Shop a Review

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha are located in the South Atlantic Ocean, far from the coast of Africa. These three islands and the smaller islands belonging to Tristan da Cunha are governed from Great Britain (British Overseas Territory). The capital of the islands is Jamestown and is located on the island of Saint Helena. The smaller islands belonging to Tristan da Cunha are Gough, Inaccessible and the Nightingale Islands, all uninhabited. Saint Helena is mainly known because Napoleon Bonaparte spent his last days in exile here. In total, about 6000 people live on the islands, most of them on Saint Helena. Since there is no airport on the islands, the inhabitants are completely dependent on shipping. In ancient times, the islands played an important role in shipping to Southeast Asia. The long sea voyage was interrupted here to stock up on provisions and fresh drinking water. In the 17th century, Saint Helena was even claimed by the Dutch for a number of years. The islands all have a maritime climate, but vary from a tropical to a temperate maritime climate, which on most islands is influenced by the trade winds. The temperatures on Saint Helena are on average a lot higher than on Tristan da Cunha. The trade wind also seems a lot fresher here. The average rainfall is not very far apart. Ascension is a lot further north than the other two and seems to be less affected by the trade winds. The precipitation on Ascension is also a lot lower than on the other two. It is even very dry here.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Best time to visit Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. The British island territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is located in the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of the African continent. The three islands of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha have had equal status since 2009. The capital Jamestown can be found on Saint Helena, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent the last years of his life in exile. There is a large topographical spread between the three islands, which means that there is a clear difference in the climate per island. Ascension is at latitude 7.56 degrees south, St. Helena is a bit further south at latitude 15.57 degrees south, and Tristan da Cunha is at about 37 degrees south latitude. That is further south than the southernmost tip of the African mainland.

Ascension

Since Ascension is located in the tropical zone, you would expect that you would be dealing with a tropical climate here. That is not true. Because there is little precipitation here, Ascension has a warm desert climate with maximum temperatures around 25 to 30 degrees all year round, minimums around twenty trades and a fair amount of sun almost all months. Ascension has almost a perfect travel climate as a result.

The best time to travel to Ascension for a holiday is from January to December. Right, that’s all year round. But what did you expect in a destination where it is always nice and warm and it hardly rains?

Saint Helena

Saint Helena also has a warm desert climate, with a warm Mediterranean climate inland at the somewhat higher altitudes. The afternoon temperatures are around 22 to 28 degrees Celsius in the summer and between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius during the winter. Since Saint Helena is in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are opposite to our seasons. The best time to travel to Saint Helena is from November to May. It is warmer and drier during this period. Inland it is up to five degrees cooler than on the coast.

Tristan da Cunha

The southernmost island of the archipelago, Tristan da Cunha, has a temperate maritime climate. With maximum temperatures around 12 to 16 degrees in winter and 18 to 22 degrees in summer, you can see that the seawater has a clear dampening effect on the weather on Tristan da Cunha. It is striking that the record temperatures do not deviate much from the long-term averages. As a result, both summer temperatures (25 degrees or higher) and frost do not occur. There is enough precipitation on this island. Count on an average of 1600 to 1800 millimeters of rain on an annual basis. The best time to travel to Tristan da Cunha is from November to March. This is the summer when you have the highest temperatures, the least rainfall and the most sunshine.