Best time to visit South Africa
South Africa’s immense size plus its array of landscapes, attractions and climates mean it can be visited year round.![]()
The best time to visit South Africa is between July and December, although each season has its charm. May to September – the dry season – is the best time to visit South Africa for a safari, with cooler temperatures, thinning vegetation and wildlife clustering around waterholes. Summer sunseekers head for the south coast between December and March. October and November are the start of rainy season in South Africa, but draw photographers to the wildflower-carpeted Northern Cape, while July to December is the best time to see whales off the Western Cape.
When to visit South Africa, month by month guide
Our South Africa Vacations
South Africa vacation
Explore Cape Town, the Winelands and the Garden Route
From
£2300 to £4500
15 days
inc UK flights
South Africa safari vacation, 14 days
Award winning safari in South Africa
From
£3920
14 days
ex flights
Luxury Kruger and Mauritius Vacation
South Africa's Kruger National Park, plus time in Mauritius
From
£2900
12 days
ex flights
Cape Town to Victoria Falls small group lodge tour
Classic route lodge safari to Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
From
US $4240
21 days
ex flights
Kwa-Zulu Natal tailor made tour, South Africa
Discover Kwa-Zulu Natal with a qualified botanist
From
£3400
13 days
inc UK flights
South Africa vacation, Cape Town to Kruger
Cape Town, Kruger and Victoria Falls
From
£3250
10 days
ex flights
Western Cape Weather Chart
MIN °C
MAX °C
RAIN (mm)
JAN
16
31
10
FEB
16
32
9
MAR
15
29
14
APR
13
26
34
MAY
11
22
53
JUN
8
18
75
JUL
8
18
69
AUG
8
19
60
SEP
9
21
35
OCT
11
25
18
NOV
13
27
19
DEC
15
29
12
Responsible Travel recommends
Rupert Calcott, from our supplier Exodus, is South African. He tells us about the best time to visit South Africa for wildlife viewing:
"The colder months of July through to September are our winter, but that’s a fantastic time to come out and do the game viewing. As the country gets drier there are fewer leaves on the trees and less grass available so the animals are concentrated at waterholes. There’s greater visibility; it’s a really good time for wildlife. April to June are also wonderful because it’s not too hot and there’s less chance of rain, but we get fewer travelers."
Our active pick:
#moonlightmass
See Cape Town in a different light – literally! Each full moon, hundreds of cyclists meet at Green Point and ride around the city by moonlight. As well as being an unusual way to discover the city, the event aims to raise awareness of safety for cyclists.
See Cape Town in a different light – literally! Each full moon, hundreds of cyclists meet at Green Point and ride around the city by moonlight. As well as being an unusual way to discover the city, the event aims to raise awareness of safety for cyclists.
Our top South Africa Vacation
South Africa vacation
Explore Cape Town, the Winelands and the Garden Route
From
£2300 to £4500
15 days
inc UK flights
Tailor made:
This trip can be tailormade throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary
This trip can be tailormade throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about South Africa or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
1-866-821-6866
Call toll free
Calling from outside the USA
Festivals & events
Sardine run
Sardines may not spring to mind when thinking of South African wildlife, but the annual sardine run is the marine equivalent of the Great Migration. 15km-long shoals swarm up the coast of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal from May to July, creating a feeding frenzy among sharks, dolphins, whales and birds. Watch it from a boat – or try scuba diving to get closer to the action.
The Klein Karoo National
Arts Festival
Afrikaans culture is often overlooked – but it’s experiencing a revival. The Klein Karoo National Arts Festival takes place each March-April in Oudtshoorn, and includes exhibitions, music, food stalls and Afrikaans theatre.
The festival also supports many local community projects.
Kaapse Klopse!
Cape Town bursts into colour each 2nd January when thousands of Cape Coloured minstrels take to the streets in troops, singing in choirs, playing instruments and wearing vivid satin suits. The Kaapse Klopse festival dates back to the mid 1800s.
More about South Africa
There is much to draw travelers to South Africa - including the stunning coast, incredible wildlife, and diverse cultures. But perhaps its enduring appeal is also down to how easy it is to travel in a country whose attractions are so wild - with superb roads, fantastic cuisine and comfortable lodging at all budget levels.
It may be a cliché but South Africa really does have something for everyone - with winelands, wildlife, camping and luxury lodges - not to mention the culture, from vibrant modern cities to tribal rituals.
Kruger National Park is one of South Africa’s most celebrated destinations, and rightly so, home to diverse and abundant wildlife – including the Big Five – over 500 species of birds and a great range of beautiful habitats.
South Africa is home to diverse landscapes, hopping with all creatures great and small, from the Big Five on game drives, to humpback whales that skim the coast.
This is by far one of the easiest African nations to travel in with children, with plenty in South Africa for families to enjoy from comfortable lodges to brilliant beaches and amazing wildlife.
Unity in diversity is one way that South Africa is trying to heal the scars of apartheid. Cultural tours in South Africa are less about the Big Five and more about the Big Nine – provinces, that is, each with its own distinct cultural heritage.
Towered over by Table Mountain, bordered by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and on the doorstep of wildlife and wine country, Cape Town is way more than just a city.
The Garden Route delivers a diverse dose of South Africa in a single trip: dramatic coast and unspoiled landscapes, wildlife and cool city culture, game viewing and whale watching, hiking and kayaking.
Prolific wildlife, wild beaches, biodiverse wetlands, jagged mountains, Zulu culture and 19th century battlefields – KwaZulu Natal is dramatic, delightful and diverse.
Like any form of community tourism, township tours should be led by the people who live there, be sustainable and non-intrusive.
Incarcerated for 27 years for opposing apartheid in South Africa, Nelson Mandela went on to become the country’s first black head of state.
South Africa is the most welcoming country in Africa for LGBT travelers – with equality and protection from discrimination enshrined in law.
There is a huge difference between legal game meat and illegally hunted bushmeat in Africa: one is sustainable, the other drives species closer to extinction.
Read insider tips from our vacation companies - from how to really get under the skin of South Africa and where to see wildlife in Kruger, to the best way to explore Table Mountain.
Responsible tourism in South Africa has come a long way since the days of big game hunters and Apartheid.
Find all our South Africa guides in one place with guides on Cape Town to Victoria Falls, the Garden Route, Kruger National Park and so much more.
.jpg){kind=link}