Best Time to Visit Mahajanga

Overall, Mahajanga, with the tropical savannah climate, is relatively hot all year round, but has distinct dry and rainy seasons. For most tourists and most visiting activities, the best time tends to be the dry season from April to October. During this period, Mahajanga receives only a little rainfall and experiences quite a small number of rainy days. This means on the one hand that your trip plan will hardly be influenced by rain, and on the other hand that the roads are in good condition and even wild attractions are accessible.

Sunny Mahajanga in the Dry Season

However, you need to know that July and August are the peak travel seasons in Mahajanga. You will see a lot of tourists, a large part of whom are those from the northern hemisphere’s countries who come here to spend their summer vacation. In addition, you will find hotels and flights relatively difficult and expensive to book.

 See also: Antsiranana Weather

If you are planning to visit Mahajanga in 2025, it is advisable to avoid traveling in January and February. These two months are in the middle of the rainy season, with extremely high and frequent rainfall. On average, there are around 20 rainy days per month, when you may need to stay indoors and cannot go out for a visit. The high humidity, resulting from the high rainfall, combined with the high temperature, makes you feel sweltering. What’s worse, the risk of tropical cyclones in Mahajanga is high at this time.

As depicted in the table above, the low season in Mahajanga is from December to March, when the weather is less stable and rainy. As mentioned above, January and February are not recommended for visiting Mahajanga. But if you are OK with the occasional rain, you can choose to go to Mahajanga in December or March, when the rainfall is much lower than that of January and February.

In fact, Mahajanga in shoulder season is also relatively quiet.

If you’re looking for slightly cooler months to visit Mahajanga, June, July, and August may fulfill your needs to some extent. The maximum temperature in these months is lower than that of many other months, and you won’t feel quite hot even in the middle of the day. Additionally, since these months have larger temperature differences between day and night, you’ll be able to enjoy longer warm but not-hot periods during the process when the temperature slowly climbs.

The first condition for visiting these sites, which are away from the city center and whose main way of visiting is on foot, is that the roads to and within these places are passable. Therefore, May to October, when the average monthly rainfall is less than 20 mm and the roads are in good condition, is the best time to hike and explore Cirque Rouge, Anjohibe Caves, or Ankarafantsika National Park.

National Parks with Roads in Good Condition

The sea water is warm and suitable for water-based activities all year round, with the average monthly temperature of above 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). Therefore, the best time to visit the beach depends mainly on whether the weather is sunny and the sunshine hours are long enough. Considering the above two points, April to October, when the weather is quite clear and the sunshine hours per day can reach about 10, is the best time to relax and sunbathe on the beach.

People Relaxing on the Beach