Best Time to Visit Sudan

December and January: the sweet spot

If you only get one window, make it December or January. Days in Khartoum are warm and dry, and the nights are properly cool. You can walk along the Nile at sunset without feeling cooked. This is also high season, though Sudan never gets crowded the way Egypt does. You'll mostly share sights with locals and a handful of aid workers and business travellers.

Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North sit side by side where the Blue and White Nile meet, so the weather is the same in all three. Timing doesn't change from one to the next. What changes is what you do. Omdurman's Friday evening Sufi dancing near the Hamed al-Nil tomb is a highlight in the cooler months, and the Omdurman souk is far easier to browse when it isn't blazing out.

May to September: hot, then wet

May is the hottest month, at 42°C. Afternoons are fierce, and most people stay indoors until the evening. Then the rains arrive. August is the wettest month, with 76 mm. That's not huge by tropical standards, but downpours can flood unpaved streets and slow down roads out of the city. Dust storms, called haboobs, are also common around the start of the rains. They can turn the sky orange and cut visibility fast.

If you must travel in summer, plan indoor stops for midday, like the National Museum in Khartoum, which holds temples moved from Nubia.

Holidays and events

Ramadan and the two Eids shift each year, so check the Islamic calendar. During Ramadan, restaurants often close by day and public eating is discouraged. Evenings come alive after the sunset meal, though. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha bring family travel, closed offices and packed buses. Independence Day on 1 January lands right in peak season, so expect shut banks and government offices.

Before you go

Conditions on the ground can change quickly, and conflict has hit Khartoum hard. Check your government's current travel advice before anything else. Weather is only part of the picture.