View Average Temperatures & Rainfall | View Major Wildlife Sightings
Travel to Tanzania
Tanzania has a generally comfortable climate year-round, although there are significant regional variations. The tropical coast stays quite hot and humid with heavy and reliable rainfall, especially during the rainy season. The central plateau is cooler and arid. There are two rainy seasons, the heaviest rains (called masika) usually fall from mid-March to May and a shorter period of rain (called vuli) occurs from November to mid-January. The dry season, with cooler temperatures, lasts from May to October.
Average Temperature & Rainfall by Month
| Month | Max | Min | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 84° F | 57° F | 0.31 in |
| 28° C | 13° C | 8 mm | |
| February | 88° F | 57° F | 0.37 in |
| 31° C | 13° C | 9 mm | |
| March | 88° F | 57° F | 0.91 in |
| 31° C | 13° C | 23 mm | |
| April | 84° F | 59° F | 1.43 in |
| 28° C | 15° C | 36 mm | |
| May | 82° F | 55° F | 0.94 in |
| 27° C | 12° C | 24 mm | |
| June | 82° F | 50° F | 0.3 in |
| 27° C | 10° C | 8 mm | |
| July | 81° F | 52° F | 0.17 in |
| 27° C | 11° C | 4 mm | |
| August | 82° F | 52° F | 0.07 in |
| 27° C | 11° C | 2 mm | |
| September | 84° F | 54° F | 0.16 in |
| 28° C | 12° C | 4 mm | |
| October | 86° F | 55° F | 0.91 in |
| 30° C | 12° C | 23 mm | |
| November | 86° F | 57° F | 1.31 in |
| 30° C | 13° C | 33 mm | |
| December | 86° F | 59° F | 0.73 in |
| 30° C | 15° C | 19 mm |
Major Wildlife Sightings
The below chart helps to illustrate major wildlife sightings often experienced in Tanzania. Other typical sightings in Tanzania include a variety of antelope, smaller mammals, birds and reptiles. The great wildebeest migration circumnavigates the Serengeti annually with the wildebeests dropping their young in the southern plains of the Serengeti in February and beginning to cross the Mara River into Kenya in between July and September. Exact sightings depend on your location and rain patterns.
| Park/Reserve |
Black Rhino
|
Buffalo
|
Cheetah
|
Chimpanzee
|
Eland
|
Elephant
|
Gemsbok / Oryx
|
Giraffe
|
Greater Kudu
|
Hippo
|
Hyena
|
Leopard
|
Lion
|
Sable Antelope
|
Wild Dog
|
Wildebeest
|
Zebra
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arusha | ||||||||||||||||||
| Katavi Nat'l Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lake Manyara Nat'l Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mahale Mountains | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ngorongoro Crater | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ruaha Nat'l Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selous Game Reserve | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serengeti Nat'l Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tarangire Nat'l Park |
| Usually viewed | Frequently viewed | Occasionally viewed | Sporadically viewed | Rarely to never viewed |