Best time to visit South Africa

South Africa does not have a single best season. Its 6 destinations peak across 4 different months, which means an itinerary that moves around the country will be in the right season for some of it and the wrong one for the rest — worth building the route around.

Averaged across every destination listed, South Africa is at its best in May, scoring 91 out of 100, with June close behind at 89. January is the weakest month nationally at 71. The workable window is wide — 6 months sit within eight points of the best — so a trip covering several of these places has room to move.

There is real variation inside South Africa: 27 °C annually in Pretoria against 19 °C in Cape Town. Rain splits the country further: Pietermaritzburg sees 169 wet days a year against 81 in Gqeberha, which is a different kind of trip rather than a slightly damper one.