São Tomé weather by month

The best time to visit São Tomé is June to August — 92/100 in July, 26°C and 1 rainy day. The best season is the dry season, June to September (91/100 on average).

The worst month is November at 68/100 — hot, soaked, clean air. See November →

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

São Tomé🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe · Central Africa · Island92
  1. 81Jan
  2. 83Feb
  3. 77Mar
  4. 76Apr
  5. 79May
  6. 90Jun
  7. 92Jul
  8. 92Aug
  9. 89Sep
  10. 73Oct
  11. 68Nov
  12. 74Dec

Best season: June to September (91/100 on average) · worst November (68/100)

Days
26°C
Nights
25°C
Wet days
1
Sun
10.3 h
Humidity
81%
Daylight
12 h
São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe
Photo: Helena Van Eykeren from Gent, Belgium · CC BY 2.0

São Tomé, month by month

Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip São Tomé 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.

MonthScoreTierHighRainSunCrowdsOn
Jan81A28°C23 d10 hShoulder2
Feb83A29°C16 d10 hShoulder2
Mar77B29°C19 d9 hShoulder—
Apr76B29°C17 d9 hShoulder—
May79B28°C18 d9 hShoulder—
Jun90S27°C5 d10 hBusy1
Jul92S26°C1 d10 hBusy3
Aug92S26°C2 d10 hBusy2
Sep89A27°C7 d10 hShoulder2
Oct73B27°C22 d9 hQuiet1
Nov68C27°C25 d9 hQuiet1
Dec74B28°C26 d10 hQuiet2

What's on in São Tomé through the year

Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.

June
  • Gravana, the dry season1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Season
July
  • Humpback whales15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually)Nature
  • Independence Day12 JulHoliday
November
  • Sea turtle nesting1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Nature
December
  • Gravanito, the little dry spell15 Dec – 10 Feb (usually)Season

Everything on in São Tomé through the year →

Crowds in São Tomé in July

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.

BusyIndependence Day, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Traveller notes on São Tomé

What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.

Forum posters describing December-into-January visits report notably dry, sunny stretches: one visitor saw only about a day's worth of rain across their whole trip, and another spanning two weeks of January reported no rain at all except one roughly hour-long shower early on. Posters consistently cite daytime temperatures around 30C as typical for this window. It is worth noting that the full 12-month climate record shows January is actually one of São Tomé and Príncipe's wetter months overall (around 24 rainy days), with the islands' genuine short dry season (locally the "gravana") falling June through September instead - these travelers' good fortune with dry conditions may reflect normal day-to-day variability within a wetter month rather than the seasonal norm. Posters generally rate January as warm and humid for São Tomé, with a real chance of a lucky dry stretch but no guarantee of one given the time of year.
Tripadvisor community · January · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Forum posters name July, alongside August and January, as part of the islands' dry season, though posters are direct that conditions vary meaningfully by location even within Sao Tome itself - dry in the north, rain most of the day in the center, and a genuine 50/50 mix in the south. Posters describe the overall climate as equatorial and consistently warm and humid regardless of season, with even 'dry season' rain typically limited to an hour or so rather than an all-day event when it does happen. Posters describe skies as often cloudy generally, but flag Ilheu das Rolas specifically as a reliable spot for sunnier days. Posters generally rate July as a reasonable time to visit, provided visitors understand 'dry season' here is relative and location-dependent rather than a guarantee of sunshine everywhere on the islands.
Tripadvisor community · July · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Add your own note from São Tomé's card on the map.