Long-term averages, rounded to figures that tell you something. Visibility and crowding are our own observations, with the method stated.
| MONTH | WATER | AIR | RAIN | DAYS | VISIBILITY | WIND | CROWDS | TURTLES | MOSQUITOES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27 °C | 29 °C | 35 mm | 7 | 25 m | fresh | high | — | many |
| February | 26 °C | 29 °C | 18 mm | 4 | 30 m | fresh | high | — | moderate |
| March | 26 °C | 29 °C | 10 mm | 3 | 30 m | fresh | high | — | few |
| April | 26 °C | 30 °C | 15 mm | 3 | 30 m | moderate | medium | begin | few |
| May | 27 °C | 30 °C | 25 mm | 4 | 28 m | moderate | low | nesting | few |
| June | 28 °C | 31 °C | 20 mm | 3 | 28 m | moderate | low | nesting | few |
| July | 28 °C | 31 °C | 25 mm | 3 | 25 m | fresh | medium | nesting | few |
| August | 29 °C | 32 °C | 30 mm | 3 | 25 m | fresh | medium | nesting | few |
| September | 29 °C | 32 °C | 40 mm | 4 | 25 m | light | low | hatching | moderate |
| October | 29 °C | 31 °C | 80 mm | 8 | 20 m | light | low | hatching | many |
| November | 28 °C | 30 °C | 100 mm | 10 | 20 m | moderate | medium | hatching | many |
| December | 28 °C | 30 °C | 90 mm | 9 | 22 m | fresh | high | — | many |
ANNUAL RAINFALL 488 mm OVER 61 days · SOURCES PER COLUMN BELOW
Pick a month — wind, visibility and crowds colour in, with a suggestion for how to structure your week. Based on long-term figures; indicative, no booking.
July. The trade wind is strong. Start with the sheltered house reefs at Kralendijk and the south; save the north coast for the calmest mornings.
Turtles are nesting — keep clear of tracks on the beach.
A ten-year average says nothing about the day you step into the water. October is the wettest month, but the rain falls mostly at night and in short showers; visibility drops because of swell sooner than because of rain. On this west coast wind matters more than rainfall: in a north-westerly swell the ledges at Karpata and Oil Slick Leap are the problem, not the sky.
We measure crowds by counting: how many vans are parked at the ten best-known sites on a weekday morning. That is crude, which is why it says low, medium or high rather than a percentage.