Dar es Salaam weather in October

Zanzibar forum regulars call October genuinely good — the tail of the dry season (June-October), still not too hot and not too rainy, with days around “80°F” and nights in the “70s°F.” The rains that do show up are described as short and non-monsoonal, clearing quickly, with the real wet season not properly arriving until November. One consistent framing across threads: October reads as “nice and warm but not too humid or sticky,” the last comfortable stretch before the short rains change the character of the island. Our record: 29.5°C days, 12 rain days, 80.5mm of rain and a 27.7°C sea — warm and swimmable with moderate rain, matching the “dry season's last good month” read.

Forum posters describe January in Tanzania as hot and humid, sitting in the middle of the region's summer, with typical daytime highs in the 80sF and lows ranging from the upper 50s to low 70sF depending on location. Posters describe January as marking the end of the shorter 'vuli' rains and the start of a short, drier season that lasts a few months before heavier rains return in earnest around March, though posters note some lingering rain is still typical in January and February. Posters describe northern Tanzania specifically as often the hottest and most humid part of the country this time of year. Posters generally recommend short sleeves and light clothing for a January visit to Dar es Salaam, packing for heat and humidity as the dominant conditions.

July is winter on the Tanzanian coast, which sounds worse than it is: days near 27°C, nights around 23, and a sea still at 26°C. It sits inside the dry season, roughly June to October, and the forum describes it as sometimes cloudy but rarely raining — the best stretch of the year for beach days, snorkelling and diving, and noticeably more comfortable than the hot, humid months. Two practical notes regulars add: the coast stays warm and humid day and night whatever the "winter" label suggests, and evenings mean long sleeves — for mosquitoes rather than for warmth. The coast fills up as July goes on.