When to Visit Bissau

Bissau hugs the equator so closely that sunshine is guaranteed. The real question is water, and when it arrives. Guinea-Bissau's capital obeys one of West Africa's sharpest wet-dry swings: six months of near total dryness, then six months when the Atlantic monsoon empties its pockets. The city shows two faces, and you will meet one of them. The dry season, November through May, is the simpler half for travelers. Rainfall vanishes from November through April, data showing zero recorded millimetres across those months, while temperatures climb through February and March and top out near 36°C (96°F) by mid-afternoon. What softens the heat during December, January, and February is the Harmattan, a dry northeasterly wind that drifts in from the Sahara carrying fine dust, bleaching the light to a milky haze and pushing overnight lows down to around 18-19°C (64-66°F). By March and April the Harmattan has gone, and the heat feels more stubborn without that cooling breath. June flips the switch. The first serious rains crash in with conviction, about 140mm across the month, and by July and August Bissau soaks up rainfall that rivals parts of Southeast Asia's monsoon belt, averaging 371-467mm per month across those two peak months. Temperatures dip a notch during the rainy season, cooled by clouds and deluges, with August highs of only 30°C (86°F) marking the year's gentlest peak. Humidity, however, climbs to a thick, clinging presence the numbers never quite capture. October sees the rains ease off, and by November the cycle reboots.