What's on in Nosy Be, Madagascar through the year

Busy — Festive season peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: The hot, wet months (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)), Cyclone season (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)), Festive season peak (15 Dec – 10 Jan (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: The hot, wet months (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)), Cyclone season (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: The hot, wet months (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)), Cyclone season (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in April.

Peak crowds — The dry season, Festival Donia

• Season

  The dry season

  1 May – 15 Nov · usuallyCrowded

  The long dry stretch, and why the island's season runs May to November. Flat mornings, the boats to Nosy Iranja and Tanikely going daily, and effectively no rain.

• Festival

  Festival Donia

  20 May – 15 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The Indian Ocean's biggest music festival, held around Pentecost: four nights of concerts plus a carnival and pirogue races, with tens of thousands coming over from the mainland. Source ↗

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, The dry season

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: The dry season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually)), Festival Donia (20 May – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — The dry season, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Humpback whales

  1 Jul – 30 Sep · usuallyWhale season

  Humpbacks move through the channel on their way to and from Sainte Marie, and the boats out of Ambatoloaka find them most days through the middle of the dry season.

Still on: The dry season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — The dry season, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: The dry season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually)), Humpback whales (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — The dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Whale sharks

  1 Sep – 15 Dec · usuallyDive season

  Whale sharks feed off the north of the island through the last quarter of the year, thickest in October and November. Swimming with them is regulated and the operators mostly keep to the code.

Still on: The dry season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually)), Humpback whales (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — The dry season, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: The dry season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually)), Whale sharks (1 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))

Busy — The dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: The dry season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually)), Whale sharks (1 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))

Busy — Festive season peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The hot, wet months

  1 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallyMonsoonClosures

  Heavy afternoon rain, dive visibility down and a good share of the smaller hotels closed until after Easter. What stays open is the cheapest it gets.

• Hazard

  Cyclone season

  15 Dec – 31 Mar · usually

  The north-west takes fewer direct hits than Madagascar's east coast, but a system passing offshore is enough to ground the boats and shut the airport at Fascene for a day or two. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Festive season peak

  15 Dec – 10 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Réunion and the mainland come over for the holidays and the flights into Fascene fill up. It falls in the middle of the wet months, so you pay the year's top rate for the year's worst weather. Source ↗

Still on: Whale sharks (1 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))