You often ask me when the best time to travel is. What can I say? It really depends on what you’re after.
For this article, I’m narrowing “southern Africa” down to the six countries we actually travel to:
- South Africa
- Namibia
- Botswana
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- Malawi
South Africa
South Africa has several different climate zones all at once — which makes it an ideal destination almost whenever you book. The Western Cape (Cape Town, the Winelands, the Garden Route) gets winter rain: most of the rain falls between May and September, while summer (December to February) is dry, hot, and windy — perfect for hiking and the beach. The northeast (Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga) works the other way around: summer rain from November to March, with spectacular afternoon thunderstorms, while winter (May to September) is dry and mild — and exactly why it’s the best safari season, since animals gather at the few remaining waterholes. Durban and the east coast are subtropical and warm year-round, with most rainfall in summer. In short: somewhere in South Africa, it’s almost always the right time to travel — you just need to know which corner of the country you’re heading to.
Namibia
Namibia is (almost) one giant desert. But boy — what a variety of desert! Rainfall increases from the southwest (0mm) to the northeast (600mm) of the country. Namibia is mostly hot and dry, averaging 300 sunny days a year. Although the northeast (the Caprivi Strip) can get cold at night in winter, temperatures never drop below 0°C there. Windhoek is different — it sits almost as high as Johannesburg and can see frost on winter nights. If you’re sensitive to big temperature swings, Namibia probably isn’t the best fit. In winter, the Namib and Kalahari reach around 25°C in the daytime, but nights can bring frost. As a beach holiday destination, Namibia is about as unsuitable as it gets: the cold Benguela Current keeps the Atlantic water below 19°C, and it cools the coastal air too. On top of that, stubborn fog settles over the coastal strip on roughly 200 days a year. The best months to visit Namibia are between May and October. One especially memorable experience is admiring the Namibian night sky — thanks to the low humidity and virtually no light pollution, the stars come out in force.
Botswana
Three climate zones can be distinguished here. While the north is subtropical, with afternoon thunderstorms in summer (November to March), the southwest is very dry, with less than 300mm of rain a year. The south of the country is sunny nearly year-round — the least rain falls between June and September, which holds for the whole country, including the north. Botswana’s east is occasionally hit by tropical cyclones — most recently in February 2017 (Cyclone Dineo). As with Namibia, May to August are the best months to visit Botswana: that’s when animals gather at waterholes, since all other water sources have dried up. September and October — just before the rains — get very hot, especially in the north.
Zambia
Since Zambia sits on a plateau, temperatures here stay pleasant almost year-round. It’s hot, humid, and rainy from mid-November to March, and dry from April to mid-November. It’s cooler from mid-May to mid-August than from September to mid-November. October is the hottest month. Nights can turn frosty between June and August. The last tropical cyclone to hit Zambia was in 1996 (Cyclone Bonita). Zambia is at its best during the winter months (southern hemisphere) of May to August, when temperatures are pleasantly mild and there’s essentially no rain to speak of.
Zimbabwe
Just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, Zimbabwe also sits on a plateau. There are three seasons here: the rainy season from November to March, the cooler season from mid-May to mid-August, dry and sunny, and the hot period from mid-August to mid-November. Zimbabwe was once known as Africa’s breadbasket, before Mugabe ran the country into the ground. The climate is ideal for growing most crops. Between December and mid-April, tropical cyclones can occasionally find their way here — most recently in March 2019 (Cyclone Idai). So here too, the ideal travel time is May to August. December to February is the least suitable, since things can get quite muddy and humid by then.
Malawi
Malawi sits on Lake Malawi and has a tropical climate with a clear dry and rainy season. It rains from November to April, often in short, heavy afternoon downpours, and it’s hot and humid. The dry season, from May to October, is the best time to visit: from May to August it’s pleasantly mild to cool, especially in the evenings and at higher elevations like the Nyika Plateau, where nights can get properly cold. September and October then turn increasingly hot and dusty before the rains set back in. The dry season is ideal for safari and hiking, while Lake Malawi itself (for swimming and snorkelling) is good pretty much year-round, though underwater visibility can be worse during the rainy season.