Best Time to Visit Goa: Month by Month

Goa has three seasons. From October to March the skies are mostly clear, the sea is in its normal state and the crowds peak in December and through New Year. April and May are hot and humid. The south-west monsoon runs from June to September, when the Department of Tourism advises against swimming and the state's policy bars water sports. The state's beaches and sights are in our Goa travel guide.

The monthly figures below are the India Meteorological Department's long-term normals for Panaji, which give 291.6 cm of rain a year over 97 rainy days, an average daytime high of 31.7°C and an average night-time low of 23.4°C. Temperatures move by only a few degrees through the year. The rain moves enormously.

January

The sunniest month of the year, with more than 320 hours of sunshine, according to Goa Tourism. IMD's normals are a daytime high of 32.4°C and a night-time low of 20.2°C, which makes January the coldest month, with about 1 mm of rain. Peak season carries on from December. The Department of Tourism advises booking flights well ahead for October to January.

February

The driest month: IMD's normal rainfall for February is 0.0 cm, with highs of 32.2°C and lows of 20.7°C. Carnival falls in February or March, depending on the date of Easter, and lasts four days. Panaji is its main centre and holds its largest and most elaborate parade, and parades also run in Margao, Vasco da Gama, Mapusa, Porvorim and Morjim.

March

Still dry, at about 2 mm of rain, but warmer at night: the normal low rises to 23.3°C and the high is 32.3°C. Shigmo, the spring festival of music, dance and float parades through the towns, falls in March or April, and Carnival lands in March in some years. March is the last month of the October-to-March season that Goa Tourism calls very pleasant.

April

The hot season begins, with a normal high of 33.1°C, a low of 25.3°C and about 6 mm of rain. Goa Tourism says daytime temperatures sometimes reach around 36°C and that a sea breeze usually starts after 3 pm. The highest temperature IMD has recorded at Panaji, 39.8°C, was on 7 April 1989.

May

The hottest month, with a normal high of 33.6°C and a low of 26.4°C; the state's information department puts day temperatures over 35°C, with high humidity. Rain returns, at about 97 mm, and IMD says thunderstorms are most frequent in May, June, September and October.

June

The monsoon reaches Goa around 5 June in a normal year, and June brings about 874 mm of rain, with a high of 30.6°C and a low of 24.9°C. IMD's heaviest 24-hour fall at Panaji, 36.7 cm, was on 12 June 1999. The Department of Tourism says not to swim in the monsoon, and water sports stop. São João on 24 June sends villagers jumping into wells, with its centre at Siolim and a boat sangodd at Baga.

July

The wettest month, at 92.6 cm, and the skies in the south-west monsoon are generally heavily clouded to overcast, with a normal high of 29.2°C. It is the month for waterfalls. Incredible India says Dudhsagar is at its best in the monsoon, and GTDC says Arvalem Falls, near Bicholim, are at their zenith then. Check that treks to Dudhsagar are running before you plan around it.

August

Rain eases to about 569 mm, and the normal high of 29.1°C is the lowest of the year. Bonderam, a flag-and-float festival on Divar island named after the flags once used to mark field boundaries, is held in the last week of August. The seas stay rough, and the monsoon rules on swimming and water sports still apply.

September

About 266 mm of rain, less than half of August's total, and the normal high climbs back to 30.1°C. GTDC's pages on Patnem and Galgibaga say the seas are rough, with dangerous undercurrents, until the monsoon ends in September. Thunderstorms are among the most frequent of the year this month.

October

The monsoon withdraws, though October still brings about 131 mm of rain, with a high of 31.8°C and a low of 24.0°C. Goa Tourism counts October to March as its pleasant season, and our Goa scuba diving page starts its diving season in October. The water-sports policy ties the closure to the monsoon and to any period the authorities notify, so ask an operator when it is running before you book.

November

Dry and warm: about 32 mm of rain, a high of 33.2°C, which is warmer by day than any month from December to March, and a low of 22.6°C. The International Film Festival of India takes over Panaji for eight days every November. Our water sports, sunset cruise and yoga retreat pages all start their reliable window in mid-November.

December

Peak season, with about 12 mm of rain, a high of 32.9°C and a low of 20.9°C. Goa Tourism describes the state as packed from December through New Year. The Feast of St Francis Xavier is on 3 December at Old Goa, with a nine-day novena and a fair beside it, and Panjim's church has its feast on 8 December. Book flights and rooms well ahead.

• Swimming and the beach: October to March. Swim only between the red-and-yellow flags, where lifesavers are on duty, and not after sunset, since all beaches are closed from sunset to 7 am.
• Water sports and boat trips: never in the monsoon. The state's policy lists boat rides, river cruises, parasailing, kayaking, banana boat rides, speed boat rides and dolphin trips as water sports, allows only registered operators, and limits them to 8 am to 6.30 pm or before sunset, whichever is earlier. Our Goa water sports and Goa sunset cruise pages both quote mid-November to February.
• Diving: our diving page runs October to May, on calmer, clearer water, with no diving from June to September.
• Green hills and waterfalls: July and August, with the caution above about Dudhsagar. GTDC says Mayem Lake is at its greenest in the monsoon, and Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary is accessible in all seasons.
• Quiet: the monsoon. GTDC's page for Ashwem calls it the least popular season, because of rough seas and bad weather.