Best Time for an African Safari: Month by Month, Country by Country

The best time for an African safari is June to October, when the dry season reaches almost every safari country at once. Rain falls to a few millimetres a month in most parks, and the animals gather at rivers and waterholes, where the short grass makes them easy to see. February is the other great month, when the Serengeti's wildebeest give birth.

The figures below come from primary sources. Rainfall is the World Meteorological Organization's monthly average at a weather station near each park. Fees come from the park authorities and prices from the lodges' own 2026/27 rate sheets, while our enquiries this year and 3,913 reviews from our partners' guests show what travellers actually chose and found.

Key takeaways

• June to October is dry in almost every safari country, and two in three travellers who asked us for a safari in 2026 wanted those months.
• Wildebeest calving peaks around mid-February on the southern Serengeti plains, about 250 km from Arusha.
• The Mara River crossings run from about July to October, two days' drive further north.
• April is the wettest month in northern Tanzania and Kenya, and the cheapest: the Serengeti fee drops to $70.80 a day and Uganda's gorilla permit from $800 to $600.
• July is the driest month for gorilla trekking.
• Book peak migration safaris at least six months ahead.

The best time for an African safari, country by country

The best months differ because East Africa has two rainy seasons a year and southern Africa has one. The table gives the dry months for each country's main safari parks, and the rainfall at a weather station nearby in its wettest and driest months.

Sources: World Meteorological Organization climate normals for 1991 to 2020 (Kilimanjaro Airport, Iringa, Ruhengeri) and 1961 to 1990 (Hwange; Mfuwe's record runs from 1979 to 1991), and national weather-service averages published by the WMO (Narok 1988 to 2018, Nelspruit 1981 to 2010, Maun 1971 to 2000, Kabale and Windhoek 1961 to 1990). We found no official averages for stations inside Kruger or Etosha.

Tanzania has two calendars. The Tanzania Meteorological Authority's 2024 climate statement puts the northern parks in a two-season area, with long rains from March to May and short rains from October to December. The south gets one long wet season, from November to April or May.

So January and February suit the Serengeti but not Ruaha or Nyerere. One January guest who flew to Nyerere found the animals scattered by the wet. Our month-by-month guide to Tanzania and our southern Tanzania safari guide go park by park.

Why June to October works almost everywhere

The dry season is the best time to visit Africa for a safari. From June to September, Kilimanjaro Airport, the gateway to Tanzania's northern parks, averages less than 10 mm of rain a month. The Tanzania Meteorological Authority calls June through September dry for the whole country, and southern Africa's dry winter covers the same months.

Dry weather helps in three ways. Water shrinks to a few rivers and pools, so the animals come to it. The grass dies back and the bush thins. And dry tracks let a guide reach the sightings: in the rains, guests in our partners' reviews describe muddy park roads that took an experienced driver to get through.

The dry season is also the cold season. Windhoek's average daytime high is only 20.7°C in June. One guest warned that the Ngorongoro crater, at about 2,300 m, was really cold at night, so pack a fleece and a warm hat whatever the month. Our packing list covers the rest.

Water runs against the calendar in two places. The Okavango Delta floods in the dry season, because the water comes from Angola's summer rains and takes four to five months to travel the 250 km to Maun, peaking around August (Helfter and colleagues, 2022). Victoria Falls is the opposite: the Zambezi runs fullest in March and April and lowest in October and November.

Where to go on safari, month by month

No month is bad everywhere: when East Africa is at its wettest in April, Botswana and Kruger are drying out. The prices below are compared with the July to September peak.

Safari in January

January starts the calving season, with the wildebeest gathered on the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti and Ndutu. Northern Tanzania is in its short dry spell: Kilimanjaro Airport averages 43.3 mm of rain, a third of April's total.

Some camps away from the herds drop to mid-season rates after New Year. Lemala's Ewanjan camp in the central Serengeti charges $427 a night from 6 January, against $595 in August. Southern Africa is in its wettest month, with 190.0 mm at Mfuwe in South Luangwa.

Safari in February

February is the peak of the calving season in the southern Serengeti. Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), in its 2024 Mara River crossing guidelines, says more than 250,000 wildebeest calves are born each year, four in five of them within a few weeks around mid-February: 8,000 to 12,000 a day. Predators follow, and TANAPA counts about 70,000 calves lost each year to predation, drowning and separation from their mothers.

The calving grounds around Ndutu are about 250 km from Arusha, a drive of five to six hours. February is one of Karlis Auzins's two picks for a first safari, and the section on first safaris below explains why.

Safari in March

In March the herds spend their last weeks on the southern plains, and the long rains begin. The Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute flew its 2023 census between 28 and 31 March and found the herds still on the short-grass plains of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti.

Rain at Kilimanjaro Airport more than doubles, from 38.9 mm in February to 93.5 mm. The Serengeti's low-season park fee starts on 15 March. In southern Africa, Victoria Falls enters its high-water months.

