Kigoma is one of the busiest ports on northeastern Lake Tanganyika since historically it was the only one that had a functioning railway connection (the one at Kalemie in The Democratic Republic of the Congo is not operational at the moment[when?

[3] The MV Liemba sails every week from Kigoma to Mpulungu in Zambia at the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika, stopping at a number of other lakeside towns in Tanzania on the way.

The MV Mwongozo sails from Kigoma to Baraka, Uvira and Bujumbura at the northern tip of the lake, although it is not working currently.

[4] The Central Line of the Tanzania Railways Corporation runs from Kigoma to the Port of Dar es Salaam on to the Indian Ocean coast via Tabora and Dodoma.

Kigoma has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with a wet season between November and April.