High season: June to October

High or peak season coincides with winter in the southern hemisphere. If you’re up north, then just flip your seasons around – your summer is our winter. Winter is a great time for safari because:

• It’s cooler. Nights will be cold, but days are generally balmy.

• The rain dries up, making it easier to drive on dirt roads.

• The dry climate means fewer insects; the risk of malaria is lower.

• The dryness makes rivers and waterholes evaporate.

• Southern Africa’s thick vegetation dries up and thins out.

All of this adds up to making game viewing easier. The animals don’t have much option but to stay close to water during the dry winter season, which means that they’re easily spotted. Demand is very high at this time of year and there is limited safari accommodation in prime wildlife areas. Most lodges have under twenty rooms, some as few as three, so rates are higher and you need to book and plan much further in advance.

Low season: November to April

Also known as the ‘Green Season’, low season coincides with Africa’s humid and lush summer – the cold, snowy and slushy winter if you’re in the northern hemisphere. Across most of Africa, summer starts with rains in November: rivers and waterholes fill up, the vegetation and grasses are transformed from thin and brown to thick and green (hence, ‘Green Season’), baby animals are born, and all sorts of amazing birds arrive from the northern hemisphere. Essentially, everything from the peak season is reversed.

Since the Green Season sees fewer visitors, you don’t have to plan so far in advance; three to six months is usually fine. If it’s a special occasion, like a honeymoon or proposal, and you have your heart set on a specific lodge, then it’s better to get it all wrapped up as soon as you can. Once again, your Africa Safari Expert will sort out the flights, transfers, lodges, activities – and perhaps even that bottle of Champagne on ice to celebrate!

High vs low season: Which season is better for safari?

If it’s your very first safari, we suggest visiting in high season, if you can, simply because you’re likely to see more animals, quicker. The animals are still about during Green Season, but in some destinations, they’re slightly more difficult to find – although it’s very rewarding when you do!

Once the safari bug has bitten, make your second trip a Green Season safari so that you can experience the difference. There will be fewer safari vehicles about, plenty of baby animals and migrant birds, plus you’ll enjoy lower accommodation rates.