Destinations · Head-to-head
Cancún vs Zanzibar
Cancún and Zanzibar, side by side: live travel advisories, our resort catalog's real guest data, and each destination's honest weather picture. Everything you need to break the tie.
By the numbers
| Cancún | Measure | Zanzibar |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution | U.S. travel advisory | Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution |
| 30 (better) | Resorts in our catalog | 15 |
| ★ 4.6 | Average guest rating | ★ 4.6 (better) |
| $67–$1694/night pp (better) | Nightly rates | $93–$723/night pp |
| 12 of 30 | Adults-only resorts | 0 of 15 |
| In the hurricane belt | Hurricane exposure | No hurricane season (better) |
| Generally May–October; winter rain is still possible | Rainy season | Long rains mid-March to May (April is the wettest month), short rains in November |
| December–April | Sweet spot | June to October and December to February |
| Cancún International (CUN) | Airport | Abeid Amani Karume (ZNZ); listed transfers run 40 to 97 minutes |
Advisory levels sync from travel.state.gov; catalog figures reflect the resorts we've researched, not every hotel in the country. A marked row is one we are willing to call; rows without a mark are a matter of taste, or we have no comparable figure for both sides.
On the map
Cancún
Zanzibar
Weather, month by month
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancún · high °F | 82 | 83 | 85 | 87 | 89 | 90 | 90 | 91 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 82 |
| Zanzibar · high °F | 89 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 84 | 84 | 83 | 83 | 84 | 86 | 88 | 89 |
| Cancún · rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Zanzibar · rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 5.9 | 15.3 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 5.5 |
Approximate climate normals for Cancún hotel zone and Zanzibar (ZNZ): planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.
Where you'd actually stay
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