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TANZANIA

Tanzania Tours & Safaris

Tanzania safari planning with the experts

Tanzania is a big country, and the main safari destinations can be split into the north (The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater) or the south (The Selous and Ruaha). Most tourists flock to the north as it is comprised of the famed highlights of Tanzania – and rightly so as the wildlife is phenomenal. However, the fame of the north can often overshadow the south, which in our view is one of East Africa’s best kept secrets. West Tanzania is also an option, though this is extremely expensive to get to and hardly any tourists do as a result. As a rough guide – when 70% of travellers head to the north, 25% go to the south, and only 5% or less venture to the West.

Tanzania Safari | Tanzanian Safaris and Tours

Northern Tanzania is expensive (comparatively to the south) but offers unrivalled wildlife viewing and is completely iconic.

  • The Serengeti (which borders the Masai Mara in Kenya) is world-class and home to The Great Wildebeest Migration as well as the biggest concentration of predators on the planet. We would recommend spending a minimum of three nights in the Serengeti – there is so much wildlife to see and areas to cover, that it would be a shame to travel all the way there and stay for any less.
  • The Ngorongoro Crater has a huge amount of the big 5 in a unique and dramatic setting. Surrounding the crater, the Ngorongoro Highlands is home to colourful Masai culture and rolling coffee farms. We usually only recommend one big game drive into the crater, as it is small so one day is enough. You can either stay on the crater rim, or in the Ngorongoro Highlands a night either side of your game drive.
  • Tarangire National Park is another option with night drives, fantastic views and a colossal number of elephants. However, it is more of an “add-on” park to the main northern circuit of the crater and Serengeti. It can be visited for a few nights en route to the crater, if you have ample time and money.
  • Lake Manyara is another smaller park with flamingos, fantastic land-birdlife and some truly beautiful spots for safari. It can be seen in an afternoon rather than as the focus of a trip as it is small. Most people who drive to the crater vo via Lake Manyara for a few hours to tick it off the list.

The South of Tanzania offers better value accommodation than the north, a less touristy experience but is not a classic ‘big 5 safari destination’.

  • The Selous Game Reserve is a huge dry season park offering boating, walking safaris and fly-camping with excellent wild dogs.

  • Ruaha National Park is a beautiful red-earth park where you can also enjoy walking, fly-camping, super prides of lions and huge buffalo herds. Ruaha is home to 10% of the whole world’s lions, so to say the wildlife here is not as prominent as in the north could be a mistake!

  • The west comprises of Katavi and Mahale which are expensive to get to, but because of their relative inaccessibility offer a simply magical experience alone in the wilderness, where you can trek chimps in the Mahale Mountains and see some of Tanzania’s most dramatic safari scenes in the depths of Katavi’s harsh dry season.

  • Southern itineraries are usually made up of either three of four nights in both The Selous and Ruaha. For those who want a very short safari and more beach time, then the Selous for four nights can be an easy and dependable option. However, we would recommend trying to combine both if budget allows, as this will provide you with diverse landscapes, wildlife and a range of safari activities.
  • Very few travellers head to Katavi and Mahale because the flights are simply very expensive, and the few lodges available there are too. If you did go though, you can either fly from Arusha via the Serengeti or from Dar, but via a night or two in Ruaha. Flights only operate a few days a week though, so the west is usually only doable for those with a big budget who are very set on visiting it and who will revolve their entire holiday around doing so.