Safari in April

April is the wettest and cheapest month in East Africa, and a better month for Kruger or Botswana, where the rains are tailing off. Kilimanjaro Airport averages 131.5 mm of rain and Narok, beside the Masai Mara, 135.4 mm, against 45 mm at Nelspruit and 24.5 mm at Maun. The Serengeti fee is $70.80 a day instead of $82.60, and Uganda's gorilla permit costs $600 instead of $800. Lemala's Ewanjan camp charges $305 a night.

Some seasonal camps don't open at all. Lemala publishes rates for its Ndutu camp only from December to March, and for its Mara River camp only from June to October. One April traveller in our partners' reviews had rain for about half an hour on a single day, and another had Arusha National Park to themselves.

Safari in May

By May the long rains are ending in East Africa, and southern Africa's dry season has begun. Rain at Kilimanjaro Airport eases to 73.2 mm, and TANAPA's high-season fees return on 16 May.

Kruger and Botswana are drying out, with 13 mm of rain at Nelspruit and 4.9 mm at Maun. Two guests who travelled in Tanzania in May wrote about green parks and fewer vehicles. Uganda's $600 gorilla permits still apply.

Safari in June

June is the first dry month in northern Tanzania. Rain at Kilimanjaro Airport drops to 9.1 mm, and the herds are usually in the central and western Serengeti, which our guide to where the herds are each month maps camp by camp.

Some camps still charge less than they will in July. Lemala's Ewanjan stays at $427, and the Masai Mara's entry fee stays at $100 until 30 June. Nights are cold: one guest camping at Ngorongoro called June nights freezing.

Safari in July

July starts the peak season, as the herds move into the northern Serengeti and the Masai Mara. Narok County's 2023 management plan for the Mara calls it their dry-season range from July to November.

The Mara's fee doubles to $200 on 1 July, and Lemala's central and northern Serengeti camps move to high-season rates. July and August are also the two months our enquiries ask for most. For gorillas, July is the driest month: 13.3 mm of rain at Ruhengeri, by Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.

Safari in August

For the Mara River crossings, August is the classic month, and the busiest. Seventy-two guests in our partners' reviews describe watching one. The crossings run on both sides of the border, which a Kenya and Tanzania safari can combine.

One August guest found the parks a bit too crowded. In Botswana, the Okavango Delta reaches its fullest flood in the middle of the dry season.

Safari in September

Peak season runs on through September, and it's dry from Kenya to South Africa. Kilimanjaro Airport averages 4.7 mm of rain, Nelspruit near Kruger 23 mm, and Mfuwe in South Luangwa almost none.

Lemala's camps keep high-season rates until 30 September. One September guest found the grass scorched and the bush easy to see through, and another watched a crossing within 25 minutes of arriving.

Safari in October

The dry season ends in October, the hottest month in Zambia and Botswana. Mfuwe averages a daily high of 36.4°C and Maun 34.5°C, and the animals crowd the last water.

East Africa's short rains begin. Rainfall at Narok edges up to 31.0 mm, and at Musoma, on the Serengeti's western side, to 66.7 mm. Lemala's central Serengeti camp returns to its $427 mid-season rate.

Safari in November

November brings the short rains and the year's second low season. Kilimanjaro Airport averages 51.1 mm, less than half of April's total. Lemala charges $305 at Ewanjan from 1 November to 19 December, and Uganda's gorilla permits fall to $600 again.

The herds start their walk back south. One November guest counted about 10 minutes of rain over a six-day safari, and another still found the migration in mid-November.

Safari in December

December splits in two. Until about the 19th it's quiet, green and low season, with the herds arriving back on the southern plains.

From 20 December into early January, all the camps in this guide that open then charge peak rates, and some set minimum stays: Ndutu Safari Lodge asks for at least two nights over Christmas and New Year. Southern Africa is hot and wet, with 173.5 mm of rain at Victoria Falls.

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When is the Great Migration?

The Great Migration spends most of the year in Tanzania and moves into Kenya's Masai Mara from about July to October. The best time to see the Great Migration depends on which part you want: TANAPA gives June to October for the migration and January to February for calving. The herds go north because the Mara is the only river in the Serengeti that can water them through the dry season, according to TANAPA.

Sources: TANAPA's Serengeti page and its Mara River crossing guidelines (2024); Narok County's management plan for the Mara (2023); our camp-by-camp research for each month.

How many animals there are depends on how you count. TANAPA puts the wildebeest at about 1.35 million, and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute's 2023 aerial census estimated 1,366,109. A 2025 study in PNAS Nexus that counted animals on satellite images found fewer than 600,000 in August 2022 and 2023, so the total is now debated.

The crossings can't be booked to the day. They happen when the herds decide to swim, and our comparison of river crossings and the calving season explains why some guests wait days at the bank. Calving is easier to plan, because the herds stay on the same plains for weeks. Our Serengeti timing guide goes through the park zone by zone.

