When is the best time to travel..?

I many times get the question `when is the best time to  travel to´ South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and I must say that the answer is often complex. It will depend on many things including your interests, exactly what you want to visit and why you're travelling. One person's best time can be another's worst! There is low and high season but that does not mean you should not travel during low season, it is more a question what would you like to see and enjoy that is of importance. Of course most Scandinavian people want to escape the miserable winter season, and at that time southern africa has the perfect climate to offer, but here I will point out a few things that might be helpful:)
January , summer
February, summer
March, fall
April, fall
May , fall/winter
June, winter
July, winter
August, winter
September, spring
October, spring,
November, summer
December, summer

If starting with safari, and your only focus is animals, see as much as possible and breath the nature, I would say best time to visit southern africa is during the dry season,and that means towards the end of the winter season and beginning of spring season,July- September,when there is no rain and nights are  quite chilly, and the nature is dry and animals cant hide so well in the bush, and as it is not too hot the animals move around much more in search of water, this is absolutely the best time to see animals, but maybe not the best time if you enjoy sun and heat.

To visit Cape Town I would suggest from October- April, but try to avoid December when south Africans have summer holiday, then the otherwise so great service might not be top notch, and you might also end up standing for hours in a line  to get up to  Table Mountain.
The Cape Winelands can be visited all year round but if you want to enjoy the harvest time you should visit during February - March, as in South Africa there is one harvest  a year and during harvest time there is festivals and harvest activities you can part take in.
Cape Town is not so pleasant to visit during the wintermonths May-August, as the weather is then mostly rainy and windy,and houses have no heating like we do have in Scandinavia, so you might end up sitting most of the time by the fireplace with a blanket around you...like me always:).

If you plan to visit Victoria Falls , a good time would be when the water is on mediun level. As the rainperiod starts in October-November, it takes a while for the watermasses to reach the falls, so immediatley when the rainy season starts the water level is still very low and not so spectacular, but towards January- February the viewing is very good when the waterlevels are higher,  but then the further on the season goes the waterlevels get very high and you can hardly see your hand in front of you because of the  mist , an umbrella wont be to any help, you will get wet, the mist is very thick:) Then again a few months after the rainy season it is a good time to visit,between June to August.

Then to Namibia and the famous sanddunes: Best time to visit would be during the dry season May-September, the sanddunes are magnificent to see during sunrise and sundown, the reflexion of the sun on the dunes is amazing. During the summer months, November- March, the day temperatures can get very high ( +40) and then you do not want to be stuck in the desert. I have been during these months and it is still fine to go but just dont do the mistake of going to the desert in the middle of the day....and with a car without aircon:) Anywhere you travel in Southern africa during summer months,if you rent a car, make sure you have aircon.

These are just a few guidelines, and when planning a holiday you have to figure out what you want most. If you enjoy sun and pleasant weather, enjoying safari but happy if you see a few animals, then the summer months has much to offer you in southern africa.

So here is a starters holiday package to South Africa:

5 nights Cape Town in end of October/or March, visiting Table Mountain, the winelands, Cape Point, walking along  Clifton beach, visiting the V&A Waterfront, eating great food
4 nights northern part, enjoying safari, visiting Blyde River canyon, a day in Kruger Park and then flying home again.

Or a bit more advanced package:

4 days Cape Town February/March, same program as above
3 days Namibia, visiting Windhoek and Sossusvlei (
3 days Victoria Falls, visiting the falls,maybe a helicopter ride, or elephant back riding,and then flying home trough Johannesburg.

That was very short and sweet :)

Have a wonderful day my friends!

Jannika