Destinations · Head-to-head
Montego Bay vs Zanzibar
Montego Bay 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
| Montego Bay | Measure | Zanzibar |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution | U.S. travel advisory | Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution |
| 20 (better) | Resorts in our catalog | 15 |
| ★ 4.4 | Average guest rating | ★ 4.6 (better) |
| $159–$822/night pp | Nightly rates | $93–$723/night pp (better) |
| 12 of 20 | Adults-only resorts | 0 of 15 |
| In the hurricane belt | Hurricane exposure | No hurricane season (better) |
| May–June and September–November, mostly short afternoon bursts | 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 |
| Sangster (MBJ), most resorts 10–30 min | 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
Montego Bay
Zanzibar
Weather, month by month
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montego Bay · high °F | 82 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 86 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 85 | 83 |
| Zanzibar · high °F | 89 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 84 | 84 | 83 | 83 | 84 | 86 | 88 | 89 |
| Montego Bay · rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 7.1 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| 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 Montego Bay / Rose Hall 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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