Good Time to Visit
Weather
May-June and September-October are the best times to travel. There is a short rainy season from March to April, and then long rains from the end of June to beginning of September.
Summer months (April to August) can be hot with temperatures reaching up to 40°C (100 ºF) on the western plateau, dropping down to as low as freezing between December and February. However, the temperature rarely drops below 18°C (64°F) along the coast. (See Climate in Eritrea for more information).
Visitors are advised to bring lightweight and medium-weight clothing, along with warmer clothes for evenings. Waterproofs are recommended during the rainy season.
Festivals
Festivals follow the religious calendar of Orthodox Christianity. Christmas, or Leddet, is celebrated on 7 January.
Public Holidays
The following table shows the public holidays celebrated in Eritrea:
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day |
| 7 January | Leddet (Orthodox Christmas) |
| 19 January | Timket (Orthodox Epiphany) |
| 8 March | Women's Day |
| April/May (variable) | Orthodox Easter |
| 1 May | May Day |
| 24 May | Independence Day |
| 20 June | Martyrs' Day |
| 1 September | Revolution Day |
| 25 December | Christmas Day |
| Variable* | Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet) |
| Variable* | Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan) |
| Variable* | Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) |
* Although Muslim holidays always fall on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date they are celebrated on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year, due to the fact that the Islamic calendar is lunar whilst the Gregorian calendar is solar. Because this lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, Islamic holy days usually shift 11 days earlier each successive solar year. The method used to determine when each Islamic month begins also varies from country to country.