African Travel in June and July: What to Expect

If you’ve never woken up to the sound of a hippo grunting outside your tent or sipped hot coffee while elephants ghosted through the morning mist – well, you’ve clearly never experienced African travel in June or July. And I’m not judging. But I am here to change that.

Where to Go for African Travel in June and July

As the northern hemisphere descends into beach-body chaos and sunburn roulette, we're hitting peak safari season here in the south. Winter in Africa means dry landscapes, clearer skies, and animals behaving exactly as we’d hoped: parading in full view as if they know you flew halfway across the world just to see them.

Here’s where I’d go (and where I’ve either been, longed to return to, or not-so-subtly hinted at being sent). It’s your ultimate guide to African travel in June and July.

1. Kruger National Park, South Africa 

The Greater Kruger isn’t a maybe. It’s a must. Especially in winter, when the bush thins out, the temperature stays blissfully temperate, and the animals tend to congregate more predictably around water sources – turning game drives into proper treasure hunts with a very high success rate.

It’s not just about quantity – although yes, the Big 5 are here and then some – it’s the quality of the sightings. Lions dozing in golden light, African wild dogs trotting with purpose, and leopards lounging in marula trees with an air of content. You’ll also find everything from giraffe to honey badgers (if you're lucky) and enough birdlife to convert even the most hardened twitching sceptic.

Where I’d Stay: Silvan Safari  

Silvan Safari isn’t a lodge you stay at. It’s one you feel. A leadwood forest hideaway with a design that feels equal parts gallery and soul sanctuary. Each suite spills into the surrounding bush as if it grew there naturally – all dappled light, rich textures, and a front-row seat to whatever wanders past.

The food borders on gourmet art, and the guiding? Let’s just say you’ll learn more about leopards in one drive than you would in a semester of zoology.

2. Nyerere National Park, Tanzania 

Formerly known as Selous, Nyerere National Park is vast, wild, and delightfully free from traffic jams (including the safari vehicle variety). With the Rufiji River snaking through it, this park is a haven for boat safaris – gliding past crocodiles sunning on the banks or watching elephants swim with surprising grace.

Nyerere is raw, untamed, and still feels like a proper adventure – the kind where you're more likely to see a lion than another human. It’s also one of the best places to spot endangered African wild dogs, who hunt in coordinated packs with military-level precision and enough energy to make you feel lazy just watching them.

Where I’d Stay: Sand Rivers Selous  

Elevated above the lakeshore, Sand Rivers Selous is all about natural immersion. Time doesn’t so much pass here as it melts – slow and soothing.  

Afternoon siestas with African fish eagles calling overhead and evenings lit by lanterns and the occasional hyena whoop are just part of the spell. One minute you're adjusting your watch, and the next, you've forgotten what day it is.

3. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

South Luangwa National Park rewired my understanding of what a safari could be. You’re not just seeing animals – you’re tracking them. On foot. With a guide who can identify a pearl-spotted owlet just by a silhouette and point out a lion track you’d swear wasn’t there. South Luangwa has some of the best guiding on the continent, and its riverside setting makes for an animal magnet come dry season.

There’s something about being on the ground that changes your entire perception. You start noticing things – a freshly fallen feather, the warmth left behind on a flattened patch of grass, the pause before a puku antelope bolts. You’re stepping into the story mid-chapter and realising the real plot twist is that you’re part of it.

Where I’d Stay: Time + Tide Chinzombo

Minimalism done properly. Built beneath ancient trees, each villa at Chinzombo comes with its own plunge pool and uninterrupted views across the river. It’s stylish without trying too hard – all clean lines, earthy tones, and materials that let the setting do the talking.

You’re close enough to hear hippos at night and far enough from everything else to reset your entire nervous system. The guides are sharp, the food’s excellent, and the Wi-Fi? Let’s pretend it doesn’t exist.

4. Etosha National Park, Namibia

Etosha National Park is what happens when you cross a Martian landscape with a BBC nature special. The pan – vast, chalky, and rather otherworldly – shimmers under the sun while life clings to the edges in gritty, cinematic style. 

But don’t assume it’s all grubby ground squirrels and the occasional malnourished mongoose – oh, nay, nay. Animals don’t skulk here, nor are they scant. In fact, plump populations arrive in dramatic processions. Rhino, elephant, lion – all jostling for space around precious waterholes. Plus, in June and July, the viewing becomes even better – bold, visceral, and perfectly framed in natural amphitheatres of dust.

Where I’d Stay: Ongava Tented Camp

Ongava Tented Camp sidesteps the crowds and hands you the kind of access most people don’t even know exists. It has all the old-world safari charm, canvas walls, campfire rituals, and uninterrupted wildlife traffic that makes you forget you ever lived near a streetlight.

But what sets Ongava apart isn’t the decor or the location (though both deliver) – it’s the sense that you’re part of something less packaged and far more primal.

