Best Time To Visit Dar-Es-Salaam

January and February are hot and mostly dry, with days near 32°C, the warmest of the year, and nights around 24°C.

The sea is at its warmest and this is the second-best window for Zanzibar and the offshore islands. It sits between the November and December short rains and the March long rains, so it is a real gap rather than a lull.

November and December bring occasional showers rather than sustained rain. Days stay near 31°C with nights about 23°C, and the humidity climbs.

Sightseeing and boat trips still work most days. Rates ease until the Christmas fortnight, when the coast fills with domestic and regional holidaymakers.

April is the wettest month of the year,, with March and May not far behind. This is the Kusi, the southwest monsoon, and it is the one stretch to plan around.

Rain comes in long heavy bursts, streets flood and ferry crossings get cancelled. Days remain about 30°C and humid. Prices are at their lowest and the city is at its quietest.

Zanzibar runs on the same calendar as Dar, only more sharply. Its driest month is August and its wettest is April, and April on Zanzibar is wetter still than April in Dar.

June to October is the window, with January as the second. The ferry crossing takes about two hours and is roughest in the long rains, so fly in April and May if you can. Bongoyo and Mbudya, the day-trip islands off Dar, are best June to October.

7 July: Saba Saba, the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair at the Mwalimu Nyerere grounds. It is the city's biggest annual event and it falls in the middle of the best weather.

Late June: ZIFF, the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Stone Town, a short hop away and worth timing a stopover around.

• City, museums and the fish market: June to October
• Bongoyo and Mbudya island day trips: June to October
• Onward to Zanzibar: June to October, and January
• Warmest sea: January and February
• Saba Saba trade fair: 7 July
• Lowest prices: March to May
• Month to avoid: April, the wettest of the year