Socotra weather patterns  

  • September: Coming out of the windy season, and still somewhat windy on the north coast. The sea is just navigable; usually no rain and the temperature still quite warm.
  • October: A breeze now on shore from the North East, usually bringing some scattered rains to the island. The temperature is cooling down, but still warm. The sea is mostly calm.
  • November to January:  This is the time you can enjoy the coolest weather on the island (The locals refer to this season as “winter”), although the lowest temperature in the coastline is never below 25 degrees…Thanks to scattered rainfalls you can roam through incredible lush green landscapes, especially in the highlands and in Hagghier Mountains. If you are planning to join a hiking tour  to the top of Hagghier mountains, kindly keep in mind that the temperature in Skand can be very cold with frosty mornings!  Swimming on the beaches included in the itinerary, except Delisha beach, is possible.
  • February to May: These are the pleasant months. The sea begins to calm down and travelling in small boats becomes more comfortable. Desert roses bloom in lovely pink flowers from mid-March to mid-April. April and May are quite hot, up to 38 degrees near the coasts. But it is quite a lot cooler on the top of the mountain range and at Skand you would still need a covering at night to keep warm, but probably not a sleeping bag. These are still good months to visit the island.
  • June/July/ August: These are the very windy months especially on the north coast. The south coast is fairly calm at the same time. The winds blow in Hadibo day and night for three months at about 80 kph, only slacking off most days for an hour or two in the afternoon to perhaps 60kph. Gusts have been recorded at the port area of Holaf at 180kph.  Schools close and fishing stops, except for a couple of places such as Delisha, but all round the island fishing is limited by the strong ocean currents at this time of the year.  It is not really a time for normal  tourism except for surfing and trekking. In the north-western part of Socotra from July to August you can see big turtles crawling at night on deserted sandy beaches to lay eggs. The weather is still calm in the middle of the island and the south, so it is possible to make tours on the other coast-side of the island (the south-west). There are no rains accompanying these winds. The Boeing aircraft lands and takes off safely throughout this period, because the airstrip is straight up and down the wind direction allowing planes to land and take off straight into the wind.