SeasonMapBest time to visit Southern Africa
The best time to visit Southern Africa is May to July, judged across 35 places; January is its weakest month.
Updated September 2026 · Africa · 35 places, each judged for what it is · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Southern Africa month by month
| Month | Season | Why | Best places |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | good | 28°C highs · 11 h sun | Jamestown, Jeffreys Bay, Knysna |
| February | good | 28°C highs · 10 h sun | Jamestown, Swakopmund, Cape Town |
| March | good | 29°C highs · 10 h sun | Jamestown, Cape Town, Tofo |
| April | good | dry season · 27°C highs · 10 h sun | Cape Town, Vilankulo, Jamestown |
| May | in season | dry season · 25°C highs · 10 h sun | Harare, Lusaka, Vilankulo |
| June | in season | dry season · 24°C highs · 9 h sun | Lusaka, Windhoek, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary |
| July | in season | dry season · 23°C highs · 10 h sun | Windhoek, Lusaka, Maputo |
| August | good | dry season · 25°C highs · 10 h sun | Harare, Pemba, Pretoria |
| September | good | dry season · 27°C highs · 11 h sun | Pemba, Vilankulo, Tofo |
| October | good | whale season · dry season · 28°C highs | Cape Town, Vilankulo, Stellenbosch |
| November | good | whale season · 29°C highs · 11 h sun | Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Vilankulo |
| December | good | 29°C highs · 11 h sun | Cape Town, Jamestown, Stellenbosch |
In season: one of the region's three best months, and good in its own right. Low season: one of its three worst, and well below its best. The reasons compare each month with the region's own year and name the seasons on the ground — monsoon, autumn colour, hurricanes — where most of its places share them.
All 35 places in Southern Africa
- Butha-ButheLesothoweather by month →
- Cape TownSouth Africaweather by month →
- DrakensbergSouth Africaweather by month →
- DurbanSouth Africaweather by month →
- Etosha National ParkNamibiaweather by month →
- Ezulwini ValleyEswatiniweather by month →
- GaboroneBotswanaweather by month →
- HarareZimbabweweather by month →
- HermanusSouth Africaweather by month →
- Hlane Royal National ParkEswatiniweather by month →
- JamestownSaint Helenaweather by month →
- Jeffreys BaySouth Africaweather by month →
- JohannesburgSouth Africaweather by month →
- KasaneBotswanaweather by month →
- KnysnaSouth Africaweather by month →
- Kruger National ParkSouth Africaweather by month →
- LivingstoneZambiaweather by month →
- LüderitzNamibiaweather by month →
- LusakaZambiaweather by month →
- MaputoMozambiqueweather by month →
- MaunBotswanaweather by month →
- MbabaneEswatiniweather by month →
- MfuweZambiaweather by month →
- Mlilwane Wildlife SanctuaryEswatiniweather by month →
- PembaMozambiqueweather by month →
- Plettenberg BaySouth Africaweather by month →
- Port ElizabethSouth Africaweather by month →
- PretoriaSouth Africaweather by month →
- SossusvleiNamibiaweather by month →
- StellenboschSouth Africaweather by month →
- SwakopmundNamibiaweather by month →
- TofoMozambiqueweather by month →
- Victoria FallsZimbabweweather by month →
- VilankuloMozambiqueweather by month →
- WindhoekNamibiaweather by month →
Southern Africa — FAQ
- When is the best time to visit Southern Africa?
- May to July. In June: dry season · 24°C highs · 9 h sun.
- When is the low season in Southern Africa?
- Southern Africa has no month that falls far below the rest of its year; January is the weakest (28°C highs · 11 h sun).
- Which months are in season in Southern Africa?
- May to July — the months among its best that are also good in their own right.