When is the best to go on a wildlife holiday?
In short, there really is no definitive answer for the best time to go on a wildlife holiday. Part of the attraction of travelling the world is that mother nature will follow its own path, and it will always keep us guessing…
Here is a month-by-month guide of some of the best wildlife holiday destinations you could experience throughout the world. It is a guide to help you find those ‘must do’ wildlife encounters of a lifetime that you want to experience and tick off of your bucket list!
January
The start of the year brings new adventures and lots to look forward to. Wildlife escapes will guide you to Africa’s diverse landscapes looking for huge herds of wildebeest, massive primates, and, towards the end of world, you can get up close and personal with the penguins and their chicks in Antarctica.
February
It’s all about the gray whales in February, their migration is one of the longest of all marine animals. At this time the whales arrive from as far north as the Bering Sea (between Russia and Alaska) to give birth and raise their young in the shallow waters of the Bay of Magdalena, where they can be easily found just minutes offshore.
March
March brings some amazing animal encounters, it’s a great time to see the adorable panda cubs and the spring blossoms in China. There’s plenty of opportunity to track the Tigers in the Indian national parks. Some of the breath-taking waterfalls in South America are in fall flow, and the rare iridescent quetzal in Costa Rica must not be missed.
April
Spring hits the northern hemisphere. Whilst the cherry blossoms come to life in Japan, blankets of daffodils transform the UK landscape. The Galápagos bird life begins to throng with the start of the mating season for the blue footed boobies, whilst the underwater world is waiting to be explored.
May
Colossal icebergs can be seen floating out to sea in Canada, whilst Australia’s outback offers dazzling sunrises staring at starry skies, dazzling sunrises, and nights skies full of stars. It is a great time for tracking Komodo dragons in Indonesia, and most of the mountainous regions of Europe are reawakening into spring.
June
This month get up close and personal with some of the planet’s most incredible wildlife, and some of the giants in the animal kingdom. You can trek for Silverback mountain gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda, or spot the majestic leopards in The Okavango delta, Botswana, Luangwa National Park in Zambia, and the Jaguar in the Pantanal Brazil.
July
The iconic wildlife encounters in July are exceptional, as the great wildebeest migration sees more than two million animals trekking across the Serengeti in search of green pastures to graze upon. This is also one of the most popular times to visit the Serengeti because it has the best weather, and lowest amount of rainfall.
August
Mother nature at her finest, as the wildebeest in the Kenya prepare to cross the Mara river Elephants congregate in large numbers along Botswana Chobe’s waterways. Mountain Gorillas can be trekked in Uganda and Rwanda, and endangered Green Turtles come up on to the beaches of Tortuguero (Costa Rica), and turtle island park in Borneo, at night to lay their eggs.
September
September (and August) is widely regarded as the best months to travel to Africa. Virtually everywhere offers great game viewing before the long, dry season ends around mid/late September. The north west of Canada offers prime grizzly bear viewing, when the salmon are usually in abundance swimming on a journey upstream to their place of birth to reproduce.
October
This month you can start to track polar bears through the tundra in Churchill, Canada. You can still bear witness to some of the migration in Tanzania, see the charismatic lemurs and their babies in Lemur, baby orange-tans in Borneo, and it’s a great time to see the Bengal Tigers in India.
November
November is a time that the hours of daylight are at their longest in the southern hemisphere. In the Falkland Islands you will see the enormous elephant seals, whilst the Southern Right Whales pass the Valdes peninsula, Argentina. Alaska is considered the best place for bald eagles, whist crocs can be spotted basking in the sun in Kakadu national park, Australia.
December
December provides an abundance of gifts for those willing to look for them. Some of these will be the penguins hatching in the Antarctic, trekking snow leopards in the Himalayas, catching a glimpse of rare birds in Ecuador, or swimming in the warm waters of the Indian ocean with whale sharks. There really is a huge selection of wildlife to discover at this time of year.
