What's the best time to go to Tanzania?

Does anyone have a recommendation on the best time of year to visit there? When are there the most animals? When is the weather the best?
Thanks.

Comments

  • Many of the web sites say the dry season is the "best" time to go because the animals are concentrated near the water sources. We travel on both Tauck Tanzania Grand Safari & Kenya/ Tanzania Safari in early to mid August and enjoyed both trips. It was still very rainy & muddy on the Massai Mara even though it was the dry season and it was a different experience. The "migration" which is always tops on everyones list is deminished when it is rainy during the "dry season".
    Ther was a traveler on our first safari that was on his 10th safari and said they were all different but all enjoyable & exciting.

    December– February
    This is the hot dry season. Excellent for birds and animal viewing, though long grass may make some smaller species hard to see.

    March
    Intermittent rains start at this time. Game viewing is excellent over short new grass of the plains. Spring-like conditions are moderated by cool nights.

    April - May
    This is the heavier rainy season, and road conditions can become difficult. There’s great biological activity in the reserves, beautiful green landscapes and panoramas.

    June - October
    This is the cooler dry season. Peak tourist season is July-August. Excellent viewing conditions, though many roads are dusty. I was never bothered by the dust and it was not hot.[/b][/b][/i]November
    Here begin the short rains. There’s nice greening of plants, and birds begin arriving from Eurasia. Expect intermittent showers and some flash flooding.

    A review of my 2006 Tanzania safari camera is out of date (I now use Canon 5D MK II)

    The Grand Safari was certainly grand. We arrived in Arusha on July 28, 2006. The weather was in the high 60s to low-mid 70s. There were a few minor showers but nothing that interfered with the game viewing. The roads were dusty in areas but you only briefly experience the dust when another truck passed. The only place I was a little hot was in Ngorongoro Crater. There are crowds when some of the more popular and elusive game is sighted but I thought it was more humorous than bothersome. Everyone gets good views and photos though.

    The bugs like to chew on me in western PA but I used no repellent on the trip & didn’t get any bites at all. My wife picked up 1 tick in the grass at the balloon launch.

    Don’t over pack clothes. The laundry service is good and very cheap. You pay about $5- $8 to get a complete change of clothes (down to the gutchies) laundered at the hotels.

    The hotels do have digital card downloading/ CD burning services for $10 so you don’t have to take a lot of storage cards.

    The tsetse flies are really attracted to blue & black so avoid those colors. But I’m sure you’ll be a “real” tourist and get the full safari outfit down to the hat that you’ll probably never wear again.

    If you plan on buying Tanzanite the best place is the Cultural Center in Arusha you visit the last day. Be patient they have anything you want. I was offered “tanzanite” in other places but it looked like amethyst to me. They will take a personal check at the Cultural Center and there is a 10% surcharge if you pay by credit card so be sure to take a check to save some money.

    A good digital camera is a must. I used a Canon Powershot S3 IS (IS image stabilization) and got great pictures with very few blurry shots that needed to be deleted. It has 10x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom. It has 6 mega pixels that print great 8 X 10 prints. The digital zoom does not give the best quality but when we saw the rhinos far off, it came in handy. It also has a great moving mode and you can record audio captions easily so you know what the pictures are when you get home. There is now the S5 which has higher resolution & digital zoom and it actually starts at a lower price than the S3 did when it was new.

    Two good pairs of binoculars are a must! I used a pair of Nikon Monarch 8 X 42. I paid $200 for them on ebay. They gave a very bright view. My wife used a pair of Stiener Safari 8 x 30 and liked them. They were a little smaller than the Nikons.

    I think you would have to go earlier for the migration but then it would be a crapshoot. I doubt if Tauck would give any suggestions because you might take it as some sort of guarantee. The guides showed us where National Geographic sets up to film but are usually there for 4 – 6 months.

    I do think the Tanzania itinary is the best. You go from lodge to lodge by truck instead of flying and get to see a lot of scenery. There was a person on our safari that had been on 7 other safaris and said he had seen more game on other safaris but the “high lites” on this safari were the best he had experienced. But that can’t be guaranteed. We went on the Kenya/ Tanzania Safari this year 07 and liked Tanzania the best.

    If you go, be sure to go see Arusha National park. It is not on the tour but if you go into Arusha a day early you can hire a truck & guide (from the same company you’ll be with on the tour) for $200. You have to get a box lunch at the hotel and pay your way in the park ($35 per person). It is a great little park with Flamingos and Colobus monkeys.

    Everyone we met along the way was friendly and you certainly felt welcome in their country.

    If you have the time you should go to Uganda to visit the mountain gorillas. I did and it was an incredible experience. I can give you contact names on who to book with.

    Have fun
    Dan Zimmerman
    mar31736@hotmail.com
  • Thank you so much, Dan. Your advice is very helpful. We are looking forward to one of the safaris, and the Tanzania trip is the one that appeals to me most.
  • That answered quite a few of our questions-thank you! We are doing the Tanzania Grand Family Safari in late July so your information was most helpful.
  • Mid February worked out perfectly for us. We did not see one mosquito and the couple of times it did rain was a blessing to control the dust. It was 85 - 90 but you catch a breeze in the vehicle's so it's OK. We did the Tanzania to Zanzibar tour and I'm not kidding, on day one of our safari we saw SO MANY ANIMALS! We even saw a Cheetah kill an Impala right in front of our truck and haul it off. It's hard to watch but we went on to see three lions chase down zebras and other animals. We were told they were either full or training their cubs as we did not see a lion kill but drove up to a pride of lions eating their kill, which was a buffalo. One stood guard while the rest ate. It was graphic. In the end we saw the Big Five, the Big Nine and SO MANY other primates, monkeys, ungulates like Dik-Dik's, Impalas, Gazelles, Topi and other animals like Warthogs, Mongoose, Hyena, Hippos, Jackals and Crocodiles. I feel like we saw it ALL and that was by day three on Safari. Plus on the hot air balloon ride over Serengeti there were thousands of animals migrating for miles...it was awesome to see the sights and hear the sounds of the animals on the move. If I am able to return, I will go in February and if I take other family members, I will do the Tanzania to Zanzibar tour again as I want them to experience what I did.

    My favorite photo I titled "Harmony" as it shows many Impalas eating grass and in the background you see Giraffes and Elephants as well all grazing and peaceful in the same area. I loved it!

    Have a wonderful time,

    Josie :)
  • Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us Josie! I think everyone here really appreciates it.
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