Best time to visit Zanzibar: weather by month

In brief

It is dry from June to September, and according to the Tanzanian meteorological authority TMA, January and February are also comparatively dry. July and August were also months with high visitor numbers in 2025, and December was near the top too, even though it already falls within the short rainy season. In between are the rainy seasons: the long Masika rainy season from March to May and the short Vuli from October to December. It is warm all year round, with daytime highs between 29.0 and 33.2 °C. For the short rainy season of 2026, the TMA is forecasting above-average to normal rainfall, according to media reports (as of October 2026).

Zanzibar by month

The table shows the climate averages for each month. Rain days are days with at least 1 mm of precipitation.

All values are taken from the 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Zanzibar station, published by the US weather agency NOAA. The daytime high is the average of the daily maximum temperatures, the night-time value the average of the daily minimum temperatures. These are long-term averages; individual years can deviate considerably.

January and February

January and February have the highest daytime highs of the year, and even the nights remain at around 24.5 °C. Rain is rare, and February has the fewest rainy days of the year at 3.6. If you lie on the beach during these months, you will get hot days, warm nights and mostly dry weather. In 2025, significantly more visitors arrived in January and February than in the months of the long rainy season that followed. In 2027, the fasting month of Ramadan is expected to begin on 8 February and end around 8 or 9 March, depending on the sighting of the moon. The rules that apply to visitors during this time can be found in the safety guide for Tanzania.

March to May: the long rainy season

From March, rainfall increases significantly: in March, 176.9 mm falls over 11.0 days. In April, it reaches its peak with 408.5 mm over 17.5 days. In May, the figures drop to 297.8 mm, with daytime highs down to 29.7 °C. During this period you have to expect frequent and sometimes heavy rain on beach days, especially in April.

That is why April and May saw the fewest international visitors of 2025, and March, too, remained well behind the peak months. In 2027, Sauti za Busara falls at the start of this period: the music festival runs from 19 to 21 March 2027 in Stone Town; the organiser moved the date because of Ramadan and Eid, the festival at the end of the month of fasting.

June to September

This is the dry season: July brings the lowest monthly figure at 30.8 mm, and June, August and September also see little rainfall. The days are warm rather than hot, and night-time values drop to between 21.0 and 22.9 °C. August and September bring the coolest nights of the year. If you prefer it not too hot, this is the right period for you.

In 2025, July and August were among the months with the most visitors. Humpback whales were also observed in Tanzanian coastal waters between July and November, including off the south coast of Zanzibar.

October to December: the short rainy season

October sees 115.7 mm over 6.9 days. In November, the figures rise to 201.3 mm over 13.7 days. In December, they fall back to 167.7 mm. It remains warm throughout. Within the short rainy season, October has the fewest rainy days and November the most. In 2025, more guests came in October than in November, while December recorded the highest number of the year after August.

The rainy season in Zanzibar

According to its climate report for 2024, the Tanzanian meteorological authority TMA classifies Unguja and Pemba, the two main islands of Zanzibar, as having a bimodal rainfall regime, meaning a climate pattern with 2 rainy seasons: Masika, the long rainy season from March to May, and Vuli, the short rainy season from October to December.

The climate averages also show how heavy the rain is: on average there are 9.6 days with at least 10 mm of rainfall in April, compared with only 0.9 in July. May (7.3) and November (6.2) also see significantly more than July. So in the rainy months it not only rains on more days, it also rains heavily more often.

The intensity of a rainy season also varies considerably from year to year. In April, rainfall ranged from 32.4 to 811.7 mm. In May 2024, only 46.8 mm fell at the Zanzibar station, around a sixth of the long-term average, according to the TMA report.

Germany’s Federal Foreign Office points out possible consequences of the rainy seasons on the coast and in northern Tanzania: heavy rain, flooding and landslides are possible, and roads and bridges as well as air and ferry services may be affected. If you travel during these months, you should therefore not plan flight and ferry connections too tightly.

For the Vuli of 2026, the short rainy season from October to December, the TMA is forecasting above-average to normal rainfall in the north and east of the country, explicitly including Unguja and Pemba, according to Tanzanian media reports; the forecast dates from 18 August 2026. Rain is therefore expected to increase in November and continue into January 2027; the reason is a very strong El Niño, a natural climate fluctuation in the Pacific. ‘Above average’ does not mean that it rains every day, explains the Daily News newspaper. A forecast for the long rainy season of 2027 is not yet available. As of October 2026.

Sea and wind

The water temperature can only be given as an annual range: a modelling study cites 25.0 to 30.2 °C at the surface for the Tanzanian coast, but does not provide a monthly progression. A study of the Pemba Channel, the strait between Pemba and the mainland, describes the monsoon, a seasonally changing wind system, in approximate periods: the south-east monsoon brings stronger winds from May to September, the north-east monsoon weaker winds from November to March, and in April and October the wind is comparatively calm. No specific month can be deduced from this for the east coast of Unguja.

For kitesurfing, the Wildfinder Zanzibar page names Paje Beach. Regardless of the month, the tides play a role in every beach day; more on this in the article on the tides in Zanzibar.

High season and quieter months

Based on visitor numbers, the high season in 2025 fell in August, December and July. August reached the peak with 105,506 visitors. It was followed by December with 100,729 and July with 98,370. The fewest arrived in May (37,038) and April (37,137). In total, the statistics office OCGS counted 917,167 international visitors, recorded via arrival cards at the airports and seaports.

In 2025, dry weather and high visitor numbers coincided in July and August. In the months with the most rainy days, April and May, the fewest visitors arrived. December shows that the two can mix: short rainy season, but the most visitors after August. Despite little rain, June, with 67,496 visitors, was not one of the peak months.

Mosquitoes and malaria

The Federal Foreign Office reports a year-round high malaria risk for Tanzania below 2,500 metres, explicitly including Zanzibar. There is no mosquito season in which you could travel without protection.

Studies on transmission in Zanzibar observe most cases after the rainy seasons, particularly after the long rainy season from March to May; historically, the peaks occurred after the rains, in March to June and in October to November. The start and duration of these peak phases vary from year to year.

The consequence for planning: mosquito protection belongs in every month of travel, and medical advice on prophylaxis, meaning the preventative use of medication, is worthwhile at any time of year. Which vaccinations and other precautions apply is covered in the article on vaccinations for Tanzania.

Combining Zanzibar with a safari

A safari in northern Tanzania can be combined with a beach stay in Zanzibar. Climatically, this works particularly well from June to September, as these months are dry throughout the country according to the TMA, in the north as well as on the islands. January and February are also comparatively dry in the regions with 2 rainy seasons. Which months are suitable for the national parks is shown in the overview of the best time to visit Tanzania.

The safaris on the website are sample itineraries: duration, parks and level of comfort are adapted to your enquiry, and Zanzibar can be added on. The team in Arusha always plans the onward journey from the safari in the north to Zanzibar by air, and you will be picked up at the airport in Zanzibar. Which beaches and excursions are possible on the island is shown on the Zanzibar Holiday page.

Frequently asked questions about the best time to visit Zanzibar