Safari in the rainy season — honest advice from a guide

As a travel adviser I hear it increasingly often: "We want to go to Tanzania, but we can only go in April." Or November. Or March. The months that safari people traditionally avoid.

My answer is always more nuanced than people expect: depending on what you are looking for, the rainy season can be excellent. But you need to know exactly what you are buying.

Tanzania has two rainy seasons

The long rainy season runs from mid-March to the end of May. This is the heavier season — sometimes continuous rain for days that makes roads impassable and some lodges close. Particularly in the Serengeti, the Ndutu plains can be muddy and some areas inaccessible.

The short rainy season runs from November to mid-December. Shorter, less intense, and in many ways more pleasant. This is the "green season" that some operators actively market — and rightly so.

The advantages of the rainy season

Price: lodges charge 20 to 40% less in the rainy season. A lodge that costs €400 per person per night in August costs €250 in November. For the same product.

Crowds: in the low season there are almost no other tourists. In the rainy season you sometimes stand at a waterhole alone.

Landscape: Tanzania in green is incredibly beautiful. The green plains full of flowers are in their way equally impressive as the postcard dry season.

Birds: Tanzania has over 1,100 bird species. In the rainy season migratory birds are present that you never see in the dry season. Birdwatchers deliberately book in the wet season.

The disadvantages

Roads: in the long rainy season (April–May) some tracks in the Serengeti and Ruaha become impassable. A 4x4 can get stuck. This limits where you can drive.

Wildlife spotting: animals are less concentrated. In the dry season they seek watering holes and are therefore more predictable. In the rainy season they spread across the landscape.

Mosquitoes and malaria: the risk is slightly higher. Always take prophylaxis.

My advice per period

November–mid-December: go ahead. This is the best value for money in Tanzania safaris. The short rainy season is mild, prices are low and the landscapes are at a peak of green and life. Many travellers rate this as their most beautiful Tanzania period.

January–February: excellent. Technically not the rainy season — this is the cool, dry period before the long rainy season. Calving season in Ndutu, green landscape, low crowds. Strongly recommended.

Mid-March–May: cautious. This is the heaviest season. For experienced travellers seeking a rugged experience it can work — but expect mud, logistical challenges and more rain than safari hours.