What's on in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea through the year

Busy — Christmas fortnight, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting on Bioko (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)), The dry months (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually)), Christmas fortnight (8 Dec – 1 Jan)

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting on Bioko (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)), The dry months (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting on Bioko (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Southern Bioko rainy season

  15 May – 15 Oct · usuallyMonsoonClosures

  The south of the island around Ureca is among the wettest places on earth in these months; trips to the southern beaches and rainforest are best left for November to April. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Southern Bioko rainy season (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Southern Bioko rainy season (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Freedom Day, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Freedom Day

  3 AugNational holidayClosures

  3 August marks the 1979 coup that ended the Macias Nguema years and is one of the state's set-piece dates. Ministries and banks close; photographing the official events is a bad idea here. Source ↗

Still on: Southern Bioko rainy season (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Southern Bioko rainy season (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  12 OctNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  Independence from Spain, 12 October 1968. Offices shut and the celebrations are heavily official; the date falls in the wettest part of the Bioko year, so much of it moves indoors. Source ↗

Still on: Southern Bioko rainy season (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Sea turtle nesting on Bioko

  1 Nov – 15 Mar · usually

  Leatherbacks and green turtles nest on the beaches of Bioko's south coast near Ureca, peaking in December and January. It is a few hours' drive from Malabo, so plan an overnight. Source ↗

Busy — Christmas fortnight, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The dry months

  1 Dec – 28 Feb · usuallyDry season

  Bioko's short dry window, and the only stretch when the road round the island and the tracks up Pico Basile are reliably passable. The rest of the year the mountain makes its own weather.

• Holiday

  Christmas fortnight

  8 Dec – 1 JanChristmas & New YearClosuresCrowded

  The Immaculate Conception on 8 December opens a Catholic stretch that runs to New Year, with two more public holidays inside it. Flights fill with oil-sector workers heading out and families coming back. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting on Bioko (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))