We are thinking about staying three nights on a beach in Mombassa after trip to Uganda. I am uncertain about weather in mid June. Some websites suggest that the weather is not good then, that it is very windy, and that beaches are full of seaweed. Anybody with experience of this? I am looking for beaches that are good for swimming. Any recommendations? Does the weather here differ significantly from Zanzibar at this time of the year?
1
christopher_haslett
You mean June next year, right? June falls at the end of the "long rains" but every year is different. It could be raining next June or relatively fine, or a mixture of both. The wind tends to blow quite strongly from the south at that time of year, making the coast noticeably cooler (and more comfortable). July is actually the coldest month (by equatorial standards).
Zanzibar gets the monsoon (which moves northward) sooner than Kenya and it should end sooner. But this is verging on a dangerous generalization as the climate gets more haywire.
In Kenya at least, the "seaweed" is actually grass that gets stripped from the bottom of the waters inside the reef by the wave action. This grass washes onto the beach throughout the year in an ongoing process. It can show up any time and any place, so you have to accept that you will get it sometimes.
3
christopher_haslett
pns, October is supposedly in the "short rains" season. But the timing is different every year. In some years Kenya gets barely any short rains. Tanzania as a general rule gets better rains.
I wouldn't let the possibility of rain put you off East Africa at any time of the year. There is plenty of sunshine even during the "rains". It is not exactly a wet part of the world!
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