Two separate wet seasons shape the year here, roughly around April and November, with drier, more reliable stretches in between rather than one long wet or dry season. In January, expect highs around 32°C with rain on roughly 2 days of the month.
Things to Do
Beaches and diving on the Indian Ocean coast are the main draw, alongside Stone Town's Swahili-Arab architecture.
Local Cuisine
Try Zanzibar pizza and spiced seafood, a legacy of the island's spice-trade past.
Month-by-month weather
Daylight, sunrise, and sunset are calculated exactly from this region's latitude. Temperature and rainfall are modeled from its general climate type, not measured station data. Month summaries are generated from those modeled figures.
JanuaryBest
Expect hot days around 32°/24°C, with mostly dry conditions (~2 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low32° / 24°C
Rainfall16 mm
Rainy days2
Sunrise5:50 AM
Sunset6:10 PM
Daylight12h 19m
FebruaryBest
Expect hot days around 33°/24°C, with mostly dry conditions (~2 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low33° / 24°C
Rainfall16 mm
Rainy days2
Sunrise5:54 AM
Sunset6:06 PM
Daylight12h 12m
MarchGreat
Expect hot days around 33°/25°C, with occasional rain (~6 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low33° / 25°C
Rainfall48 mm
Rainy days6
Sunrise5:59 AM
Sunset6:01 PM
Daylight12h 2m
AprilAvoid
Expect warm days around 30°/24°C, with very wet conditions (~20 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low30° / 24°C
Rainfall160 mm
Rainy days20
Sunrise6:04 AM
Sunset5:56 PM
Daylight11h 52m
MayAvoid
Expect warm days around 28°/23°C, with very wet conditions (~18 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low28° / 23°C
Rainfall144 mm
Rainy days18
Sunrise6:08 AM
Sunset5:52 PM
Daylight11h 43m
JuneGreat
Expect warm days around 28°/21°C, with occasional rain (~6 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low28° / 21°C
Rainfall48 mm
Rainy days6
Sunrise6:11 AM
Sunset5:49 PM
Daylight11h 39m
JulyGreat
Expect warm days around 27°/20°C, with occasional rain (~5 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low27° / 20°C
Rainfall40 mm
Rainy days5
Sunrise6:10 AM
Sunset5:50 PM
Daylight11h 40m
AugustGreat
Expect warm days around 27°/20°C, with occasional rain (~5 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low27° / 20°C
Rainfall40 mm
Rainy days5
Sunrise6:06 AM
Sunset5:54 PM
Daylight11h 48m
SeptemberGreat
Expect warm days around 28°/21°C, with occasional rain (~5 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low28° / 21°C
Rainfall40 mm
Rainy days5
Sunrise6:01 AM
Sunset5:59 PM
Daylight11h 58m
OctoberOK
Expect warm days around 29°/22°C, with frequent rain (~10 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low29° / 22°C
Rainfall80 mm
Rainy days10
Sunrise5:56 AM
Sunset6:04 PM
Daylight12h 8m
NovemberOK
Expect warm days around 30°/23°C, with frequent rain (~12 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests
High / Low30° / 23°C
Rainfall96 mm
Rainy days12
Sunrise5:51 AM
Sunset6:09 PM
Daylight12h 17m
DecemberOK
Expect hot days around 31°/24°C, with occasional rain (~8 rainy days).
Humid — heat will feel more intense than the temperature alone suggests