Tanzania · 6.16°S 39.19°E · 30-year monthly averages, judged against the Tropical preset (highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon)
The best time to visit Zanzibar is June to March, with highs of 29–32 °C84–90 °F and nights of 20–24 °C68–75 °F, and rainfall of 40–160 mm1.6–6.3 in a month.
The rainy season is March to May and November to December; April to May is a true monsoon, with 272–368 mm11–14 in a month and a peak in April (368 mm14 in). Afternoon highs change little through the year, 29–32 °C84–90 °F, and peak in January.
The figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at -6.16, 39.19. This is a climate guide, not a forecast.
Pick the weather you like. Every month is then judged against it: temperature above the month names, rain below.
Good time to go for a Tropical holiday: June to March.
Open Zanzibar on the interactive map ↗ the same verdicts for any place on Earth, in any month
Reading the chart. Gold means good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour shows the reason it does not. The temperature bar can be too cold or too hot; the rain bar can be too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar means that half fits but the other half does not. A gold month name means both halves fit.
What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the month's average daily high (the afternoon), judged against the preset's band (highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F for Tropical). Rain is judged by each month's class within Zanzibar's own year, not by raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and at least 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month that the preset does not allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season: 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate where the wettest month has at least three times the rain of the driest. Every monsoon month is also a rainy-season month; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.
| Month | Rain | High | Low | Season | Tropical verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 883.5 | 3290 | 2474 | showers | good |
| February | 642.5 | 3290 | 2474 | showers | good |
| March | 1526.0 | 3290 | 2474 | rainy | good |
| April | 36814 | 3086 | 2474 | monsoon | monsoon |
| May | 27211 | 3086 | 2373 | monsoon | monsoon |
| June | 642.5 | 2984 | 2271 | showers | good |
| July | 481.9 | 2983 | 2169 | dry | good |
| August | 401.6 | 2984 | 2068 | dry | good |
| September | 401.6 | 3085 | 2169 | dry | good |
| October | 722.8 | 3086 | 2170 | showers | good |
| November | 1445.7 | 3187 | 2373 | rainy | good |
| December | 1606.3 | 3289 | 2373 | rainy | good |
| Looking for | Rule | Months that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Warm | highs 19–28 °C66–82 °F, dry or showers | |
| Tropical | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon | June to March |
| Beach | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, dry or showers | June to October and January to February |
| Cool | highs 3–19 °C37–66 °F, any rain except monsoon | |
| Snow | highs below 3 °C37 °F, any rain |
Yes. The rainy season is March to May and November to December; April to May is a true monsoon, with 272–368 mm11–14 in a month and a peak in April (368 mm14 in). Outside the rainy season, July to September is dry.
Afternoon highs change little through the year, 29–32 °C84–90 °F, and peak in January. Annual rainfall is about 1,512 mm60 in.
The nearest destinations that fit the Tropical preset in the months when Zanzibar does not:
The interactive map colours the whole world by how well it fits the weather you like, in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.