Zanzibar — Tanzania
An island off the Tanzanian coast with a Swahili trading town at one end and reef-sheltered beaches all round the rest. The reference station, 6.2 km from the centre, gives 1843.7 mm of rain a year over 193 rainy days, with the gaps in its series filled by a model.
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Why go
Two very different holidays share this island, and most disappointment comes from booking one while expecting the other. Stone Town is a dense coral-stone maze of alleys, carved doors, Omani and Indian façades, a former slave-market site now marked by a cathedral, and an evening food market on the seafront. It is hot, crowded, occasionally insistent, and it is the reason the island is on the UNESCO list. The beach coasts, a long drive away, are the opposite: low-rise hotels strung along white sand, with a reef offshore and very little to walk to.
It suits travellers who will do both, divers and snorkellers, and anyone tacking a week of sea onto a mainland safari. It suits less well those who want nightlife, museums or restaurant choice outside their hotel, and beach purists who have not checked the tides: on the east coast the water can withdraw several hundred metres, turning a swimming afternoon into a walk on wet sand.
Month-by-month climate
It is hot all year and the variation is small: 33.4 °C by day in February, 29.3 °C in July, the coolest month, with nights at 22.7 °C. Nights elsewhere sit between 22 and 25.5 °C, so the sea is warm whenever you come.
Rain is the real variable, and it is both heavy and frequent. April records 393.5 mm over 21 rainy days, December 270.9 mm over 20, November 269.5 mm over 21, May 227.3 mm over 15. Against that, February shows 34.3 mm over 12 rainy days, and September 52.4 mm over 12. The annual total, 1843.7 mm, is far above a European figure such as Paris at 655.4 mm, and so is the number of wet days, 193 against 110 in Paris. A tropical downpour still empties the sky in an hour and the sun returns.
One caveat belongs here: the station has three years behind it, short enough that one stormy year moves a month, and where its rainfall record has gaps the series is completed by a model. The broad pattern of a long rainy season in spring and a shorter one in late autumn holds, but treat any single month as an order of magnitude, not a promise.
| Month | Avg. high (°C) | Avg. low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Days ≥ 1 mm | Days ≥ 5 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32.2 | 24.9 | 122 | 16 | 4 |
| Feb | 33.4 | 25.5 | 34 | 12 | 1 |
| Mar | 33.1 | 25.5 | 112 | 20 | 7 |
| Apr | 30.5 | 25.0 | 394 | 21 | 15 |
| May | 30.2 | 24.5 | 227 | 15 | 7 |
| Jun | 29.6 | 23.4 | 140 | 14 | 6 |
| Jul | 29.3 | 22.7 | 49 | 13 | 2 |
| Aug | 29.8 | 22.4 | 76 | 12 | 2 |
| Sept | 30.7 | 22.3 | 52 | 12 | 1 |
| Oct | 31.3 | 23.0 | 96 | 17 | 4 |
| Nov | 31.2 | 24.1 | 270 | 21 | 7 |
| Dec | 32.2 | 25.0 | 271 | 20 | 11 |
Source: Meteostat — Zanzibar (Tanzania) station, 6.2 km away, 3 sample years. Monthly totals rebuilt from daily averages. Data partly modelled (Meteostat, DWD/met.no).
When to go
July to October is the most reliable window: 29.3 to 31.3 °C by day, and between 49.2 mm and 95.9 mm of rain a month rather than 393.5 mm. February and early March are hotter, at 33.4 and 33.1 °C, and February is the lightest month of the year at 34.3 mm, but the margin of error is wider there. Avoid April, the wettest month at 393.5 mm over 21 rainy days.
What to see in 2, 4 and 7 days
In 2 days
- Walk Stone Town's alleys in the morning: carved doors, the old fort, the former slave-market site and its cathedral.
- Take a dhow out at the end of the afternoon, when the light drops fast this close to the equator.
- Eat at the seafront night market, sticking to grills cooked in front of you.
