South Africa vs Tanzania

Thatched-roof pavilion with blue curtains surrounded by palm trees, flowering plants, and a small pool at The Palms Zanzibar.

South Africa and Tanzania, side by side: live travel advisories, our resort catalog's real guest data, and each destination's honest weather picture. Everything you need to break the tie.

South Africa guide · Tanzania guide · How we score

By the numbers

South Africa compared with Tanzania
South Africa	Measure	Tanzania
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 3: Reconsider Travel
0	Resorts in our catalog	14
–	Average guest rating	★ 4.7
–	Nightly rates	$152–$615/night pp
0 of 0	Adults-only resorts	0 of 14
No hurricane season	Hurricane exposure	No hurricane season
November–March (southern-hemisphere summer thunderstorms)	Rainy season	Long rains mid-March–May (April is seriously wet), short rains November
April–September for dry, mild weather; also prime safari season inland	Sweet spot	June–October and December–February
11 official languages – English widely spoken	Language	Swahili & English (English widely used in tourism)
South African rand (ZAR)	Currency	Tanzanian shilling (TZS); USD widely accepted
230V, large Type M/N plugs (special adapter needed)	Power	230V, Type G (UK-style) plugs – bring an adapter
On the left	Driving	On the left
Durban (DUR) or Johannesburg (JNB)	Main airport	Zanzibar / Abeid Amani Karume (ZNZ)
~15–17h from the US East Coast (often via Europe or the Gulf)	Flight time	~16–19h+ from the US, with a connection

Advisory levels sync from travel.state.gov; catalog figures reflect the resorts we've researched, not every hotel in the country.

On the map

No mapped resorts yet

South Africa

Tanzania

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for South Africa and Tanzania
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
South Africa · high °F	82	83	82	79	77	74	73	74	75	77	79	81
Tanzania · high °F	89	90	90	87	84	84	83	83	84	86	88	89
South Africa · rain (in)	5.3	4.8	4.8	2.9	2.2	1.1	1.5	1.9	2.9	4.3	4.8	4.0
Tanzania · rain (in)	3.0	2.4	5.9	15.3	7.8	1.9	1.1	1.4	2.0	3.5	8.0	5.5

Approximate climate normals for KwaZulu-Natal coast (Durban) and Zanzibar: planning guidance, not a forecast. Deeper gold = hotter; deeper teal = wetter.

Where you'd actually stay

Best of South Africa

No South Africa resorts in our catalog yet.

Full South Africa guide

Best of Tanzania

Full Tanzania guide

Chains here: The Zanzibar Collection · Paradise & Wilderness · The Mora