Best Time to Visit Malawi
Planning a trip to Malawi? And wondering what time of the year is the best time to visit? Malawi is perfect to during the dry season months from May to October. The rest of the year can be rather hot and humid.
When to Go?
Best Time to Visit Malawi
The drier, cooler months of May – October prove to be the best for visiting Malawi, which experiences high temperatures, rainfall, and humidity during the rest of the year, particularly in January and February.
Seasons of Malawi
Broadly speaking, these are the seasons of Malawi:
- Cool and Dry Season: May to August
- Warm and Dry Season: September to October
- Wet Season: November to April
Where to Go in Malawi – Month by Month
- January to February: Hot and humid summer months. Can be avoided. Chances of flooding. Good for birding, especially at Nyika National Park. Orchids come into bloom. Many lodges around Lake Malawi shut down during these months.
- March to April: Rainy season.
- May to August: Peak dry season. Cool temperatures. Best time to view the wildlife of Liwonde National Park and Majete as animals gather around watering holes. August is a wonderful time to visit Lake Malawi with water temperatures comfortable for water sports.
- September to October: Temperatures start to increase to over 40 degrees celcius by October. Still the dry season. Also good wildlife viewing month.
- November to December: Rainy summer months begin. November is a bridge month so you can come across some occasional thunderstorms. The temperatures do get high and by December there can be chances of heavy rains. Good months for birding.
Climate of Malawi
Malawi’s overall climate comprises of a cool season, a hot season, and a rainy season. The coolest months begin in May and conclude in mid-August. The warmer months immediately follow this period, and taper off at the end of November. The rainy months then begin in November and end in April.
Still deciding where to go?
Knowing when to travel is half the decision; the other half is where. Our guide to African safari destinations puts every country we work in side by side — what each is best for, the best months to visit, how long to allow and what a trip starts at — so you can see how Malawi compares before you commit.
Best time to visit Malawi: common questions
When is the best time to visit Malawi?
July to October for wildlife, and specifically September and October for the sharpest concentration. As the bush dries, animals gather on permanent water — in Liwonde that means the Shire River, which is why Liwonde’s boat safaris are the country’s best wildlife activity, putting hippo, crocodile and elephant in a linear, boat-accessible strip. October is extremely hot in the Shire Valley, which is worth knowing before you commit to it.
Are Malawi’s best safari months and best lake months the same?
No, and its best plateau months are the opposite of both. Liwonde and Majete peak from July to October. Lake Malawi’s water is warmest from November to May but clearest from August to December, when visibility can reach thirty metres. The Nyika Plateau at over 2,000 metres inverts the national pattern and is at its best from November to May, because the dry winter brings bitter cold at altitude. The window that serves all three reasonably is September to early November.
Is Malawi actually a wildlife destination?
African Parks’ management of Majete, Liwonde and Nkhotakota, and the large-scale elephant translocations into them, have transformed the offer within roughly the last decade. Majete is a fenced, restocked reserve with the Big Five reintroduced and is good year-round, easiest late in the dry season. Anything still describing Malawi as the lake plus a bit of game is out of date.
What is the diving and snorkelling like?
The headline is the cichlids rather than the beach. Lake Malawi holds more freshwater fish species than any other lake on Earth, most of them endemic, and snorkelling there is a biodiversity experience available to non-divers in chest-deep water. Water runs 22 to 27°C year-round and a 3mm wetsuit is the standard recommendation. Visibility drops after heavy rain washes sediment down the rivers, so January to March is variable and site-dependent.
Which months should I avoid in Malawi?
November to April is the wet season — afternoon showers, lush conditions, higher malaria risk and roads that may become impassable. It is not a shutdown, and the Nyika Plateau is at its best then, but the Shire Valley parks are harder work. If you have one week and want wildlife, come in the dry season.