Kos vs Zanzibar

Pool deck with loungers overlooking a bay, white modern building, and dining area at Mitsis Selection Blue Domes under blue sky.

Thatched-roof pavilion with blue curtains surrounded by palm trees, flowering plants, and a small pool at The Palms Zanzibar.

Kos 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

Kos compared with Zanzibar
Kos	Measure	Zanzibar
Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions (better)	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
2	Resorts in our catalog	15 (better)
★ 4.8 (better)	Average guest rating	★ 4.6
$169–$561/night pp	Nightly rates	$93–$723/night pp (better)
0 of 2	Adults-only resorts	0 of 15
No hurricane season	Hurricane exposure	No hurricane season
November–March	Rainy season	Long rains mid-March to May (April is the wettest month), short rains in November
June and September; July–August is hottest and windiest	Sweet spot	June to October and December to February
Kos (KGS), in the centre of the island; most resorts are 10–30 min away	Airport	Abeid Amani Karume (ZNZ); listed transfers run 40 to 97 minutes
May–October; June and September are the sweet spots	Season	June to October and December to February; long rains mid-March to May

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

Kos

Zanzibar

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Kos and Zanzibar
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Kos · high °F	59	59	63	68	76	84	88	88	83	76	68	61
Zanzibar · high °F	89	90	90	87	84	84	83	83	84	86	88	89
Kos · rain (in)	5.0	3.4	2.4	0.9	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.3	2.1	3.6	5.8
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