What to Expect on Safari in Tanzania: Your interests determine what you can expect on your safari in Tanzania. The great wildebeest migration, which starts from Serengeti National Park, highlights a safari in Tanzania. This, however, is a seasonal adventure whose starting and end times we can only estimate. The Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) regulates safaris in Tanzania.
Tanzania offers you a safari destination-rich country, but you need a well-planned Tanzanian itinerary to traverse most places. Tanzania is a vast country, and its safari destinations are distributed across different areas of the country.
Most Tanzania safari destinations may require you to drive for about a day or two, or you can use a fly-in safari service to shorten the drive time. To get around Tanzania, you can use domestic flight companies that fly to various safari destinations. You can also do activities on Tanzania’s coastline in Dar-es-Salaam or Zanzibar Island within the Indian Ocean.
Where You Can Go
Serengeti National Park.
You will find Serengeti National Park, the game safari gem of Tanzania, as it is the genesis of the world-renowned great wildebeest migration. Although the reason the animals move remains a mystery, even when it starts, people worldwide flock to the park to witness this epic event.
At the Serengeti to Masai Mara crossing point at the River Mara, you will see the saying “survival of the fittest” come to life. Here, the huge animal group tries to push through the narrow gorge of the River Mara, which has vast, hungry Nile crocodiles that grab the weary animals and tear them apart. It is a bloody scene.
Serengeti is a wildlife-rich park you can enjoy during a game drive any time of the year. While on a game drive in Serengeti National Park, you may spot animals like gazelles, wildebeest, warthogs, waterbucks, bushbucks, elephants, cape buffaloes, impalas, and elands, to mention but a few. Keen birdwatchers have a chance to spot various birds that love spending time in the environs of Serengeti National Park.
Ngorongoro National Park
You will find Ngorongoro National Park situated on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. Authorities separated this park from Serengeti National Park, as it lies in the southern part of Serengeti National Park. During a game drive in Ngorongoro National Park, you may spot animals like lions, leopards, giraffes, impalas, wildebeest, waterbucks, bushbucks, cheetahs, etc.
The Olduvai Gorge, where Louis Leakey discovered the skull of early man, sits in the Ngorongoro Crater area. You can visit the Masai homesteads during a visit to Ngorongoro National Park. The Masais live within this park, and if you wish to spend time with them in their homestead, you can take this opportunity. The Masai cling to their culture of cattle keeping even amidst the influx of modernity.
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park is a mini Serengeti National Park where you may see a mild wildlife migration. The park has the Tarangire River and its tributaries that condition its vegetation.
While on a game drive in this park, you may spot wildebeests, cape buffaloes, impalas, gazelles, zebras, and many others. You can also go birding in Tarangire National Park, as this park supports the survival of these birds.
Mahale National Park and Gombe National Park
For a chimpanzee trekking experience in Tanzania, you can visit Mahale National Park and Gombe National Park, close to Lake Tanganyika. While walking in this forested park, you will see some of the closest human relatives, the chimpanzees. These primates are some of the most endangered primate species in the world, and in Tanzania, about 700 chimpanzees reside in these parks. While searching for these chimpanzees, you may spot other primates like the olive baboons, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, and others. Keen birdwatchers on a Tanzania chimpanzee trekking adventure have a lot to see.
Lake Manyara National Park.
While on a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, you can spot several animals gracing the park daily. During the game drive, you may spot animals like giraffes, herds of elephants, tree-climbing lions, leopards, hyenas, and others. Look out for various birds that love spending time in different vegetation zones of this park.
Nyerere National Park
Nyerere National Park is home to many wild dogs, which you may spot during a game drive on the park’s tracks. During game drives in Nyerere National Park, you may spot animals like herds of elephants, crocodiles, hippos, bushbucks, waterbucks, wildebeest, and others.
Ruaha National Park
Not only does this Park in Tanzania offer game-rich experiences, but it also provides stunning scenery from the great Ruaha River. During the game drive in Ruaha National Park, you may spot animals like lions, hyenas, waterbucks, bushbucks, Kudus, leopards, Impalas, and others. The rich bird life of Ruaha National Park makes it a sought-after destination for keen birdwatchers, as over 571 birds are recorded as residents.
Hiking Mountain Kilimanjaro
Hiking Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is one of the activities on the bucket list of most mountaineering adventurers. This all-year snowcapped mountain is a standing single block offering beautiful scenery while you ascend. When you reach its peak, you will find all-year-round glaciers where you can take photos. You need to arrange your mountaineering adventure on Mount Kilimanjaro in advance so that all the necessary logistics to support this adventure can be arranged.
