Zanzibar weather by month & the best time to visit

🇹🇿 Tanzania · coastal city break · tropical — wet & dry seasons climate

The best time to visit Zanzibar is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 93/100), with August and September close behind. Zanzibar averages about 2,836 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 27°C / 81°F and roughly 13 mm of rain in July.

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Sun hours / year

2,836

Sunniest month

July

Peak score

93/100

Rain / year

1,009 mm

Midday UV at peak

12 (extreme)

Sea at warmest

31°C / 88°F

Population

710k

Elevation

14 m

When is the best time to visit Zanzibar?

For sunshine, the best time to visit Zanzibar is July, then August and September. The dullest month is April (68/100, 256 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.

How sunny is Zanzibar?

Zanzibar gets a lot of sun: around 2,836 hours a year. July (93/100) is noticeably better than April (68). It ranks #10 of 15 destinations in Tanzania for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,867 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around April, carries about 56% of the annual 1,009 mm.

Sunshine Score by month

Sea temperature in Zanzibar by month

The sea off Zanzibar is warmest in February at around 31°C / 88°F, and coolest in July at 27°C / 81°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly all year round. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.

See Zanzibar on the interactive sunshine globe →

Nearby places for sunshine

• Dar es Salaam Tanzania · 72 km · best in Jul · 2,837 h sun/yr
• Mombasa Kenya · 247 km · best in Aug · 2,799 h sun/yr
• Arusha Tanzania · 392 km · best in Jul · 2,565 h sun/yr
• Nairobi Kenya · 602 km · best in Jul · 2,913 h sun/yr
• Moroni Comoros · 739 km · best in Aug · 3,029 h sun/yr
• Dzaoudzi Mayotte · 989 km · best in Aug · 3,007 h sun/yr

Nearest destinations

• Tanga Tanzania · 127 km · 2,874 h sun/yr · best in Jul
• Kilindoni Tanzania · 195 km · 2,777 h sun/yr · best in Jul
• Malindi Kenya · 347 km · 3,084 h sun/yr · best in Aug
• Dodoma Tanzania · 384 km · 3,307 h sun/yr · best in Jul

Head-to-head

How Zanzibar compares month by month: Zanzibar vs Dar es Salaam · Zanzibar vs Mombasa · Zanzibar vs Arusha · Zanzibar vs Moroni · all comparisons