If you Google "when to visit Cyprus weather", you get marketing pages that tell you "all year round is great". This page is the opposite — the actual monthly averages for the eastern coast (Famagusta, İskele, Long Beach), so you can pick a window with eyes open.

The headline numbers: annual average 20.9°C, January floor 12.9°C, August ceiling 29.5°C, sea temperature 28.5°C at peak (August), 16.7°C at floor (February). 243 mm annual rainfall — almost all of it between November and March. Sunshine: 6 hours a day in winter, 13 in midsummer.

The monthly numbers

Month	Air avg	Daytime high	Night low	Sea temp	Rainfall	Humidity	Sunshine hrs
Jan	12.9°C	17°C	11°C	17.5°C	52 mm	78%	6
Feb	13.4°C	18°C	11°C	16.7°C	46 mm	75%	7
Mar	15.0°C	20°C	12°C	17.2°C	30 mm	70%	8
Apr	18.4°C	23°C	15°C	18.6°C	15 mm	62%	9
May	22.4°C	28°C	19°C	22.0°C	10 mm	58%	11
Jun	26.5°C	32°C	23°C	25.5°C	1 mm	55%	12
Jul	29.1°C	33°C	25°C	27.5°C	0 mm	55%	13
Aug	29.5°C	32°C	26°C	28.5°C	0 mm	57%	12
Sep	27.5°C	30°C	24°C	28.0°C	7 mm	60%	11
Oct	23.2°C	27°C	20°C	25.8°C	30 mm	65%	10
Nov	18.5°C	23°C	15°C	22.0°C	40 mm	70%	8
Dec	14.7°C	18°C	12°C	19.5°C	67 mm	76%	6

What the data says, by traveller type

If you want sea-swimming with no compromises: late May through October. Sea temperature crosses 22°C in May and stays comfortable through October. Most Northern European travellers find anything above 22°C "swim-able", though body-temperature-comfortable starts around 24°C (June onward). October still holds 25.8°C — September and October are the locals' favourite swim months because the air is cooler than midsummer but the sea is still summer-warm.

If you want hot beach weather without midday discomfort: April-May or September-October. Air temperatures peak 27-30°C in shoulder months, sea is 22-28°C, sunshine is 9-11 hours/day, and you're not fighting peak humidity or midday heat. This is also when Long Beach is largely uncrowded.

If you want historic-site exploration without sun-blast: late October through April. Walking the Venetian walls of Famagusta Walled City in 17-23°C with low humidity is a different experience than doing it in 32°C August heat. The wettest months are December (67 mm) and January (52 mm) — but the rain comes in bursts, not all-day.

If budget matters most: November through February. Rain is in those months (132 mm across the four — out of 243 mm annual), but rainfall comes in bursts (3-5 wet days per month on average). Hotel + airfare are cheapest. Sea temperature drops to 16.7°C in February — too cold to swim, perfect for walking + history.

Why the eastern coast's climate is distinctive

Famagusta + İskele sit on the eastern coast of Cyprus, shielded from the mountain belt that gets the heaviest rain. Annual rainfall here is just 243 mm — one of the driest microclimates in Cyprus. The same island gets 1,000 mm+ in the Troodos mountains.

The sea temperature is also notable: the eastern Mediterranean basin warms faster than the western Mediterranean, so by mid-May it's swimmable, and it stays swimmable through October — a longer warm-water season than the southern Spanish or French coasts.

Verify the data

TRNC Meteorology Department (Meteoroloji Dairesi) publishes long-term climatological summaries via the Ministry of Transportation.
Cross-checked against Climate-Data.org and Weather Atlas Famagusta using their standard 1990-2020 reference periods. The numbers agree within 0.5°C across sources.

📊 Download the data: CSV file — open data, CC-BY-4.0 license.

Bottom line

The eastern Cyprus coast delivers what brochures promise (29.5°C August + 28.5°C sea + 13 hours sunshine) AND what brochures don't (a 22°C-water shoulder season from May to October that's often more comfortable than midsummer). The chart above is the honest picture. Pick your month from the data, not from the marketing.

For more on which specific destinations to hit in your chosen month, our 3-Day Famagusta + İskele Itinerary is the practical companion.

Browse the fleet at kiprarent.com or book a car directly.

Last updated: May 2026. Sources: TRNC Meteorology Department + Climate-Data.org + Weather Atlas (Famagusta station, 1990-2020 reference).