The dry season starts in June and ends in October and also runs from December to March.

Most popular months for a safari in Tanzania are during the dry months from June to October. The pros of traveling during this dry season:

• Wildlife gathers around rivers and waterholes (easier to spot)
• Pleasant temperatures of 25-27 °C (sunny and no rain)
• July/Aug are great months to see the wildebeest migration and epic river crossings
• There are less mosquitoes
• The roads are better and game drives easier
• Best time to visit the southern parks. Northern parks can be visited all-year.
• Cool temperatures from evening to early morning
• Clear blue skies
• Best conditions to climb Kilimanjaro are during the dry months

The wet season (also called rainy season) runs from October to December and from March to June.

The pros of traveling during this wet season:

• Nature is colorful (flowers in bloom, forest and grass is green)
• The parks in North Tanzania offer good all-year wildlife viewing
• January to February is the time to see the calving in the southern Serengeti which attracts large numbers of predators
• Bird watching at its best
• The game is in good condition
• Lower rates make it a cheaper safari
• Parks are less crowded with other visitors, more intimate safari experience

If the wildebeest migration is the main reason you visit Tanzania, it is important to know where the herds are at what time.

Tanzania has three different holiday seasons:

• Low-season: April and May. This season is the least popular and therefore hotels charge the lowest rate
• High-season: January, February, June till October and December. This season is the most popular among tourists and therefore hotels charge the highest rates. Some hotels charge a peak-rate from December 22nd until January 10th.
• Mid-season: March, November 1st – December 21th.