When to go gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda

The best time for gorilla trekking is June to August, the driest months in the mountains where the gorillas live. Ruhengeri, by Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, averages 13.3 mm of rain in July and 202.4 mm in April. Kabale, near Bwindi in Uganda, gets 20.0 mm against 139.8 mm.

December to February is the second window. It's wetter than July, with 65 to 102 mm a month at the two stations, but far drier than April.

The wet months save money. Uganda's permit costs $600 instead of $800 in April, May and November. Rwanda's costs $1,500, or $1,050 from November to May if you also spend two nights in Akagera or Nyungwe and book an activity there. Our Uganda gorilla trekking guide covers the permits and the treks.

Check the travel advice before you book. On 10 October 2026, the US State Department's advice for Uganda stood at Level 4, Do Not Travel. It cites crime, terrorism, unrest and health risks including Ebola, although the WHO declared Uganda's outbreak over on 27 August. Rwanda stood at Level 3. Read the current advice and confirm what your travel insurance covers.

What is the cheapest time to go on safari?

The cheapest time to go on safari in East Africa is April and May, the long rains, followed by November and early December. Park fees fall a little, and lodges fall a lot.

Fees and rates checked in October 2026. Sources: TANAPA's tariff (fees plus 18% VAT); Narok County's Finance Act 2023; the Uganda Wildlife Authority's letter of 26 February 2026; the Rwanda Development Board; SANParks; the lodges' own rate sheets (Lemala 2026/27, Nasikia 2027, Ndutu Safari Lodge 2024/25, the latest on its website).

Lemala and Nasikia cut a third to a half of their rates in the low season. Our cost calculator prices a 7-day mid-range safari for two 15% lower from March to May, and our guide to African safari costs compares the fees country by country. Note the Ndutu row: on the calving plains, the busy season runs from mid-December to March, and that's when the camps there charge the most.

The catch is the rain, and the camps that close for it. Fixed dates are no reason to give up, though. "I organise safaris for any time of the year," Karlis says, "and if the traveller doesn't have flexibility, I can still put together a fantastic safari in the rainy season."

Is the rainy season worth it?

The rainy season is worth it for most travellers, judging by our partners' reviews. Of the 47 guests who mention rain or mud on a Tanzania safari, 24 say it made no difference and 8 count it as a plus, usually for the green scenery and the fewer vehicles.

Four say it spoiled the trip. Two found Lake Manyara flooded. The January guest in Nyerere found the animals scattered, and another blamed the rain for a missed leopard. Six were mixed: one guest lost a balloon flight to heavy rain and flew the next day.

The best month for a first safari: February or early June

For a first safari, GetSafariTours' founder Karlis Auzins would pick February or the first weeks of June over the July to September peak. That's not what most people ask for. Two in three of the travellers who sent us an enquiry in 2026 wanted June to October, nearly half wanted July to September, and February drew 6%.

February: calving, closer to Arusha, fewer vehicles

February puts you on the calving plains at their peak, about 250 km from Arusha. In the crossing season, the Mara River is about 440 km away, two days by road through the central Serengeti. A February trip reaches the herds in a shorter safari without a flight. Our guide to safari length shows what each extra day buys.

"January and February are cheaper, because the high-season prices for the migration are the highest," Karlis says. The camps away from the herds bear that out: Lemala's central Serengeti camp charges $427 a night in February against $595 in August. He also points to the fewer vehicles. One guest who waited at the Mara River in the crossing season watched the crowding put the herd off crossing a few times.

The camps on the calving plains are the exception. Ndutu Safari Lodge charges its top rate, $410 instead of $305, from mid-December to March, with a two-night minimum from mid-January to mid-March, so book those camps early. Our 7-day calving season safari is one way to plan it.

Early June: just after the rains

The first weeks of June catch northern Tanzania just after the long rains. Rain at Kilimanjaro Airport falls from 131.5 mm in April to 9.1 mm in June, and the herds are moving through the central and western Serengeti.

TANAPA's high-season fees already apply from 16 May, but some camps don't move to peak rates until 1 July. Lemala's Mara River camp in the northern Serengeti charges $330 in June against $825 from July, and the Masai Mara's own fee is $100 until 30 June. Our Serengeti safaris page covers both seasons.

Frequently asked questions

Pick the month, then the country

The month you can travel settles more than the country does: where the herds are, how much rain falls and what the camps charge. So the best time for an African safari starts with your dates, then the park that's at its best in them.

Once you know the month, our guide to the best safari in Africa helps with the country. It compares nine of them on cost, safety, malaria and flights, and the cheapest safari it priced was driving yourself around Kruger at about $116 a day.

If your dates are fixed, send them through our planning form and Karlis will tell you where a safari is at its best that week. The cost calculator gives a first price for Tanzania in the season you pick.