The best time to visit Zanzibar is between June and October, the most comfortable stretch of the year on these averages.
Zanzibar is a warm-year climate with a drier stretch and a wetter one, not four seasons in the European sense. The hot months are the outdoor months until the rain takes over. Zanzibar is a city in Tanzania. This page is about Zanzibar, not a country average.
Most visitors come in the drier stretch and treat the wet months as a different trip: slower days, heavier skies, still warm. The monthly table on this page still owns the averages. This layer is how Zanzibar actually feels.
Part of Tanzania weather.
The drier stretch in Zanzibar is when outdoor days are the default. February, June, July and August sit on that side of the year. Heat is still the point. Rain is not gone, it is no longer in charge.
Zanzibar in Tanzania in these weeks is a warm-weather trip: early starts, shade at midday, evenings outside. It is not a European spring with a light jumper.
Read Zanzibar in this stretch as its own climate, not as a generic holiday season copied from another destination.
The wetter stretch in Zanzibar is still warm. January, March, April and May sit on that side of the year. Days can be heavy. Showers arrive, dump, and often leave the air stickier than before.
This is a slower trip, not a cancelled one. Build indoor hours into the afternoon. Do not treat Zanzibar as closed. Treat it as a place where the sky does more of the talking than it does in the dry months.
Read Zanzibar in this stretch as its own climate, not as a generic holiday season copied from another destination.
TemperatureRainfall
Every figure below is a 1991–2020 climate normal for Zanzibar, in °C and °F. Open a month for what to expect and what to pack.
| Month | Average | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|
| January | 29°C / 84°F | 43 mm |
| February | 29°C / 84°F | 76 mm |
| March | 28°C / 83°F | 176 mm |
| April | 27°C / 81°F | 266 mm |
| May | 26°C / 80°F | 161 mm |
| June | 25°C / 77°F | 36 mm |
| July | 25°C / 76°F | 18 mm |
| August | 25°C / 77°F | 21 mm |
| September | 26°C / 78°F | 21 mm |
| October | 27°C / 80°F | 74 mm |
| November | 28°C / 82°F | 127 mm |
| December | 29°C / 83°F | 124 mm |
Dates are a starting point for June.
What to read before you book.
Now pick a month.
Climate averages for Zanzibar, 1991–2020.
The best time to visit Zanzibar is between June and October, the most comfortable stretch of the year on these averages.
January is the hottest month, with an average around 29°C.
April is the wettest month, with about 266 mm of rain.
Zanzibar has a distinct rainy season from March to May, peaking in April at about 266 mm. The dry season runs from June to February.
July is the coolest month, averaging 25°C (76°F) against 29°C (84°F) in January.
This page does not show today's weather. It is a 1991–2020 climate normal from Meteostat — a long-run average of what each month is usually like, which is what you want when booking ahead. For today or the coming week, check a live forecast.
No. These are 1991–2020 climate normals from Meteostat, not a live forecast. Actual weather in any given week can differ.
