Equatorial Guinea
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,950km²
Area
270km
Coastline
3,011m
Highest point
Pico Basilé
334,463
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
32km
To the mainland
When to go to Bioko
Best for the beach from December to January.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Northern island of Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa
Bioko is an island in Equatorial Guinea. It covers 1,950 km², with 270 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico Basilé, rises to 3,011 m. About 334,463 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 32 km away.
Getting there
- Malabo International Airport (SSG)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at DLA airport (Douala)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesMalabo - Bata
- 32 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From December to Januarybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Bioko.
- 24beachesPlaya Moaba, Riaba Beach, Playa de Sobe and 21 more
- 2viewpointsECG Fabrication Yard, Vista de Moka
- 2lighthousesFaro de Riaba
- 2ferry terminalsBarque, Puerto de Malabo
- 5volcanoesPico Basilé, Pico Gran Caldera, Pico Biaó and 2 more
- 6waterfalls
- 2castles and fortsPalacio Presidencial, Josemartin vivienda
- 47hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 93restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Bioko in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Bioko, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
8mountainsPeakyas
2lakesLakeyas
1waterfallCascadyas
Highest point
3,011m
prominence 3,011 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
0.47km²
Lago de Biaó
according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.3°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playa de Carboneras29.3°C
- Playa de Aleñá29.3°C
- Horton Covecove29.3°C
8 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Pico Basiléprominence 3,011 m3,011m
- San Carlosprominence 1,539 m2,261m
- San Joaquin2,009m
- Mount Biao
- Monte Caleo
- Cerros de los Loros
- Pico Misterio
- Monte Boloco
2 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lago de Biaó0.47km²
- Lago Loreto0.26km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Iladyi Waterfalls
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 639 m above the sea. 27 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 19 %50–200 m
- 24 %200–500 m
- 26 %500–1,000 m
- 21 %1,000–2,000 m
- 3 %> 2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Malabo155,963 people
- Luba8,655 people
- Rebola8,259 people
- Santiago de Baney2,365 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 32 | 77 | 156 | 202 | 216 | 298 | 306 | 333 | 338 | 243 | 155 | 28 |
| Wet days | 6 | 12 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 19 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 5.4 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 5.3 |
| Wind (km/h) | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.4 | −0.4 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.3 |
| 2023 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +1.4 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.2 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Cameroon
Nigeria
Sao Tome and Principe
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q205022) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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