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Tanzania6 parks
Tanzania is the most complete safari destination in East Africa, with the Big Five in a single week. In the Serengeti, one and a half million wildebeest circle with their predators, and 25,000 animals live year-round in Ngorongoro Crater. In the south, at Nyerere, you add boat trips and walks to your 4x4 game drives.
Across Tanzania, the dry season runs from June to October, with hard tracks and animals gathered near water. The wildebeest calving takes place from January to March in the southern Serengeti. The heavy rains fall in April and May, when TANAPA parks lower their entry fees.
Park fees weigh the most, from US$35.40 a day in Ruaha to US$82.60 in the Serengeti. Nyerere matches the Serengeti, while Tarangire and Manyara charge US$59. Add the 4x4 with a driver-guide, the lodge, then the flight south: US$219 between Dar es Salaam and Nyerere.
You fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport, near Arusha, for the northern parks, and into Dar es Salaam for the south. Once there, Coastal Aviation links Arusha to the Serengeti in just over an hour and Dar es Salaam to Nyerere in 45 minutes. A 4x4 with a driver does the rest.
TanzaniaNational parkAt Lake Manyara, a small park squeezed between the Rift escarpment and a soda lake, you look up into the acacias, where lions sleep through the hot hours: this is one of the few...
TanzaniaConservation areaIn Ngorongoro, you drive down into a 260 km² caldera where about 25,000 large animals live year-round: lions, buffalo, wildebeest and some fifty black rhinos.
TanzaniaNational parkIn Nyerere, you follow the Rufiji, Tanzania's largest river, by boat among hippos and crocodiles, then on foot with an armed ranger.
TanzaniaNational parkIn Ruaha, you spend hours on the tracks without meeting another 4x4, in a 20,226 km² park that is home to 10% of Africa's lions.
TanzaniaNational parkIn the Serengeti, you follow the largest animal migration on Earth: more than 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebras circling between Tanzania and Kenya.
TanzaniaNational parkIn Tarangire, you drive among hundreds of baobabs and the densest elephant herds in Tanzania, which come down to the Tarangire River from June to October.
No other country shows you as many animals on a single trip. The Great Migration spends most of the year on the Tanzanian side, and the calving from January to March happens at Ndutu, in the southern Serengeti. Ngorongoro Crater has no equal: 25,000 large animals on 260 km², black rhinos included, all visible in a single morning. Ruaha alone holds 10% of Africa's lions. Together with Nyerere, it gives the south an area twice the size of the Serengeti, where you pass more elephants than vehicles.
Two circuits divide the country, and you rarely combine them on the same trip. The north, starting from Arusha, strings four parks along one road. Tarangire opens with its elephants under the baobabs, and Lake Manyara follows with its lions in the trees. Next comes Ngorongoro and its crater, then the Serengeti, where the migration decides everything. Allow 6 to 8 days for all four, with the Serengeti taking half the time.
The south, starting from Dar es Salaam, is reached by plane, and you have the tracks almost to yourself. Nyerere, formerly Selous, puts the Rufiji River at the center of your stay: by boat, on foot with a ranger, and on the trail of wild dogs. Ruaha, farther west, packs lions and elephants along a river that dries up, with antelopes you won't find in the north. Do your first safari in the north. The south comes next, and a flight links Nyerere to Ruaha.
The rule is simple: the dry season, June to October, works for the whole country. The grass is short, the tracks are hard, and the animals stay close to water. In the south, the Ruaha River shrinks to a few pools in October, and the whole park comes to drink there. The big sightings have their months. The wildebeest cross the Mara River, in the northern Serengeti, from July to October. They calve at Ndutu from January to March, with the predators all around. Tarangire's elephants gather along the river from June to October. Lake Manyara's flamingos depend on the water level, which is higher after the rains. The long rains, March to May, make the tracks difficult. They also empty the parks, and entry fees in TANAPA parks drop from March 15 to May 15.
A safari in Tanzania comes down to four costs. Park fees come first, charged per person and per 24-hour period, with the 18% VAT included in the prices given here. The 4x4 with a driver-guide comes next, rented by the day with fuel included and shared by four or six people. The lodge or camp ranges from a public campsite, US$35.40 a night, to luxury camps. The park adds a fee for each night on top. The plane comes last, to reach the south or to skip a day on the road back from the Serengeti: US$287 from Arusha to Seronera. For Ngorongoro, add the descent into the crater, charged at US$295 per vehicle and split among the passengers.
A visa is required. You apply online before you leave, or get one on arrival in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro, for US$50. Your passport must be valid for six months after arrival. Local travel insurance, US$44 per adult, is also mandatory. Yellow fever vaccination is only required if you arrive from a country where the disease circulates, but the vaccination card is often checked at the airport. Malaria is present in every area below 1,800 m, which means every park except the Ngorongoro Crater rim. Preventive treatment comes on top of repellent and a mosquito net. In the parks, you stay in the vehicle, at least 25 meters from the animals. Travel advisories warn against the Mozambique border and the Mtwara region, both far from the parks, and against driving at night.
June to October, the dry season, for every park. January to March for the calving in the southern Serengeti. Avoid April and May, the wettest months.
Entry fees range from US$35.40 a day in Ruaha to US$82.60 in the Serengeti and Nyerere, per person, VAT included. Add the 4x4 with a guide, the lodge and the flight south. Ngorongoro charges US$295 per vehicle for the crater.
Yes. You apply online or get it on arrival for US$50, with a passport valid six months after arrival. Local travel insurance at US$44 per adult is also required.
Yes, in every area below 1,800 m, which covers every park except the Ngorongoro Crater rim. Discuss preventive treatment with your doctor, and use a mosquito net and repellent everywhere.
The north for a first trip, with the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Lake Manyara linked by road from Arusha. The south for a second one, with Nyerere and Ruaha reached by plane from Dar es Salaam, fewer people and safaris by boat.
Yes. Entry is free under 5 and costs US$23.60 from 5 to 15 in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, and US$17.70 in Tarangire and Manyara. Long hours on the tracks wear out young children: plan short legs, and malaria calls for the same precautions as for adults.
Hotels, apartments and rooms around Mto wa Mbu, the starting point for safaris in Lake Manyara, with current prices.