April to May (the ‘long rains’)
November to December (the ‘short rains’)
- November to December (the ‘short rains’)
- The “long rains” usually occur in April and May, however, this does not mean it rains all the time, as the thunderstorms will come and go. Lighter rains often occur in late October and November. Altitude has great effects on temperature. At Arusha (4600 ft. / 1,390m), the southern Highlands (6,700 ft. /2,030m), and the top of Ngororongoro crater (7,500 ft. /2,285m), nights and early mornings are especially cool. Tanzania highest temperatures occur in December-March and are lowest in July.
- The best weather for game viewing in northern Tanzania is June through March.
- Late December-February / July-September are the busiest periods.
- April and May is traditionally the rainy season, however, as the seasons are not as pronounced as they were a few decades ago, traveler’s during these periods may in-fact encounter little rain.
- Advantages of travelling in April-May includes lower rates, fewer tourists, and great game viewing in some parks, such as Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. This is a great time to drive through the great Serengeti migration, with possibly no vehicles in sight.
- Light rains usually fall in late October to early December, but little negative effects on game viewing in some parks.
- November is the best time for game viewing for northern Tanzania, a little rain is nice because it helps drop the dust out of the air, and the bush turns from brown to green.
- For southern Tanzania the best months for game viewing are June-November due to the longer 6 months dry season compared to the north.
Best time to go for a Game Viewing in the Parks and Reserves.
Serengeti National Park
December-March.
Excellent game viewing on the southern with the great migration around. Home to an incredibly diverse wildlife population including the big cats, a wide range of predators, and an amazing range of bird species including flamingoes.
April-July
Good game viewing with the migration gone, the area is almost left with less crowd. Excellent sighting of the big cats, predators, and an amazing range of bird’s species including flamingoes.
August-November
The area becomes much dry, but still offering average game viewing for the big cats and away from the crowds.
April-June.
- Excellent game viewing on the central Serengeti with the great migration around. Home to an incredibly diverse wildlife population including the big cats, a wide range of predators, and an amazing range of bird species.
July-November.
- Excellent game viewing even when the migration is not around in the central Serengeti. Home to an incredibly diverse wildlife population including the big cats, a wide range of predators, and an amazing range of bird species.
December-January.
- The onset of the short rain in the central Serengeti, the grass are tall and some of the roads are not passable, game viewing is average compared to other months.
May-August
- Excellent game viewing on the western Serengeti with the great migration around. Home to an incredibly huge crocodiles recorded in the wild and an opportunity to witness them hunting and diverse wildlife population including the big cats, a wide range of predators, and an amazing range of bird species. The tour can be extended to include Lake Victoria excursion.
September-October.
- The western becomes drier with river waters shrinking, only some small lagoons are left field with water, this offers excellent hippos sighting. General game viewing is good at these time.
November-December.
- The onset of short rains on the western Serengeti, which also marks the arrival of the Great migration from the Maasai Mara on transits to the short grass plains of Serengeti. These two months offers excellent sighting of crocodiles hunting and big cats.
June-October.
- Excellent game viewing on the Northern Serengeti with the great migration around. Home to an incredibly diverse wildlife population including the big 5, a wide range of predators, and an amazing range of bird species.
June-November
December-February (Hot Season)
- The dry season of June-October are the best months to visit the park when game is concentrated along the Ruaha River. Home to an incredibly diverse wildlife population including the Big 5, a wide range of predators, the biggest collection of mammal species in Africa and an amazing range of bird species – One of the best places to see Leopard and Lion
June-November (Dry Season)
December-February (Hot season)
- The dry season June-November are the excellent months for game viewing? December to February is good though it is quite hot during these period. Home to an incredibly diverse wildlife population including the big cats, a wide range of predators, the biggest collection of mammal species in Africa and an amazing range of bird species. One the best places to see wild dogs and huge concentration of hippo and crocodiles
July-November
December-February (Good)
- Wildlife viewing is excellent from the months of July-November when many animals concentrate near the only permanent water source in the area –the Tarangire River and its tributaries, while hundreds of elephants venture to one of the biggest swamp of its own the –Esilalei swamp. A wide range of predators, the biggest collection of mammal species in Africa and an amazing range of bird species. One the places to see Oryx, Kudu and wild dogs on the northern circuit.
December-March (Excellent)
June –October (excellent)
- The park is well known as home to the tree climbing lions, much of the wildlife is residence year-round, making this a good park to visit anytime, and the lake dedicates the overwhelming beauty of the park, when it’s colored with the pinkish from the lesser flamingoes.
July-October (Excellent)
December-March (Excellent)
- The Ngorongoro crater offers high concentration of plains game that attracts a number of predators. It is quite common to see lion, hyena, jackals, elephant, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, and various antelope, the Ngorongoro also offers excellent predators and prey interaction in the months of end January-February when the wildebeest are calving, and great place to look for the endangered black rhino.
July-October (Excellent)
November-December (Good)
- Apart from excellent game viewing in the park, it also offers off the bitten track, and away from the hassle of the crowds which can be encountered in the northern circuit. Great sighting of puku, roan and sable antelopes which can-not be seen on the northern circuit parks
May-October (Excellent)
December-February (Excellent)
- Excellent place to walk among large population of chimpanzees, and a birding paradise for those who like to go beyond chimp’s trekking. The best time is with the dry months mention above
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