Yes, you can go on safari in Tanzania in the rainy season, and we recommend it more often than you might think. The long rains fall from March to May, with April the wettest month. It usually rains late in the afternoon or at night, the mornings are often clear, the parks are green and some mornings you will not see another vehicle at all.
Not like a grey, drizzly day back home. A storm rolls in, sometimes hard, with thunder over the plains, and then it is gone. Most morning game drives stay dry. An afternoon can turn wet, and then you wait it out in the vehicle or head back to camp.
More on rainfall and temperature month by month on our page about the weather in Tanzania.
The animals are spread out. There is water everywhere, so they have no need to gather at one river. They are there, but your guide has to search harder than in September.
The roads. Some tracks turn to mud, and that is where an experienced guide in a good vehicle makes the difference. If a track is under water he takes another way, and there is always another way. Our Land Cruisers have four-wheel drive and carry a second spare wheel.
Some camps close. A share of the smaller camps shut in April and May. There is always plenty open, and we know which ones.
Malaria. There are more mosquitoes after rain. Take your tablets and wear long sleeves in the evening. See malaria in Tanzania.
The Serengeti is green and quiet, and the herds move through the centre and the west.
Tarangire is almost empty of visitors, with elephants everywhere.
The Ngorongoro Crater is good all year. The animals stay in the crater.
In the course of May the rain stops. The land is at its greenest, the days turn drier and clearer, and the parks are still quiet. If your dates are flexible, May is often the month we suggest.
We will set out for you where to be in April and May, and which camps are open then. Our itineraries show the guide price for each season.