- Second morning, cross to the small island opposite for the giant tortoises and the reef just offshore.
In 4 days
- Move to one coast and stay there: crossing between north and east eats half a day each way.
- Book a snorkelling or diving trip to the northern atoll, leaving early before the wind builds.
- Spend a morning in the Jozani forest, the last refuge of the island's endemic red colobus monkeys.
- Visit a spice farm inland, a working plantation rather than a show, and taste what grows there.
- Keep one afternoon free: in the wet months a single storm can erase a planned outing.
In 7 days
- Split the week between Stone Town and a beach base, rather than commuting daily between them.
- Choose the north coast if swimming matters most; there the tide withdraws far less than on the east.
- Choose the east coast if you want kitesurfing, seaweed farms and long empty sand at low tide.
- Give a day to the sea: a full-day boat trip with a sandbank stop and a grilled lunch on board.
- Ride the local minibuses once, for the experience, then use taxis or hotel transfers for the long hops.
- Add a few days of mainland safari, flying out from the island rather than doubling back by ferry.
- Plan the last day near the airport: it is 7 km from Stone Town, and the roads slow down at dusk.
Getting there and around
Zanzibar International (ZNZ) is 7 km from Stone Town, small enough that arrivals move quickly, and most hotels arrange the transfer. The two alternatives are on the mainland: Dar es Salaam (DAR) at 79 km, reached from the island by ferry or a short hop, and Tanga (TGT) at 120 km, of little practical use. On the island itself there is no railway. Taxis and hotel transfers cover the long coastal runs, shared minibuses serve the villages, and scooters are common but the road surfaces are uneven.
Nearest airports
- ZNZZanzibar International Airport7 km from the centre
- DARJulius Nyerere International Airport79 km from the centre
- TGTTanga Airport120 km from the centre
Budget
Country price level compared with France : −79 %
Price index for restaurants and hotels, France = 1000, from European purchasing power parities. It is a country average: it says nothing about one hotel in particular.
Ranges, not quotes, and the island contradicts its own country. Tanzanian prices are a small fraction of French ones, so local meals and local transport are genuinely cheap. Beach hotels, however, are priced for international visitors and escape that logic entirely: 60 to 150 € a night is the usual coastal middle ground, well below that in Stone Town, and far above it in the small luxury places. Food swings the same way, from a few euros at a street grill to European prices inside a resort. Budget separately for excursions and boat trips.
Common mistakes
- Booking an east-coast beach without checking the tide, then finding the sea several hundred metres away every afternoon.
- Underestimating road times. The island is small but the roads are slow, and each coast transfer costs half a day.
- Dressing for the beach in Stone Town. Covered shoulders and knees are expected in the alleys and in villages.
- Trusting a single dry month in the table. Three years of record, part of it modelled, means one stormy season can shift a figure.
- Planning the safari after the beach. Most mainland connections run through Dar es Salaam, 79 km away by sea or air.
Frequently asked questions
Which coast should I choose for swimming?
The northern beaches are the safer choice if you want to swim at any hour: the tidal range there is much smaller, and the water stays deep enough through the day. The east coast has the longer, emptier sand and the kitesurfing, but at low tide the sea withdraws a long way and boats sit on the reef flat. Hotels on both sides usually have pools for that reason.
Is Zanzibar workable during Ramadan?
Yes, with adjustments. The island is largely Muslim, so during the fasting month many local restaurants close by day, especially in Stone Town, and eating or drinking in the street is poorly received. Beach hotels operate normally. Evenings become lively after sunset. If you want the full range of local food and markets, plan around those dates.
How many days are enough?
Two days cover Stone Town properly, and four to five more give a beach base its point. Under a week, you spend a disproportionate share of the trip in transfers. If the island is paired with a mainland safari, a week here is a comfortable second half, and the drier months of July to October make the outdoor half of it more reliable.
Updated on 21 September 2026