Your guide to Tanzania.
When
The best month depends on what you want out of the trip.
In general, June to October is the best time to visit Tanzania for its dry, cool, and easygoing weather. January and February run a close second. Tanzania sits just below the equator, so people pack for heat. Then they get here. The northern parks are 1,100 to 2,000 meters up, and altitude beats latitude every time. Serengeti afternoons hit about 26°C, which is pleasant. Nights drop to around 14°C, and between June and September a cold front can push it near freezing. Every July we meet guests at Arusha in shorts and sandals. Every July they regret it at the six o'clock game drive. Bring a fleece.
Rain comes twice a year:
- Long rains, March to May.
April's the wettest month almost everywhere. Some camps close, and the dirt roads get difficult.
- Short rains, November to December. A shower in the afternoon, then it clears. Rarely enough to spoil a day.
Even then it hardly ever rains all day. And where the rain falls matters more than how much of it there is. The Serengeti. averages 900 to 1,000mm a year, but that's a park-wide figure hiding a big spread: under 800mm in the dry southeast near Olduvai, up to 1,400mm in the north near the Mara.
January and February sit between the two rainy spells. They're the hottest months, with Serengeti days reaching 29°C. None of which applies to the Ngorongoro rim, which is well over 2,000 meters. A June morning up there is properly cold.
Every month works for the Serengeti. Most people come between June and October, and there's good reason for that: the water dries up, and the animals get much easier to find. If you've come for the migration, follow the herds rather than the calendar.
- December to March.
Calving on the southern plains around Ndutu.
- June. North through the Grumeti.
- July to October. Crossing the Mara.
March to May is the quietest and cheapest time to travel. The country has never looked greener, for whatever that's worth to you.
Zanzibar runs hotter and stickier than the parks. Usually about 30°C, touching 32°C in January. June to October is lovely. So is December to February.
Kilimanjaro climbs best between July and October, or January and March. The summit is well below freezing in any month.
Where
Most people begin in the northern parks, then add Zanzibar, the southern parks, or the west.
Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti covers 14,750 square kilometres of northern Tanzania, stretching from the Ngorongoro highlands up to the Kenyan border, where it joins the Maasai Mara. Around two million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles move through it every year, crossing the Grumeti and Mara rivers where the crocodiles are waiting. Seronera, in the middle, is one of Africa's best places to see lions, leopards, and cheetahs. You can stay in a lodge or in a mobile camp that packs up and follows the herds. The mobile camps aren't for everyone. They're also where the best sightings tend to happen.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Ngorongoro Crater is a collapsed volcano about 180 km west of Arusha. Roughly 25,000 large animals live down on the floor, and most of them never leave. All of the Big Five are here, including the black rhino. You can cover the whole floor in a day. Maasai still graze cattle up on the rim, and Olduvai Gorge is in the same conservation area.
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire lies about 120 km southwest of Arusha, on the road towards the Serengeti, and covers roughly 2,850 square kilometres. Huge baobabs, and the biggest elephant herds in the north. The river is the only permanent water for miles, so between July and October the zebras, wildebeest and buffalo pile in along the banks. Lions and leopards follow them. It's quieter than the Serengeti and only two hours from Arusha, which makes it an easy first or last stop.
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara sits at the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment, about 120 km west of Arusha, and the lake itself takes up two thirds of the park's 330 square kilometres. Flamingos crowd the shallow soda lake and over 400 bird species have been recorded here. It's famous for tree-climbing lions, though nobody can promise you'll see one. Elephants, hippos, baboons and blue monkeys all live in the groundwater forest. Most people stop on the drive north. Half a day is plenty.
Zanzibar
Zanzibar is an hour and a half by air from the park airstrips and feels like a different country when you land. Stone Town's worth a night for the old buildings and the spice market. Nungwi and Kendwa have the best swimming beaches. Paje suits kitesurfers. Diving on the reef is excellent. Most of our guests finish here rather than start here, and we'd recommend doing it that way round.
Arusha
Arusha is where most safaris begin and end. It sits below Mount Meru at around 1,400 meters, an hour from Kilimanjaro International Airport. You'll meet your guide here, check out the vehicle, and get a proper briefing before you set off. Come a day early if you can. The Maasai Market and the coffee are worth the extra night.
Mount Meru
Meru is Tanzania's second-highest mountain at 4,562 meters and the best warm-up there is for Kilimanjaro. Three or four days up, and the crater rim views are extraordinary. Nearly 400 bird species live on the forested slopes, along with colobus monkeys, giraffe, bushbuck and leopard. An armed ranger walks with every group. That's not for show. Buffalo and elephant use the lower trails.
Kilimanjaro National Park
Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa at 5,895 meters, and the largest free-standing volcano anywhere. Tens of thousands attempt the summit every year. You need no ropes and no climbing skills. Most routes take six to nine days, and the extra days matter more than people expect. Lower down, the forest is full of birds, blue monkeys, colobus, and olive baboons. Leopards and elephants are in there too. You'd be lucky.
Ruaha, Nyerere and the south
Ruaha and Nyerere are where you go to escape the crowds. Ruaha is bigger than the Serengeti and has some of Africa's largest lion prides, plus wild dog and more than 570 bird species. Nyerere, which nearly everyone still calls Selous, adds boat safaris on the Rufiji and walking safaris. You fly in by light aircraft. Both stay quiet all year.
Katavi and Mahale in the west
Katavi and Mahale are as remote as Tanzania gets. Mahale is one of the best places anywhere to trek wild chimpanzees, and it sits right on Lake Tanganyika, so you can swim in the afternoon. Katavi is emptier still. Huge buffalo herds and hippos are crowded into shrinking pools by October. Very few people make it out here. That's the point.
