Tunis month by month
With around 486 mm of rain a year and an almost waterless summer, the question here is not whether it will rain but how much heat you are willing to take.
01 Two inverted seasons
The capital’s climate is Mediterranean leaning semi-arid, and its rainfall distribution surprises anyone arriving with the idea of a uniformly dry North Africa. According to the 1991-2020 normals, December receives some 68 mm and January around 59, while July stops at 4.4 mm. The annual total is around 486 mm.
That winter water does not fall as continuous drizzle but in showers that unload and move on. So the wet season does not ruin a trip: it means packing a layer and accepting that a couple of afternoons will go wrong, while leaving plenty of clear days in between.
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02 Summer is the problem
From June to August the city shifts into another regime. July and August average highs of 34 and 34.5 °C, with lows that do not drop below 22 °C, and July accumulates around 355 hours of sunshine. Add to that episodes of hot southern wind, which can push the thermometer several degrees above average.
The figure that sums it up best is the record: 49 °C on 24 July 2023. In a city visited on foot, between covered souks and avenues without continuous shade, that number is not meteorological trivia: it completely changes how the day is organized.
03 The two good windows
The first runs from March to May. Highs climb from 19 to 26 °C, rain drops from 46 to 22 mm and sunshine goes from 220 to 291 hours a month. This is the stretch in which you can walk the whole medina in the morning and continue to the Carthage site in the afternoon without rationing energy.
The second is October and November. The sea is still warm, highs hover around 27 and 21 °C, and although it rains a bit more — some 55 and 53 mm — the showers are brief. September falls in no-man’s land: still hot and carrying some 58 mm of late-summer storms.
Key moments at a glance
Gentle temperatures, little rain and long daylight.
Heat withdrawn, short showers and fewer visitors.
Perfectly visitable if you accept the odd afternoon lost to rain.
Averages of 34 °C and a record of 49 °C; the day splits in two.
04 Verdict
Go in April, May, October or November. These are the months when the city can be covered entirely on foot, when the Carthage site does not punish you and when the nearby coast still makes sense.
Winter is a reasonable alternative if you want low prices and quiet streets, provided you accept the damp. July and August, by contrast, only pay off if your plan is beach and shaded hotel rather than city.
