Welcome to Sababu Safari’s Tanzania travel guide. Even if you aren’t travelling with us, we hope we can help you figure out when the best time to visit Tanzania is for you. And that’s the key part to consider: when is best for you. Remember that what you want as an individual traveller matters, this is why we offer completely customisable safaris in Tanzania. While some times of year may suit the majority of travellers, don’t lose sight of what you want. That said, we hope this guide will help you on your way to planning your next big adventure, whenever you decide to come!
The Most Popular Time of Year to Visit Tanzania
There are a few different variables that coalesce to make July until October the most popular time of year to visit Tanzania. This is when the Great Migration makes its big river crossings (more on this later); it is also when there is very little rain; and it’s when the country’s tourism is in full flow.
For many, there is no downside at all to visiting Tanzania between July and October as they get to see everything they want to see and the dry weather is perfect for safaris. However, if you want to avoid crowds and are looking for a truly wild experience, then the additional safari vehicles in the parks may be a little jarring for you. If you value tranquillity above anything else, and don’t mind a little rain, then you should consider visiting during the ‘Green Season’…
Visiting Tanzania During the Green Season
The ‘green season’ is a term for the wettest time of year; it’s green because the extra rain makes the grass long and lush, making it slightly more challenging to spot many of the animals. Given the abundance of vegetation and drinking water, wildlife doesn’t need to cluster at just a few watering holes – they tend to scatter over the national parks because water is plenty.
However, it’s important to state that an experienced local guide can make a green season safari completely worth it, so you may like to consider travelling between November and March (with January – March being the Calving Season!). And if isolation is key but you’d prefer to travel during the high season, you should read a little more about Katavi National Park, which enjoys fewer visitors as it is difficult to access. Making the effort to reach Katavi National Park, however, is well worth it, as you’ll be rewarded with high numbers of lions, hippos, and crocodiles to rival anywhere else in Tanzania.
Visiting Tanzania During April and May
As we said at the start, there is no 100% correct time that is best to visit Tanzania for everyone, and this is because there are many kinds of travellers. This said, one time that is undoubtedly the least frequently visited is April and May, and this is because there is a lot of rainfall during this time. Heavy rainfall helps support the abundance of animal life in Tanzania, but it sometimes makes certain roads unaccessible and not all camps/lodges are open during this time of year. However, there is an opportunity for lush green landscape photographs of many of Tanzania’s wildest places; if this interests you, check out our Tanzania Photo Safaris.
Visiting Tanzania During the Great Migration
If your number-one reason to travel to Tanzania is to see the Great Migration of wildebeest, zebra, and various kinds of antelope, then we have some good news: you might have been misled about there being a tight window of opportunity to see this immense natural spectacle. This huge movement of animals can be followed throughout the year, but they are only crossing the Mara River between July and October. While July–October is a brilliant time to see the Great Migration, it’s not the only time you can see this huge concentration of animals.
For example, if you visit the Serengeti National Park between February and March, you are in for a treat as this is calving season, with 8,000+ wildebeest calves born each day. It is a great time to see nature at its most delicate, with new life everywhere. And all of the new-born calves attract various predators from hundreds of miles around, so you can expect to spot lions, hyenas, cheetahs and jackals. Here is a simplistic breakdown to help you decide when you’d like to visit, if seeing the Great Migration is a non-negotiable part of your Tanzania safari:
January–March — This is the calving season in the southern Serengeti
April–May — This is the breeding season in the western and central Serengeti
May–June — This is when the herds are crossing the Grumeti River in western Serengeti
July–September — This is when the herds are crossing the Mara River in northern Serengeti
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is Great to Visit all Year Round
One part of Tanzania offers consistently good wildlife safaris all-year-round: the Ngorongoro Crater. This conservation area is the cornerstone of Tanzania’s tourism industry, alongside Serengeti National Park, precisely because there is never a bad time to visit. While some areas inside Ngorongoro Crater might be a bit harder to access during the rainy season, but there is just so much to see and do that no one could leave disappointed, and there is something wonderful about exploring this landscape while it’s at its most green and luscious. In the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you can go on safari, visit the cradle of mankind at Olduvai Gorge, marvel at the largest intact caldera in the world, check out the views from the crater’s rim. To learn more, read our Ngorongoro Conservation Area bucket-list guide!
While we haven’t gone into a month-by-month breakdown of when you should visit Tanzania, it’s our job to help you plan your trip and to inspire and enthuse you! If you have any questions about this blog and if you’d like Sababu Safaris to create a Tanzania safari at the perfect time to suit you, please just get in touch!