Wildlife safaris
The reason most people come, and the thing we are least willing to exaggerate about.
A wildlife safari in Tanzania is mostly sitting in a vehicle, in the cold at six in the morning, waiting. The good guides understand that the waiting is the activity and not the gap between activities. The bad ones drive you between sightings other people have radioed in, and you spend your week in a convoy.
We run private vehicles only, which means the decision to stay another forty minutes at a waterhole is yours. It is the single thing that most changes what you see, and it is the reason we do not sell seats.
What we will not do is tell you what you are going to see. The parks are not zoos and the animals have not read the itinerary. We will tell you what your month and your route make likely, what makes it unlikely, and which of the two the photographs you have seen online were taken in.
Who this suits
You would rather spend an hour with one leopard than ten minutes with five species.
A 05:30 start for five days in a row sounds like a holiday rather than a punishment.
You want the odds stated honestly, including the bad ones.
You are happy to be told that your dates put the migration four hundred kilometres away.
What a day looks like
Indicative rather than fixed — this is a shape, not a schedule.
Before first light
Tea or coffee at the tent, then out of camp as the gate opens. The first ninety minutes are the best of the day and the coldest — the vehicle has blankets and you will want one.
Mid-morning
The cats go flat and the light goes hard. Either back to camp for breakfast and a rest, or a long slow loop with the roof up and the engine off.
The middle of the day
At camp. Lunch, a sleep, a book. Nothing is scheduled and nothing should be — a safari that fills this slot is a safari you come home exhausted from.
Four in the afternoon
Out again until the gate closes or the light goes. This is when the herds move to water and when most of the hunting starts.
After dark
Dinner, usually outside, and the sky. In the parks there is no light pollution at all, which surprises people more than the animals do.
When is the best time to go?
Every month in Tanzania is a different trip. Choose one to see what the weather and the wildlife usually do, and how busy it gets.
Green season
January
Mid-summer in Tanzania
- The short rains have usually finished. Hot, mostly clear, with the odd afternoon shower still possible.
- The southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area are green, and the wildebeest calving season is normally under way there.
Green season
February
The calving month
- Usually the hottest and clearest month of the green season.
- Calving continues around Ndutu. Predators concentrate there, which is why February is the month most photographers ask for.
Long rains
March
The long rains begin
- Rain usually arrives in the second half of the month, often as heavy afternoon storms rather than all-day drizzle.
- Black-cotton tracks in the western Serengeti start to become a problem. Routes need to stay flexible.
Long rains
April
The wettest month
- The wettest month in most of the country. Some camps close.
- Landscapes are at their greenest and the parks are nearly empty. Travel times between places go up, sometimes a lot.
Long rains
May
The rains ease
- Rain usually eases through the month, though the first half can still be very wet.
- A good month for value if you can accept that some roads and airstrips are still affected. Check camp access close to travel.
Dry season
June
The dry season opens
- Dry conditions return across the north. Mornings get properly cold, especially on the Ngorongoro rim.
- Wildlife begins to concentrate around permanent water, which is what makes the dry months easier for game viewing.
Dry season
July
High season begins
- Reliably dry and cool. The busiest month in the northern parks, and the month camps sell out first.
- River crossings in the far north normally begin somewhere in the July-to-October window. Nobody can book a crossing.
Dry season
August
Peak dry season
- Clear skies and firm tracks almost everywhere. Dust is the trade-off.
- The Mara River crossings are most often reported in August and September, but they depend on rain hundreds of kilometres away.
Dry season
September
Dry and settled
- Much like August with slightly fewer people and slightly warmer days.
- One of the best months for the southern parks, Ruaha and Nyerere, where the dry season concentrates game on the rivers.
Dry season
October
The end of the dry
- Hot and dry, with the first storms sometimes arriving late in the month.
- Game viewing stays strong right up to the break in the weather, and the parks begin to empty.
Short rains
November
The short rains
- Short, sharp showers, usually in the afternoon, rarely all day.
- The landscape greens quickly and visitor numbers drop. One of the better months for value in the north.
Green season
December
Green, and then festive
- Warm with scattered showers. The first half is quiet; the second half is one of the busiest periods of the year.
- Festive-season rates and minimum stays apply at most camps from around the twentieth.
Patterns, not forecasts. Rainfall and temperature vary by region and year, and wildlife movement is seasonal rather than scheduled — no operator can promise a river crossing or a calving herd on your dates. These figures are indicative and have not yet been checked against a dated meteorological source. (subject to confirmation)
Practical and safety notes
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed sightings | There are none, anywhere, and an operator who offers them is selling you something they cannot deliver. |
| Vehicles | Private 4×4 with a pop-up roof, your party only, on every journey we run. Not a seat in a shared minibus. |
| Park fees | A large share of the price and not negotiable. See what it costs. |
| Photography | Tell us at the enquiry stage if photography is the point of the trip. It changes the vehicle, the guide and sometimes the camp. |
| Season | Game viewing is generally better in the dry months, when the grass is short and the animals concentrate on water. The green season is emptier and prettier. See when to come. |
Everything on this page that depends on a real-world fact — a price, a permit, a seasonal pattern, a supplier — is a draft and is registered in CHANGE-LATER.md. Nothing here is a quotation.
Questions
What are the chances of seeing the big five?
Four of the five are reasonably likely on a week-long northern circuit. Rhino is the hard one — the Ngorongoro Crater is the realistic place, and even there it is a matter of luck and distance. Nobody can promise it.
Northern or southern circuit?
North for density, infrastructure and the famous names, with many more vehicles. South for space, boat safaris and walking, with a harder journey to get there and fewer animals per hour. Most first-time visitors are happier in the north.
Is a walking safari worth it?
It is a different activity: you see tracks, insects, plants and dung rather than cats, and you learn more in three hours than in three days of driving. The northern parks mostly do not permit it; Arusha National Park and the southern parks do.
Journeys that do this
Starting points. Each one is rebuilt around the people travelling.
Tell us what you have in mind.
One conversation with the person who would plan it, and an honest answer about whether we are the right company for the trip.
Free, and with no obligation. A real planner replies within 24 business hours, East Africa Time. No payment is taken to enquire.