Tanzania · Tanzania
December
Short rains ease and the dry window returns — a solid month for Ngorongoro and the pre-calving Serengeti.
Strong option
#8 of 12 months
There are better months for Tanzania — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
27°C
Low
14°C
Rain
58mm
Sun
7.5hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How December scores in Tanzania
Weather
Very good
Value
Above average
Crowds
Above average
Events
Good
Atmosphere
Very good
What you gain in December
- ↑December marks the short rains ending and a return to the short dry season (the Juliet) that extends into January–February — the Serengeti roads begin to recover, sunshine hours improve from November's 7.0 to 7.5, and game drives in the Ndutu area (pre-calving wildebeest concentration) begin to deliver good results again
- ↑Ngorongoro Crater is excellent in December: the crater floor dries out from the November rains, the resident animal populations are highly visible in the short grass, and the Christmas holiday season brings high-quality visitors who provide a sociable camp atmosphere without the July peak crowd levels
- ↑Christmas and New Year in a luxury Serengeti tented camp — dining under the stars, night game drives by spotlight, and the sound of lions at dawn — is the most distinctive Christmas-break experience available anywhere on Earth; the quality properties (Singita, &Beyond, Asilia) deliver full-service festive programmes at a premium that is remarkable by any standard
What you sacrifice
- ↓Christmas and New Year week pushes prices to near July–August peak levels for the finest properties — families and couples treating a luxury East Africa safari as their annual holiday push demand for December 20–January 5 into peak territory
- ↓The early December transition period (first two weeks) can still carry residual short-rain weather — the vuli doesn't always end cleanly on a specific date, and early December visits should be prepared for afternoon showers before the dry window fully establishes
- ↓The Great Migration calving season has not yet begun (calving peaks January–February) — December's wildlife story is primarily about big cat activity in the Seronera and Ndutu areas as the herds stage; spectacular but not the single concentrated wildlife event that February or July delivers
How December compares to February (best month)
| Factor | December | February ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 7 | 8 |
| Value | 5 | 5 |
| Crowds | 5 | 5 |
December in other destinations
Lisbon (14.4°C)Barcelona (13.8°C)Tokyo (12°C)Bali (30.3°C)Santorini (14.5°C)Paris (6.9°C)New York (5.1°C)Marrakech (18.1°C)Amsterdam (6.4°C)Maldives (30°C)Rome (11.7°C)Bangkok (30.4°C)Istanbul (9.4°C)Vienna (3°C)Seoul (3.7°C)Dubrovnik (11.6°C)Rio de Janeiro (29.5°C)Kyoto (11.3°C)Phuket (31.8°C)Cape Town (25.6°C)Prague (3°C)Amalfi Coast (13°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (30°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (25°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (27.5°C)Miami (25.6°C)Florence (9.8°C)Queenstown (21°C)Madrid (9.5°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (5°C)Budapest (5°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (7°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (20°C)Osaka (11°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (29°C)Mykonos (14°C)Zanzibar (31°C)Sri Lanka (30°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (14°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (28°C)Havana (26°C)Split (11°C)Taipei (20°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (16°C)Ho Chi Minh City (31°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (6°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (17°C)Jordan (14°C)Azores (18°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (20.4°C)Cairo (20.8°C)Kenya (26°C)Jaipur (22.8°C)Las Vegas (14.7°C)San Francisco (13.8°C)Madeira (20°C)Vancouver (7.1°C)Muscat (27.8°C)Lima (24.2°C)Cinque Terre (12°C)Kotor (11°C)Tel Aviv (19°C)Santiago (29°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (6.8°C)Penang (30.9°C)Lombok (30.9°C)Cape Verde (26.8°C)Fez (15.2°C)Kerala (31°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (19°C)Oslo (2°C)Auckland (22°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Tanzania, not across destinations. Methodology →