sandbank that surfaces at low tide, Jozani with the colobus and Kendwa on foot — four trips…
Stone Town · 50 km
→The town of sultans, slave traders and Freddie Mercury, with carved wooden doors and a maze everyone gets lost in — and an insurance paid before you enter the island
How well does Nungwi suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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