Things to Do in Pretoria in December
December weather, activities, events & insider tips
Shoulder Season · Good Value
December Weather in Pretoria
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
83°F (28°C)
High Temp
63°F (17°C)
Low Temp
4.5 inches (114 mm)
Rainfall
70%
Humidity
⚠ Afternoon thunderstorms arrive most days, brief, heavy, with lightning.
Is December Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + By December the jacarandas have dropped their purple confetti, yet Pretoria's gardens glow greener than ever. Wet earth and blooming roses from the National Botanical Garden scent the air while afternoon thunderstorms drum overhead. Worth it.
- + Festive season hits. Locals flee to the coast, so the Voortrekker Monument and Union Buildings feel almost private. Slow pace, open space.
- + Humid evenings invite outdoor tables in Hatfield or Sunnyside courtyards. Cicadas crescendo, wood-fired braai smoke drifts, cold beer sweats. Perfect.
- + December fires the highveld thunderstorm season. Skies turn theatrical, downpours cool the day, nights taste fresh. Bring a jacket.
Considerations
- − This is the wettest month, 10 rainy days of short, sharp storms that can derail afternoon plans and turn Pretoria's red sidewalks to mud.
- − Many locals, plus some owners and chefs, take December holidays. Favorite spots may shut or trim hours. Phone ahead.
- − High humidity plus rain makes walking Pretoria's long, pedestrian-hostile distances a slog unless you're behind a wheel. Plan accordingly.
Best Activities in December
Top things to do during your visit
December in Pretoria hits you with sticky heat and the smell of wet tar. Jacarandas that painted the city purple in October now wear plain green, their shade welcome when the sun climbs. Schools shut, traffic thins, and at 3pm the sky cracks into brief, brutal storms. No festivals, no parades, just crickets after the rain and a city left for you to read at your own speed. Days run long, hot, and reversible. Mornings glow gold on the sandstone Union Buildings. Afternoons brew cumulus towers. Pack quick-dry shirts, plan around the boom-time cloudbursts, and keep a rain shell in your day-bag. December shares its weather with January and November, so expect interruptions. But the reward is parks that pulse with new leaves and reserves where waterholes glint like magnets.
Pretoria,Johannesburg,soweto & Apartheid Museum tour
culturalThis full-day trip stitches Pretoria's power to Soweto's pulse and the Apartheid Museum's blunt truth. You'll stand beneath the Union Buildings on Meintjieskop, then ride to Vilakazi Street where the 1976 student uprising still echoes past the houses of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. The last stop is the museum's corridor of personal stories, ID cards, and wire cages that lay out segregation's math.
One corridor, one street, one hill give you the clearest line through South Africa's move from oppression to vote.
Insider tip: Leave Pretoria before 7am. You dodge rush-hour and the afternoon thunder that can flood the N1 back from Soweto.
This month: December storms love the 3pm slot, so bring a feather-weight rain jacket for the open-air Soweto walking sections.
Pilanesberg Nature Reserve
otherThis tour leaves Pretoria's grid and drops you inside the Pilanesberg crater. December rains fill the pans, dye the grass emerald, and pull antelope into the open where predators wait. You'll spend hours in an open truck, ears full of francolin calls and baboon alarms, eyes scanning for a rhino head in the thicket or a leopard tail dangling like a rope.
Malaria-free Big Five country inside an extinct volcano, only two hours north.
Insider tip: Thick summer bush shrinks visibility. Ask the guide to pause at every waterhole and drainage line where game must drink.
This month: Afternoon cloudbursts can cut drives short. Yet the same storms bring Woodland Kingfishers and emerald cuckoos for the best bird list of the year.
Elephant Experience & Lesedi Cultural Village
guided_experienceYou'll feed a rescued elephant a piece of apple and feel its sandpaper trunk wrap around your wrist. Later, at Lesedi Cultural Village, Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi and Basotho dancers stamp up dust that smells of woodsmoke and drum-skin. Two experiences, one road out of Pretoria.
Touch an elephant before lunch, taste sorghum beer and watch a gumboot dance before supper.
Insider tip: Closed shoes for the elephant yard. The finale dance is fast, so have your camera on burst.
This month: December sun is brutal. Carry water and a wide-brim hat for the open-air village paths.
Guided Walking with Lions Bush-walk Tour
walking_tourYou walk. Lions don't. Guides carry rifles, you carry nerves. A private reserve near Pretoria lets you track lions on foot; you'll hear bones crunch, feel growls vibrate through your ribs, and realise how small humans are.
Nothing teaches respect faster than standing thirty metres from a wild male on foot.
Insider tip: Minimum age is 16, fitness level must be declared. The operator enforces both without debate.
This month: December heat keeps cats flat and sleepy. Book the dawn slot for any action.
Full-Day Soweto Apartheid Museum and Lunch
day_tripThis Soweto-only tour keeps the museum but adds kota lunch, market chatter, and the silence of Hector Pieterson Memorial Square. You taste chips stuffed into hollowed bread, hear vendors call prices, then stand where a 13-year-old was shot in 1976.
History is louder when you eat the same streets you study.
Insider tip: Ask your Sowetan guide where they learnt to swim or which school their kids attend. Answers rewrite the guidebook.
This month: Many locals holiday elsewhere, so December streets are quieter. Yet kota queues still wrap corners.
Horseback Safari Adventure in Hartbeespoort from Johannesburg
adventureA vehicle meets you at Hartbeespoort Dam and hauls you into the Magaliesberg for a horseback safari. You'll clop through river bush, startle impala, and watch the dam flash silver between horse ears. Saddles creak, eagles scream, and the trail feels miles from any road.
See giraffe eye-to-eye from a horse instead of a diesel cage.
Insider tip: These horses are ex-polo; neck-rein gently and keep your heels down when zebra appear.
This month: Tall summer grass hides duiker. Afternoon rides risk lightning over the ridge.
Where to Stay in Pretoria in December
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for December travellers.
Packing Checklist
Bookmark this page — your progress is saved between visits
Need the full list with shopping links?
Climate-specific gear, brand recommendations, and what to leave at home.
View Pretoria Packing List →Essential Tips
Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
Locals head to the National Botanical Garden right after a morning thunderstorm. Air feels scrubbed. Birds riot. 2000-plus plant species sparkle with rain. Damp pine bark from the forest section smells like the whole trip is already worth it.
If a Hatfield or Brooklyn café looks shuttered, check the courtyard or veranda. December dining in Pretoria moves outdoors whenever possible, often in spaces invisible from the street.
Pretoria's red sand ruins light shoes and trouser cuffs. Own the stain, it's the city's signature, or simply wear dark colors.
Traffic surges out of Pretoria for coastal holidays from mid-December. Planning a day trip to Pilanesberg? Leave early or pick a weekday.
Avoid These Mistakes
Do not underestimate distance. Pretoria sprawls, car is king. Walking from the Union Buildings to the Voortrekker Monument is 5 km (3.1 mile) in sticky heat.
Check seasonal hours. Many museums close early on December 24th and 31st, and shut completely on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Avoid afternoon outdoor plans. Between 2 PM and 4 PM the sky detonates. Locals book meetings, museums, long lunches then, and head outside mornings and late afternoons.
Explore More Activities in Pretoria
Didn't see anything interesting yet?
Browse Viator's full catalog of tours, day trips, food experiences, and private guides in Pretoria.
See All Pretoria Tours on Viator