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Tanzania safari travel guide

Straight answers to the questions travellers ask us most, checked and dated.

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Planning

Only planning
A canvas safari tent standing in grassland in evening light

4 questions answered

Mid-range, luxury or ultra: what changes on a Tanzania safari?

On a Tanzania safari, the comfort level changes where you sleep and how the days are arranged, not where you go. Mid-range trips use comfortable lodges and tented camps, often just outside the parks. Luxury trips use premium camps, more often inside the parks or on the crater rim. Ultra trips use the smallest, most exclusive camps, often reached by light aircraft. The parks, the park rules and the wildlife are the same at every level.

  • How do you combine a Kilimanjaro climb with a safari?

    Kilimanjaro and the northern safari parks share the same gateway, Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), so a climb and a safari fit well into one trip. Most climbs take about six to nine days on the mountain, depending on the route. Many travellers climb first and then rest on a three- to five-day safari in Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater or the Serengeti. The drier months, roughly January to early March and June to October, suit both.

    Snow and dark rock on the summit plateau of Kilimanjaro

  • How do you add Zanzibar to the end of a safari?

    Zanzibar is a short domestic flight from Arusha or Kilimanjaro, which makes it the easiest beach to add after a northern Tanzania safari. Three to five nights suits most travellers. The north coast, around Nungwi and Kendwa, has smaller tides for swimming, while the east coast has long beaches and wide tidal flats. Stone Town is worth a night or two. The driest months are usually June to October and December to February.

    Rippled white sand at low tide on a Zanzibar beach

  • How do you plan a family safari in Tanzania?

    A family safari in Tanzania works best with a private vehicle, fewer parks and at least two nights in each place, so children are not in the car all day. Many camps set minimum ages, especially for walking activities, so check them when choosing where to stay. Lodges with family rooms and a pool help in the hot middle of the day. Speak to a travel health clinic well before you travel about malaria prevention for each child.

    A river pool full of hippos below green acacia woodland

Seasons and wildlife

Only seasons and wildlife
Rain falling from dark clouds over green bush and a river with wildebeest

4 questions answered

When is the best time to visit Tanzania for a safari?

For classic game viewing, the best time to visit Tanzania is usually the long dry season from June to October, when the grass is short and animals gather near water. January and February are often just as good in the southern Serengeti, where the wildebeest calve. The long rains (roughly March to May) and the short rains (roughly November to December) bring green landscapes and fewer vehicles. Exact timing varies from year to year.

Scattered wildebeest herds across open Serengeti grassland

4 questions answered

Where is the Great Migration each month?

In most years the wildebeest herds spend roughly December to March on the southern Serengeti plains, where calving usually peaks in February. From April to June they move north and west through the central Serengeti and the Western Corridor. From about July to October they are often in the northern Serengeti and Kenya's Maasai Mara, crossing the Mara River. In November they head south again. The herds follow the rain, so timing shifts every year.

Practical travel

Only practical travel
Two lionesses walking down a dirt track ahead of a safari vehicle

3 questions answered

What should I pack for a Tanzania safari?

Pack light, in a soft bag: light-aircraft flights between parks usually limit luggage to around 15 kg per person, so confirm the limit with your airline. Bring clothes in neutral colours such as khaki, olive and grey, and avoid dark blue and black in tsetse areas. Add warm layers for cold early drives and Ngorongoro Crater rim mornings, a sun hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, binoculars and any medication in your hand luggage.

Hippos crowded together in a pool among water plants

5 questions answered

Tanzania safari FAQs: what travellers ask before they go

Before a Tanzania safari, check visa and entry rules on the official Tanzania government immigration website and your own government's travel advice, because rules change. Speak to a travel health clinic several weeks ahead about vaccinations and malaria prevention. Take a bank card and some recent US dollar notes, and buy travel insurance that includes medical evacuation. Most first safaris on the northern circuit run for about five to eight days.

Questions answered

In When is the best time to visit Tanzania for a safari?

In Where is the Great Migration each month?

In What should I pack for a Tanzania safari?

In Tanzania safari FAQs: what travellers ask before they go

In Mid-range, luxury or ultra: what changes on a Tanzania safari?

In How do you combine a Kilimanjaro climb with a safari?

In How do you add Zanzibar to the end of a safari?

In How do you plan a family safari in Tanzania?

Snow and dark rock on the summit plateau of Kilimanjaro

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