Gaborone weather by month
The best time to visit Gaborone is May, July and August — 93/100 in May, 25°C and 1 rainy day. The best season is winter, June to August (91/100 on average).
The worst month is February at 73/100 — hot, rainy, clean air. See February →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Botswana →
Best season: June to August (91/100 on average) · worst February (73/100)
- Days
- 25°C
- Nights
- 8°C
- Wet days
- 1
- Sun
- 9.7 h
- Humidity
- 54%
- Daylight
- 11 h
Gaborone, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Gaborone is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Gaborone through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
Crowds in Gaborone in May
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Busyschool holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Good to know before you go to Gaborone
Real experiences from travellers' own write-ups, quoted with a link to the original.
Customs & etiquette
A visitor's account of Gaborone stresses that greetings genuinely matter here: walking into a shop, taxi, or home without saying "Dumela" (to one person) or "Dumelang" (to several) noticeably changes how you're received, and a handshake done with the left hand supporting the right elbow lands especially well. For getting around, their tip was to hop on a combi, the cheap white minibuses that run fixed but unmarked routes, simply telling the driver your stop, while keeping a ride-hailing app installed as backup and carrying cash for combis and roadside food stalls where cards don't work.
Traveller notes on Gaborone
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters describe May as a genuinely excellent shoulder-season month across Botswana generally - clear skies, comfortable daytime warmth, and almost no rain, sitting right at the start of the dry season. Posters are consistent that nights and early mornings turn noticeably cold despite the pleasant days, recommending a fleece, hat and gloves for anyone out early, with overnight lows commonly cited in the teens Celsius or cooler. Posters generally rate May as offering some of the best value of the year - fewer crowds and lower prices than the peak winter season just ahead, with the dry, clear conditions making it a comfortable month for exploring the wider region around Gaborone.
Forum posters describe November days across Botswana as running quite hot, typically in the 30sC, with rain usually holding off until later in the month even though scattered earlier showers remain possible. Posters describing a November-into-December visit reported little rain overall, cool mornings and warm afternoons, with heat never once disrupting a game drive. Posters consistently rate November and December as offering lower rates alongside still-excellent wildlife viewing, since even a modest chance of rain hasn't scared off the animals - if the rains do start early, the bush greens up and temperatures ease slightly, timed with wildebeest and impala births. Posters generally rate November as hot but very manageable for a Botswana visit, with real value in the shoulder-season rates.
Add your own note from Gaborone's card on the map.