Help! I must decide by tomorrow about safari in Tanzania in beginning of February. I need to know if the Northern route and Zanzibar are really hot at that time of year.
Thanks

I personally havent been there in February....but, the wildlife comes first....the game viewing will be so phenomenal, that, it will be silly to miss out on the oppurtunity due to your worries about the weather...

Hari

January, February and March are summer months in East Africa, so yes, it will be hot on the mainland (the northern route) likely in the 80s or higher. On the coast it will be as hot and humid.

We were on the northern circuit the last two weeks in January ... mornings were always pleasant (even chilly on the rim of Ngorongoro), mid-day was a bit hot but we were usually back in camp by then, afternoons were OK. I always wore long pants and long-sleeved shirts and except for one time waiting for a couple of hours for cheetahs to make a kill mid-day I never recall being 'really hot'.

Dunno about Zanzibar ... but for sure Feb in the Serengeti should be very good for seeing the vast herds on the short-grass and worth any minor discomfort.

Bill

expect mid to high 80's in February as an average in Serengeti, perhaps a little bit less at Ngorongoro. Average lows are in the mid 60's, perhaps 5 to 10 degrees cooler at Ngorongoro. Temperature is almost always related to altitude in east Africa, except with about a 5 degree fluctuation between seasons.

The temperature in Zanzibar is about the same, year-round, hot and humid. The sea breezes weren't enough to keep us cool in February, however, so consider a place with AC. When I was in Tanzania in February 2005, they were having a heat wave - over 100 degrees in the Serengeti. We used lots of wet washcloths to stay cool. That is NOT the norm for that time of year, however. Just remember the the weather will do what it will and averages are just that.

It's also quite amazing how 1) wearing the right clothing and 2) being distracted by the amazing scenery and wildlife can distract you from temperatures that would keep you inside in the cool air conditioning at home. I've got the AC on in the car anytime it's above 72 at home, but driving around in Tanzania without any when it was in the high 90's didn't seem to bother us at all.

The only time I recall being miserably hot was at Lake Manyara, and it was over 105 so we just sat in the pool, hid in the shade and drank Tuskers.