Dakar weather by month
The best time to visit Dakar is January to March — 91/100 in February, 24°C and 0 rainy days. The best season is winter, December to February (87/100 on average).
The worst month is August at 58/100 — sweltering, rainy, muggy air. See August →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Senegal →
Best season: December to February (87/100 on average) · worst August (58/100)
- Days
- 24°C
- Nights
- 19°C
- Wet days
- 0
- Sun
- 10.6 h
- Humidity
- 56%
- Daylight
- 12 h

Dakar, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Dakar is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Dakar through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
- April
- Independence Day4 AprHoliday
- May
- Tabaski5 May – 5 Jun (usually)Holiday
- July
- Grand Magal de Touba10 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)Holiday
- Hivernage10 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)Season
- November
- Dak'Art contemporary art biennial15 Nov – 20 Dec (usually)Festival
- December
- Saharan dust season1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually)Season
Crowds in Dakar in February
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Busyschool holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Good to know before you go to Dakar
Real experiences from travellers' own write-ups, quoted with a link to the original.
Money
A traveler's practical rundown of Dakar warns that outside the Plateau business district and the upscale Almadies restaurants, this is a cash-first city: markets, taxis, minibuses, and street food all expect CFA francs, not cards. Her tip is to carry a mix of small bills for everyday purchases and always negotiate and agree on a taxi fare before getting in, since meters aren't the norm and prices are expected to be haggled, especially from the airport into the city.
Traveller notes on Dakar
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters place March squarely in the dry season: daily highs of 25-32C with low humidity along the coast, though some years bring cooler, dustier spells from Harmattan winds sweeping in from the Sahara and turning the sky brown. By late March the weather is generally called lovely, with a shawl or light jumper recommended just for cooler evenings. One geographic note worth knowing: heading inland from the coast, both temperature and humidity climb noticeably compared to Dakar itself, so the coastal dry-season comfort doesn't necessarily extend far past the city.
Forum posters describe September in Dakar as nearing the end of the rainy season, with storms when they happen typically lasting only around two hours rather than settling in for the day - posters generally reassure visitors not to worry too much about September weather in the city itself. Posters are direct that year-to-year variability is real, though: one particularly wet September brought record flooding to city streets with heavy rain continuing into October and high humidity throughout, while more recent visitor reports describe comparatively little rain in Dakar during September specifically. Posters consistently note that travelers heading south into Senegal's countryside should expect significantly heavier rain than in Dakar itself during this period. Posters generally rate September as a workable, if occasionally unpredictable, time to visit Dakar specifically.
Add your own note from Dakar's card on the map.