Depending on your travel needs, African safaris can be done at any time of the year. When planning an African safari, the dry and wet/rainy seasons are two essential seasons any traveler should put into consideration. However, seasons do vary from one country to another and this requires some bit of research if you plan to have an excellent African safari experience.
The dry season is regarded as the best time to go on an African safari. This means the typical African safari is perfectly conducted in the months of June, July, August, September and December, January, February. These dry months are ideal for visitors who wish to embark on primate experience, especially mountain gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, golden monkey tracking in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For those going on a safari in Uganda, gorilla trekking in Uganda are done in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. For those going to Rwanda, the Volcanoes National Park is the best place to visit and in the DR Congo, the Virunga National Park is the best place to see mountain gorillas and Kahuzi Biega National Park is ideal for Eastern lowland gorilla trekking.
The dry season also offer the best game viewing experience to visitors on an African safari. The best places to consider for your game viewing experiences in Africa include among others Kruger National Park, Masai Mara National Reserve, Etosha National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Amboseli National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Serengeti National Park, Selous National Reserve.
The dry season is as well ideal for hiking or mountaineering experiences. The advantage with the dry season is that there is low rainfall received and most trails are kept relatively drier thus making it easier for hikers to explore the Rwenzori Mountain ranges, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and many others.
For those of you who are interested in exploring and experiencing in-depth about whales in South Africa, the best time is usually in the months of June, July, August, September, October and November. South Africa is an exceptional place in the world that offers the best whale watching experiences.
To witness the great wildebeest migration in Kenya and Tanzania, the best time to embark on an African safari is between July and October. The wildebeest migration is a unique wildlife experience which involves a huge concentration of wildebeests, zebras and Thomson gazelles migrating from the vast savannas of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park to Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve.
In case you are interested in discounted tours then April is the best month of the year for you go on an African safari to East Africa or Southern Africa. Plenty of rainfall is received during this month and most destinations receive fewer visitors. Most accommodation facilities are then forced to cut down on their accommodation rates as away to attract more visitors. Considerably, wet or rainy season in most African safari destinations occurs in April, March, May and October, November.
Bird watching in Africa is best conducted between November and March. For memorable birding safari experience, the best destination to consider include Botswana, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and in East Africa, January, February, March offer incredible bird watching experiences. In East Africa, the best destinations to visit for birding include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and many more. In West Africa, bird watching trips are best done in Gambia, Cameroon and other places are best to explore from November to March when most migratory birds confine into Africa.
The disadvantage with the wet or rainy season is that most of the routes to Africa’s national parks and reserves where most African safaris are conducted tend to be muddy, slippery due to heavy rainfall. Given the nature of most African roads, it becomes challenging to navigate to your dream destination.
In summary, there is no specific best time to go on an African safari. To have excellent African safari experience, the dry/peak season and wet/rainy also known as the low season are two most essential seasons you need to put into consideration and definitely, you won’t be left in regrets. Get in touch with our reservation team and let’s plan your African safari together!
