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Elleme Africa Safaris
Acacia tree standing alone on the open Serengeti plain

Destination

Tanzania

Four of Africa's best-known parks within a day's drive of one another, a mountain you can walk up, and an island to finish on. This is home, and the country we know in the most detail.

Capital
Dodoma · Arusha for safaris
Best months
Jun – Oct, Jan – Mar
Flight time
8h from Amsterdam
Visa
$50 on arrival or e-visa

Where to go

Six places worth the drive

Open Serengeti plain landscape

Serengeti National Park

Fourteen thousand square kilometres of grassland with the highest predator density in Africa. The central Seronera valley works in any month; the north and south swap with the herds.

Best: Year-round · migration Jul – Oct

The Ngorongoro Crater floor seen from the rim

Ngorongoro Crater

A collapsed caldera holding around two thousand large animals permanently, including the black rhino that are difficult to see anywhere else in East Africa.

Best: Year-round · early mornings

Elephant browsing among acacia scrub, Tarangire-style bushveld

Tarangire National Park

Elephant country, with herds of a hundred or more along the river in the dry months, and the oldest baobabs on the circuit.

Best: Jun – Oct

Lake and woodland landscape typical of Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara

A narrow strip of forest, lake and Rift wall. Best as a half-day on the way up the escarpment: baboons, flamingos and the occasional lion in a tree.

Best: Nov – Jun

Highland views over northern Tanzania

Mount Kilimanjaro

Africa's highest point, and a walk rather than a climb. Six to nine days depending on route; the longer ones summit far more reliably.

Best: Jan – Mar, Jun – Oct

Aerial view of a turquoise lagoon fringed by mangrove forest

Zanzibar and Pemba

Ninety minutes from the Serengeti by air. Stone Town for two nights of history, then the north or east coast for the part of the trip with no alarm clock.

Best: Jun – Oct, Dec – Feb

More to explore

Further afield in Tanzania

When to travel

There is no bad month, only trade-offs

The dry season concentrates animals at water and fills the camps. The green season empties the parks of vehicles, drops prices by a third, and asks you to accept afternoon rain.

If a month does not suit what you want to see, we will tell you before you book rather than after.

Jan – Mar

Short dry, calving season

Warm and clear. Two hundred thousand wildebeest calves born in Ndutu inside three weeks, with every predator in the ecosystem in attendance.

Apr – May

Long rains

Afternoon downpours, deep green, some camps closed. Rates fall by a third and you may not see another vehicle all day.

Jun – Oct

Long dry, peak season

The classic safari months. Animals concentrate on shrinking water, the migration reaches the Mara River, and camps book out a year ahead.

Nov – Dec

Short rains

Brief showers, mostly at night. The herds move back south, the plains recover, and there is real value in early December.

Tanzania itineraries

All tours
Open bush country between camps
From $4,8509 days

Soul of Tanzania, Fly-in

Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the central and northern Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater — with the long transfers flown rather than driven.

Tarangire · Lake Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro

From$4,850per person
View itinerary
River-fed woodland, northern Tanzania
From $3,4207 days

Northern Circuit Classic

The same three parks as the fly-in version, covered by road rather than air — the classic-safari answer for a first trip to Tanzania.

Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro Crater

From$3,420per person
View itinerary
Aerial view of a quiet Zanzibar beach meeting turquoise water
From $5,69011 days

Bush to Beach with Zanzibar

Six days of the northern circuit by road and air, then five on Zanzibar with nothing scheduled after breakfast.

Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Zanzibar

From$5,690per person
View itinerary

Practical

Before you fly

Getting there

Kilimanjaro International (JRO) is the useful airport for the northern circuit. Dar es Salaam suits the south and the coast.

Visas

Most nationalities pay $50 on arrival, or apply online in advance. US passports are $100 and multiple entry.

Health

Yellow fever certificate if arriving from an endemic country. Malaria prophylaxis is advised for all safari areas.

Money

US dollars are widely accepted; notes must be 2009 or newer. Camps take card, park gates do not.

What to pack

Neutral layers, a warm fleece for crater mornings, a hat, and soft luggage under 15kg if you are flying internally.

Connectivity

Most camps have Wi-Fi in the main area and none in the tents, which is generally the right arrangement.