When to Go to Botswana
Botswana by Season
Botswana enjoys a subtropical climate, with plenty of sunshine and bright blue skies. The year is split into the parched and dusty dry season and the lush, rainy green season, both of which make great times to visit, depending on what you are looking for. To help you choose when’s best to travel, we’ve split the year into its seasons:
May to October
Botswana’s dry season brings warm, sunshiny days in the low thrities, and cold nights. Despite it being called the dry season, this is when the Okavango water levels are at their highest, as floodwaters flow down from Angola. Game viewing is at its best at this time of year, especially from August to October when grasses are low and water sources are limited. From September onwards temperatures soar to 35°C plus, and humidity increases steadily until the rainy season arrives.
Go for:
Mokoro trips: in the Okavango Delta, the water levels are highest in July, making this the ideal time to take a mokoro trip down the channels and waterways and look for game.
Barbel run: between September and October, watch catfish and tigerfish congregate in huge schools, slapping their tails on the water to scare smaller fish out of hiding.
November to April
The green season brings rain to Botswana, but that shouldn’t stop you visiting. The showers are manageable, and visitor numbers and prices drop as the whole country turns various shades of green. From December to March days are hot and humid with temperatures up to 38°C, and while January and February sees some dramatic storms, they’re usually over pretty quickly. Rains do cause the animals to disperse though, except in the Kalahari where they head for the open plains.
Go for:
Newborn animals: Botswana’s animals give birth to their young between November and December, so come at this time to see the babies, as well as the many predators trying to eat them.
Antelope breeding season: in April and into May, Botswana’s impala are in their rutting season, so look out for fighting , head butting and snorting as the males compete for the females’ attention.