Zanzibar Beach visit.
For a chilling and relaxing getaway from the chaotic city and hectic work, Zanzibar Island in the Indian Ocean has got you covered. During your visit, you can spend time by the beach and participate in horseback riding, scuba diving, kayaking, snorkeling, boat cruising, etc. Make accommodation bookings and other logistics to make your stay in Tanzania comfortable.
Zanzibar is the spice island of Africa and served as the collection point for enslaved people during the Arab merchant days. You may get a chance to visit the points where slave traders collected enslaved people, where the exchange of enslaved people happened, and so much more.
How to Get Around
What to Expect on Safari in Tanzania: Tanzania has two international airports: Kilimanjaro International Airport and Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam. While on a Tanzania safari, you can reach your destinations by domestic flights to various safari airstrips close to the parks. You can also get to these Tanzania safari destinations by road, although the drive may take a day or more. Before you draw up an itinerary, you need to know the distance from one safari destination to another.
When is the best time?
What to Expect on Safari in Tanzania: The dry season, which includes June, July, August, September, December, and January, is the most popular time for Tanzanian safaris. Tanzania is open for safaris all year, but the peak season sees the highest demand.
The grass in the game parks is lower, and you can spot wild animals more quickly. For chimpanzee trekking safaris, the undergrowth along the trails is also lower, providing you with a chance to walk through the jungle. In the dry season, chimpanzees feed closer to the ground. You have more chances of spotting other forest dwellers like olive baboons, waterbucks, bush babies, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, red-cheeked mangabey, and others. Demand for amenities that support your safari in Tanzania is high in all destinations, creating scarcity.
During the wet season, which serves as the low season (March, April, May, and November), you will find less demand for Tanzania safaris. This opens opportunities for those with a lower budget to book these safaris, as prices for safari logistics may be discounted to break even. If you wish to have less disturbance during your Tanzania safari, the low season may offer you this opportunity. Fewer people book safaris, and the park environment allows you to relax in the middle of nowhere.
How sure can you be of seeing animals during a Tanzania safari?
What to Expect on Safari in Tanzania: Game safari is a probable activity, but most game safari destinations in Tanzania offer you chances to see a variety of wild animals. As you start your game drive, do not focus on only spotting particular animals like the big five, because you will feel bored by the end of the safari. Embrace the animals you see as you find them. The wild animals in the game parks live freely and are not habituated to human presence, so expect them to hide or get away from you at any moment.
While on a chimpanzee trekking adventure in Mahale National Park or Gombe National Park, be sure to see the chimpanzees. Authorities first habituate the community of chimpanzees for some time before opening them to human presence. Chimpanzees live in communities under the leadership of an alpha male. Each day, the community members split into small groups to feed. On a chimpanzee trekking day, you undergo a briefing that will take you through all the details of what you can and cannot do in the wilderness. Ensure you have all the necessary chimpanzee trekking gear.
Is Tanzania Safe For A Safari?
What to Expect on Safari in Tanzania. Tanzania is safe for safaris as the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority has well-trained ranger guides to help with park maintenance and monitoring. They work closely with other security agencies in the country to maintain law and order around the parks.
As you walk on the streets of Tanzania, ensure you keep your belongings safe from pickpockets. Do not count large sums of money in public to avoid attracting the wrong company. Even at the lodge, ensure you do not let anyone you are unfamiliar with into your room.
Do not leave your safari vehicle because you do not know what you are watching. Don’t expect toilet breaks while on safari because many beasts may be watching you. While in forested destinations, only enter the forest with an escorting ranger guide because you may encounter other animals that are not habituated to human presence and may hurt you.
What to do and not to do on safari in Tanzania
What to Expect on Safari in Tanzania: Tanzania’s countryside roads are rough and dusty during the dry season, so pack motion sickness tablets if you need them. Travel light, since safari vehicles have limited space.
Inside the park, stay quiet and calm. Noise frightens wildlife and spoils the experience for everyone. Always keep children close, as wild animals roam freely throughout the park.
Follow the speed limits set by park authorities to keep both animals and passengers safe. Never lean out of the vehicle or step outside during a game drive. Switch off your engine when you spot wildlife so you do not disturb them.
Always stay on designated tracks. If you must go off-road, get permission first. Take anti-malarial medication before your trip, since Tanzania is a tropical destination.
Finally, leave nothing behind and take nothing with you except photographs and beautiful memories.
