Comparing Wet and Dry Season Safaris in Tanzania

As an unseasoned adventure traveler, I booked my first safari for January, completely unaware of how "seasons" work in Tanzania. Leading up to our adventure, I learned that we were visiting at the end of the "wet season," meaning that the grass would be at its tallest, and it would be significantly harder to see animals. I wasn’t sure how this safari would go.

Against all odds, my husband and I had an incredible safari; we saw all of the "Big 5," including the impressive feat of seeing four of them (leopard, lion, water buffalo and elephant) on day one. During our descent into Ngorongoro Crater, our final stop and the only park we visited where endangered black rhinos live, I asked our guide to not stop for any animal besides the black rhino, as I had seen plenty of everything else; I was on a mission. Through his talent and our sheer luck, we got to see four of them, and one of them was a baby!

I had the opportunity to visit the exact same parks this October - Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. This experience offered me a unique perspective that I’d like to share with the Fora community to help other travelers and advisors make informed decisions of their own.

What follows is a comparison of the most crucial stuff, and why most people go on safari - the animals! And then, I will compare other aspects that I think may be of interest to other travelers.

Animals

Lions

• Wet season: Too many to count; we saw maximum three at a time.

• Dry season: Exponentially more; we saw prides as large as 13 lions of all ages at a time.

Leopards

• Wet season: One, in Tarangire.

• Dry season: Three, all in Serengeti.

Elephants

• Wet season: Too many to count.

• Dry season: Saw a lot, however noticeably fewer than during the wet season.

Water buffalo

• I saw far too many to count during both wet and dry seasons.

Black rhino

• Wet season: four, all seen in the Ngorongoro Crater.

• Dry Season: One, also in the Ngorongoro Crater.

Wildebeest & zebra

• Wet season: Too many to count in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

• Dry season: Exponentially more than the wet season, this time in the Serengeti due to Great Migration.

Cheetah

• Wet season: Sadly, we saw none during the wet season safari.

• Dry season: Seven! All the cheetahs we saw were in the Serengeti, with as many as three at a time.

Qualitative features

Landscape

• Wet season: Very lush and biodiversity of different microclimates is much more obvious.

• Dry season: Bleak; most plants, trees and grass are dead or dying.

Dust

• Wet season: There is more moisture on the air and the ground to minimize the amount of dirt and dust that vehicles kick up.

• Dry season: The dust, especially in the Serengeti, is genuinely awful. I strongly encourage people to bring glasses/goggles to protect their eyes and masks or bandannas to avoid inhaling too much dust.

Weather

• Wet season: Moderate; occasionally we needed jackets on the safari drives.

• Dry season: Noticeably hotter, especially in tents or lodge rooms at night when there is no air conditioning.

Rain

• Wet season: It would occasionally rain at night, however we experienced no major storms.

• Dry season: We surprisingly had to avoid several large storms that other safari jeeps got stuck in.

Grass

• Wet season: Much, much taller! This can make it more difficult to spot animals - especially the cats.

• Dry season: Very low to the ground, if not gone entirely. Greatly facilitates animal sightings.

Bugs

• Wet season: The bugs were more prominent during the wet season.

• Dry season: Mosquitos and tse tse flies can be persistent, depending on where you are and what time of day. Be sure to have multiple types of bug repellent (lemon eucalyptus, picaridin, etc.) available, as the bugs all respond to them differently!

Hot air balloon sightings

• Wet season: We only saw hippos and a single giraffe.

• Dry season: We saw herds of elephants, three lions, many zebra and wildebeest migrating, giraffes and more

Frequency of animalsSightings

• Wet season: With higher grass and more abundant water sources, animals can hide much more easily.

• Dry season: Animals are forced to drink from whatever few watering holes remain. Many lodges and camps will engineer watering holes in the view of their dining areas or rooms so that guests can see animals from the comfort of their accommodations. Animals do not bother drinking from those holes during the wet season, as they have so many other options.

Crowds

• Wet season: Noticeably fewer tourists and safari vehicles overall during this off season. We were often alone or had fewer than four other cars in sight while in the parks

• Dry season: Parks and lodges are much more crowded. If there is a major sighting (i.e. pride of 13 lions on the main road in the Serengeti), huge lines of cars can accumulate trying to get their view of it.

Car troubles

• Wet season: Safari jeeps get stuck in the mud a lot. We were lucky and never got stuck ourselves, however we saw and had to help many other jeeps out of a sticky situation.

• Dry season: Issues can still arise (we unfortunately had a U-Bolt break in a pot hole that required replacement), but much less frequently.

The success of a safari is almost entirely in the hands of Mother Nature, because the animals that you see and the weather you experience are never guaranteed. Whatever can't be attributed to Mother Nature is in the hands of your safari guide, so it is important that you hire a talented one! The saying "luck is where preparation meets opportunity" could not be more relevant than on safari; you will want to hire an experienced guide who is part of a large network of other talented guides (they are in constant communication about sightings on the radio), who can balance your shared hunger for adventure with smart, safe and careful navigation of the unpaved roads in the bush.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Tanzania page.