Things to Do in Guinea-Bissau in March
March weather, activities, events & insider tips
Shoulder Season · Good Value
March Weather in Guinea-Bissau
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
93°F (33°C)
High Temp
66°F (19°C)
Low Temp
0.0 inches (0 mm)
Rainfall
70%
Humidity
Is March Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + March is Guinea-Bissau's driest month. The dirt roads to Cacheu and Bafatá harden enough for 4WD travel, opening up the country's best historical sites and birding spots that are impossible to reach from June through October.
- + Hotel rates in Bissau drop 30-40% after February's peak season, and you'll likely get upgraded to river-view rooms at places like the Hotel Azalaï 24 de Setembro without asking.
- + Salt-water fishing hits its prime, the tarpon run off the Bijagós islands peaks this month, and local pirogue captains (who've been fishing these waters since they could walk) know exactly where the 50kg+ fish are hunting.
- + Village ceremonies happen weekly across the mainland, March falls between harvest and planting, so you'll stumble upon Balanta coming-of-age rituals and Fula wrestling matches that aren't performed for tourists.
Considerations
- − Harmattan winds blow Saharan dust that turns the sky milky white and triggers respiratory issues, if you have asthma, March in Guinea-Bissau feels like chain-smoking, and the dust gets into camera equipment within hours.
- − Fresh produce becomes scarce as the dry season drags on, markets in Bissau run mostly on onions, dried fish, and imported rice, so expect repetitive meals and limited fruit options until the first rains arrive in May.
- − River transport to the Bijagós gets unreliable, water levels drop so low that boats sometimes can't reach Caravela or Orango islands, leaving travelers stranded for days waiting for higher tide.
Best Activities in March
Top things to do during your visit
Bijagós Island Pirogue Expeditions
March's bone-dry conditions make inter-island travel between Caravela, Carache, and Orango almost guaranteed, the channels are shallow enough to spot manatees surfacing, and crocodiles sun themselves on exposed mud banks. You'll share beaches with salt-water hippos on Orango and watch fishermen haul 30kg barracuda onto beaches that disappear completely during rainy season.
Booking Tip: Book through licensed operators (see current options in booking section below) at least a week ahead, demand spikes when the Harmattan clears for a few days. Look for operators with VHF radios and extra fuel tanks. Getting stuck overnight on a sandbank happens.
Cacheu Colonial Ruins Day Trips
The 40 km (25-mile) laterite road from Bissau to Cacheu hardens to concrete-like conditions in March, good for visiting the 16th-century Portuguese fort where you can still see cannonball scars from 1963 independence battles. The mango trees around the slave memorial drop fruit in March, and elderly Cape Verdean creole speakers will walk you through the holding cells for the price of a cold beer.
Booking Tip: Hire drivers through hotels in Bissau, they'll know which bridges washed out last rainy season. Plan for full-day trips; the road might be dry but it's still rough enough to average 30 km/h (19 mph).
Bissau Market Photography Walks
March's harsh light and dust create surreal conditions at Bandim Market, the smoke from charcoal fires hangs in visible layers, and the normally chaotic colors of wax-print fabrics mute to sepia tones. Photographers get shots that look like they were taken in 1970, around the dried fish section where women in traditional dress sort catfish under acacia trees.
Booking Tip: Go at 7 AM when the Harmattan hasn't burned off yet, by 10 AM the light turns flat white. Bring a scarf for the dust. It gets into lens seals permanently.
Orango National Park Hippo Tracking
Dry-season waterholes concentrate salt-water hippos into areas you can reach on foot, in March you might spot 20 animals in a single muddy pool that will be underwater and inaccessible by June. The guides from Anor village track them daily and know individual animals by scar patterns; they'll show you where a 3-ton bull named 'Tchuda' likes to wallow at sunset.
Booking Tip: Stay on the mainland side of Orango, the park headquarters has basic rooms but running water. Book guides through the park office, not through Bissau middlemen who've never been to the island.
Bafatá Riverside Bar Hopping
The Geba River drops so low in March that you can walk across sandbars to riverside bars that are underwater during rainy season. Local DJs set up sound systems in outdoor patios where you drink Gazelle beer with customs officers who haven't seen a cargo ship in weeks, the river traffic stops when water levels fall below 2 meters (6.5 feet).
Booking Tip: Start at sunset, temperatures drop from 35°C (95°F) to 28°C (82°F) quickly, and the Harmattan wind picks up just enough to make riverside drinking pleasant rather than oppressive.
Where to Stay in Guinea-Bissau in March
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for March travellers.
March Events & Festivals
What's happening during your visit
Early March (week before Ash Wednesday)
Carnaval de Bissau
Guinea-Bissau's version happens two weeks after Rio's, the city turns into a three-day parade of competing 'tabanka' music groups playing 12-foot long wooden drums. Locals spend months sewing costumes from Dutch wax prints, and by 3 AM the parties move to outdoor 'barracas' where palm wine flows from 20-liter jerry cans.
Throughout March
Balanta Rice Harvest Celebrations
Village ceremonies where young men dance with machetes to celebrate the last of the rice harvest, each family sacrifices a goat, and the meat gets distributed according to complex kinship rules that anthropologists study. Visitors get invited if they bring kola nuts and arrive before the ceremonial drinking starts at noon.
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View Guinea-Bissau Packing List →Essential Tips
Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
The smartest anti-malarial is dodging dusk bites, March's dry wind knocks mosquitoes flat. But they swarm again around water holes at sunset.
Bissau's black-market exchange sits at the port, look for the guys in reflective vests beside the fishing boats. They beat bank rates by 15%, but count your notes twice.
Village chiefs wait for a small gift before ceremonies, a 1-liter bottle of cane spirit costs less than a beer in Bissau and lands you an invite to private compound parties.
The Harmattan hands photographers dream conditions for colonial architecture, the haze softens harsh shadows on Portuguese facades that look awful under direct sun.
Stock up on phone data in Bissau, most islands have zero signal, and March is when the country's single undersea cable gets sliced by fishing boats, every year.
Avoid These Mistakes
Don't assume March is 'cool' just because it's dry, temperatures still touch 35°C (95°F) and the dust makes it feel hotter than sticky rainy-season days.
Skip same-day return trips to the Bijagós, low-tide delays can leave you stranded overnight, so pack a toothbrush and malaria pills.
Skip white clothing, the red Harmattan dust stains for good and leaves you looking like you've been sandblasted.
Forget fresh seafood in March, most fishing boats can't handle the shallow channels, so you'll dine on dried or frozen catch.
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