Best time to visit Senegal: weather and seasons by month

Senegal has one dry season and one rainy season, and the coast runs cooler than the interior all year. The table below is the quick read; the notes after it explain what changes your plans.

This is the window to plan around. From November the rain stops, humidity drops and the coastal trade winds return, holding Dakar, Saint-Louis and the Petite Côte 5–8 °C cooler than inland. December to February is the sweet spot: dry, breezy days around 25 °C on the coast, cool evenings in January and February, and the sea still cold until May.

It is also peak season. Winter-sun Europeans fill Saly and the Petite Côte over Christmas and New Year, and rates and occupancy climb with them. Book Saint-Louis and Sine-Saloum delta lodges early for December and January.

If you want the same dry weather with more room to move, take November or May. November brings the first dry weeks, reopening lodges and arriving birds. May is the last dry month before the rains, with low-season rates and hot interiors. April and May push inland temperatures past 40 °C, so keep those months for the coast.

Two dates can disrupt travel inside this window. Tabaski, the biggest holiday, may fall in May 2026 (lunar — check): roads jam for days before and businesses shut two to four days. Ramadan may fall in March 2026, which slows daytime service but changes little for visitors.

June and July are a transition: humidity builds, early rain reaches Casamance, and Dakar suburbs can flood in heavy downpours. August and September are the wettest and stickiest months, and the ones to skip. Casamance is Senegal's wettest region, with up to 1,500 mm a year, most of it July to September, and many beach hotels there close for the rains. Sine-Saloum lodges shut too, and Niokolo-Koba tracks close roughly July to October (check).

The upside is price. Hotel rates drop to their lowest of the year and the country is green and quiet. If you travel now, base yourself on the coast, expect afternoon downpours, and confirm that your lodge is actually open before booking. October is a shoulder month: the rains fade mid-month, the landscape is still green and humid, and lodges begin to reopen.

Senegal is not one climate. The Atlantic coast — Dakar, Saint-Louis, the Petite Côte — is the most forgiving zone, good from November to May and still fine in June while the interior bakes. The Sine-Saloum delta and the Gambia fringe (Toubacouta, Palmarin, Kaolack) share that pattern, with Harmattan dust some weeks from January to March and the best birding from November to April.

Casamance in the south is wetter and greener: best from November to April, workable in May, wet from June, and stormy in August and September. The inland north and east — Touba, Tambacounda, Niokolo-Koba, Kédougou — is the hottest zone, with 40 °C+ in April and May, haze in February, and rain from June to September.

Prices track the weather. December to February is high season: expect the year's top rates on the Petite Côte and in Dakar, and the tightest availability. March to May and November sit in the middle. June to October is low season, with the cheapest rooms of the year — the trade-off is rain, heat and closed lodges.

For a full breakdown of what things cost, see the cost of travel in Senegal page.

Senegal's public and religious holidays move with the lunar calendar, so confirm exact 2026 dates before booking transport. The ones that change how you travel:

For a first trip, aim for November to February: dry, comfortable on the coast, and everything open. If you want lower prices, shift to November or May and accept hotter interiors. If your priority is birds, come November to April for the Saloum delta and Djoudj. If you are set on Casamance, keep to November to April and check that your hotel is open.

Whatever you choose, move between cities by car and driver or sept-place in daylight only, and build in a buffer around Tabaski and the Grand Magal of Touba. For routes and trip shapes, see Senegal itineraries and how to get to Senegal.