BEST TIME FOR SAFARI IN TANZANIA

Basically there is no bad time to go on safari in Tanzania. Whenever you go you will see fantastic wildlife. Like climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, when the weather is kindest it can get crowded but if you can go a little off-peak and cope with the occasional shower you will find quiet parks and amazing viewing.

December to March

This is the summer season in Tanzania. Temperatures are pleasant with an average high of 28°C and an average low of 15°C. The rains from early November to late March are usually scattered and localised and do not last for more than a few hours. All in all the conditions for safaris could not be better. The wildebeest are in the southern Serengeti making this a perfect time to catch the migration.

April to June

There is a chance of heavy rain during this period and showers can be expected for a few hours most days. Particularly during April and May the parks are fairly empty and accommodation costs are often quite a bit lower. However, this time actually offers the finest game viewing opportunities of the year. Wildlife concentrations are at their highest in the Southern Serengeti, and the landscape is a lush green.

July to November

The weather during this time is usually dry and sunny, although October to December brings the short rains to Tanzania. The grass dies back and more and more animals congregate around the permanent sources of water making them easier to find. Visitor numbers (and prices) peak in August coinciding with holidays in the Northern Hemisphere.

Within easy reach of Kilimanjaro there are five fabulous safari parks which make up what is called the Northern Circuit. Each is distinctly different but all are wonderful. Take your pick or why not try to visit them all while you are in Tanzania.

Ngorongoro Highlights

• Maasai herdsmen grazing cattle alongside predators
• Very easy sightings of the Big Five
• Lerai Forest is the best place for leopard sightings
• Views from the Crater rim are breathtaking
• Luxurious lodges on the rim with wonderful views

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Serengeti National Park Highlights

• Unforgettable hot air balloon safaris over the vast Serengeti plains
• Incredible spectacle of the wildebeest migration
• Olduvai Gorge – Cradle of Humanity
• Fantastic bird watching

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Lake Manyara National Park Highlights

• Marvel at the tree-climbing lions
• Large flocks of flamingo on Lake Manyara
• Family herds of elephant
• Stunning mahogany, fig, acacia tree vegetation
• Great bird watching destination

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Tarangire National Park Highlights

• Highest density of elephants in Tanzania
• Particularly spectacular in the dry season
• Large herds of zebra
• Home to Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird

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Arusha National Park Highlights

• Closest National Park to Kilimanjaro
• Acrobatic black and white colobus monkeys
• Large flocks of flamingo

The range of safari lodges available is immense, from budget up to super, super luxury costing nearly £1000 per night. For each park we have chosen what we consider to be the best sensibly priced option. Our thought process in making this choice went like this.

We rated the view from the inside looking out more highly than the view from the outside looking in so hotels with the best locations won out over beautifully designed lodges in poorer locations. We rated friendliness of the staff more highly than the quality of finishings in the rooms so older lodges with great staff won out over new places that were a bit frosty. And finally we looked at value for money. Our choices in each park are below

If there are other lodges you would like to book though please let us know.

Tarangire Safari Lodge

• View here is from the veranda at the Lodge
• Lovely location above the main watering hole in the park
• Choice of authentic tented rooms or bungalows
• Friendly privately owned lodge that is not part of a chain

Lake Manyara Wildlife Lodge

• Superb location on the rim of the escarpment with views across Manyara
• One of the original government built lodges so architecture is uninspiring
• Staff not the friendliest but the location really is sublime

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

• Simply the best location at Ngorongoro with stunning views across the crater
• Well situated near the access road down into the crater
• Part of the Sopa chain with really friendly staff
• Slightly 60’s concrete look

Serengeti Sopa Lodge

• Fabulous spot on the southern edge of the Serengeti
• Great location for the wildebeest migration
• Staff all extremely friendly

In addition to these wonderful permanent lodges we also work closely with Tanganyika Wilderness Camps who offer mobile camps in the Serengeti that follow the wildebeest migration

Exclusive mobile tented camps

• The perfect way to follow the wildebeest migration
• Luxury tents with king size beds and private bathrooms
• Fantastic friendly staff

As well as the lodges located in the safari parks we also work with two lodges based midway between Tarangire and Ngorongoro that provide a great base from which to visit all the Northern parks. These lodges offer lovely accommodation in great locations but as they are not in the park you do have to do a little more driving. Of course the benefit is that they are about half the cost of the lodges in the parks!

Bougainvillea Lodge

• Large comfortable cottages
• Large swimming pool for relaxing
• Very convenient for Tarangire, Manyara and Ngorongoro

Tloma Lodge

• Great location on the edge of the Ngorongoro Highlands
• Beautiful gardens where they grow all the produce used in the restaurant
• Large swimming pool for relaxing

The annual Great Migration of wildebeest and other herbivores across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world. Over two million herbivores take part with about 200 000 zebra and 500 000 Thomson’s gazelle following one-and-a-half million wildebeest!This impressive phenomenon is driven by the availability of grazing, which in turn is dependent upon rainfall. Essentially the wildebeest are taking advantage of the strongly seasonal conditions, spending the wet season on the plains in the south-east, and the dry season in the woodlands of the north-west.The Migration is rarely ever the same in terms of precise timing and direction as local conditions influence grass growth. This means that the wildebeest may move off the open plains earlier in some years and remain in the northern woodlands for longer in others. Generally though, the timing of movements is as below.

January to March

All the vast herd of wildebeest herd give birth more or less simultaneously, usually over a period of three weeks sometime between January and March, when optimum grazing is available on the short grass plains around Ndutu

April to June

Typically, the wildebeest head north-west from the short grass plains to the Grumeti River in late April. This river is their first real obstacle and crocodiles are waiting eagerly. From Grumeti, in June or July the herds move north, often spilling over into the Klein’s Camp Concession, before moving north into the Maasai Mara.

July to November

As they enter Kenya they must cross the Mara river with huge losses to the waiting crocodiles. The surviving wildebeest then rest on the Mara grasslands until October or November. Then, as the storm clouds gather in the south, the vast herds Regin their journey south to return to their breeding grounds which, by the time they arrive, are once again green and lush and the cycle begins again.