5. Okavango Delta, Botswana

The Okavango Delta is a seasonal sleight of hand – where rain that showered Angola soils months before finally seeps south, turning a patch of desert into a living, breathing labyrinth of islands and lagoons. By Botswana's winter season, those floodwaters have made their long journey across 1,100 kilometres (684 miles) of land, flooding the Delta just in time for African travel in June and July to really show off.

The game is plentiful, but the real magic is how you experience it – slicing through stillness in a mokoro (a traditional dugout canoe). The water is so glassy it reflects back your slack-jawed awe. Red lechwe dart across the reeds and elephants appear mid-channel. And you? Well, you're scanning the treeline for the twitch of a lion’s ear (or a whole pride of ears).

Where I’d Stay: Sable Alley 

Sable Alley nails the safari sweet spot. It’s equal parts style and substance, paired with impeccable hospitality. It serves up everything from rooibos-with-reedbuck to candlelit dinners accompanied by the delicate melody of frog chirps.

Each of Sable's tents is elegant and thoughtfully positioned for privacy. But it’s the guiding – and the unfiltered access to the Moremi ecosystem – that elevates the experience from excellent to unforgettable.

6. Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Amboseli has a certain stillness to it – the kind where everything seems paused, poised, waiting. And then an elephant appears. And another. And another. Kilimanjaro looms in the distance like a moodier-than-usual postcard backdrop – leaving you blinking more than once.

The water dries up in June and July, and the wildlife moves in. Elephants, yes – the big, broad-tusked kind you secretly hope will walk right past your vehicle (which they do) – but also zebra herds in tight formation, hyenas lurking on the periphery, and the occasional cheetah doing its low-key lethal thing. These "on-the-edge-of-your-seat" scenes play out on open plains with nowhere to hide – and that’s exactly the point.

Where I’d Stay: Tortilis Camp

Located in the Maasai-owned Kitirua Conservancy, Tortilis Camp gets the details right. The tents are thoughtfully spaced and effortlessly comfortable, with views that casually serve up elephants and Kilimanjaro in the same glance.

Meals are generous without being fussy, the wine is pleasant as it’s plentiful, and the guides know the land as if it raised them. No fuss. No fanfare. All you do is look up – and there it is: the safari you came for.

7. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

There’s something surreal about seeing a line of wildebeest stretching from one horizon to the next – all moving with panicked determination. By July, the herds have hit their stride, thundering across northern Serengeti National Park and into Grumeti like commuters with a death wish. Crocs lie in wait. Big cats linger. And the grasslands hum with tension.

But it’s not all chaos and river crossings. There are long, strange silences. Vultures circling in lazy spirals. Wary waterbuck stand watch beneath the dappled shade of an acacia. The sense that everything is teetering on the edge of movement – as if the wilderness is holding its breath. And then it tips, and the plains come alive again – unapologetic, unfiltered, and occasionally absurd.

Where I’d Stay: Singita Sabora Tented Camp

Less camp, more daydream. Set on the private Grumeti Reserve, Singita Sabora is a refined throwback to the golden era of safari without feeling like a movie set.

Persian rugs under canvas, a daybed with migration views, and service so intuitive it feels like they read your thoughts. You’ll come for the herds but stay for the stillness between them.

8. Seychelles, Indian Ocean Islands

If the safari leg of your journey was all dust, drama, and a new-found love for dung beetles, then Seychelles is where the tempo shifts – think barefoot luxury, crisp ocean air, and tranquillity that stretches in every direction. These islands off East Africa aren’t a wind-down. They’re a complete gear change.

In June and July, the trade winds drop the humidity and dial up the clarity. This is prime season for snorkelling over technicolour coral gardens, hopping between beaches, or quietly forgetting what day it is. The blues are brighter, the waters warmer, and there’s always somewhere to disappear – whether it’s a shady trail through cinnamon forest or a hammock at a hidden cove.

Where I’d Stay: Constance Lemuria

If beach resorts were graded on atmosphere alone, Constance Lemuria would still walk off with the prize. Set on Praslin’s quieter coast, this place feels like it’s been pressed into the jungle by hand – villas tucked between granite boulders, palm trees doing their breezy thing, and ocean views so good they should come with a warning.

There’s a golf course if you swing that way, a spa if you don’t and, oh, and did I mention the private beaches? Yes. Plural.

African Travel in June and July Just Works

There’s a reason safari season syncs so perfectly with June and July – the skies open up, the animals step into the spotlight, and the bush feels alive in that "did-that-actually-just-happen?" kind of way. Whether heading out before sunrise or lingering on the deck post-dinner, everything feels a little crisper, a little clearer, and much easier to fall in love with.

So… what’s made your list? Which lodge are you picturing already? If you’re still in "wildly browsing" mode, our Travel Experts can help you narrow things down. Or better yet, throw a few curveballs into the mix. African travel in June and July is when the continent shows off – all you have to do is show up.

Featured Image: Tortilis Camp