What to expect on safari in Tanzania

What to Expect on your safari in Tanzania starts with your interest as you travel to Tanzania. The great wildebeest migration that starts from Serengeti National Park is the highlight safari activity of Tanzania. This is, however, a season adventure whose starting and end time is just estimated. The body that regulates safaris in Tanzania is the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority ( TAWA)

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Tanzania is 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 within the different areas of the country. 

Most Tanzania safari destinations may require you to drive for about a day or two or use a fly-in safari service to shorten the drive time. To get around Tanzania, you can use some domestic flight companies that fly to various safari destinations.

You can also do activities on Tanzania's coastline in Dar-el-Salaam or Zanzibar island within the Indian Ocean. 

Where To Do Safari Activities in Tanzania 

Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti National Park is the game safari gem of Tanzania, as it is the genesis of the world-renowned great wildebeest migration starts. Although the reason the animals move is still a mystery, even when it starts, it is also an assumption; people worldwide flock to the park to witness this epic event.

At the Serengeti to Masai Mara crossing point at River Mara, the saying survival for the fittest comes to life. Here, the huge animal group tries to push through the narrow gorge of River Mara that has vast, hungry Nile crocodiles that gab the wearied animals and tire 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, elands, to mention but a few.

Keen birds have a channel to spot various birds that love spending time in the environs of Serengeti National Park.

Ngorongoro National Park 

The Ngorongoro National Park is placed on the floor of the Ngorongoro dry crater. This park was separated from Serengeti National Park as it lies on 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, is located in the Ngorongoro crater area.

A visit to the Masai homesteads is possible 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 use this opportunity. The Masai are clinging 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 a mild wildlife migration may be seen. The park has the Tarangire River and its tributaries that condition its vegetation appearance. 

While on a game drive in this park, you may spot wildebeests, cape buffaloes, impalas, gazelles, zebras, and so many others. Birding in Tarangire National Park is also possible 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 the Mahale National Park and Gombe National Park Tanzania, close to Lake Tanganyika.

While walking in this forested park, you 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 are residents of 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 birders on 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 so many wild dogs, which you may spot during a game drive in the park's tracks. During the 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 is this Park in Tanzania game rich, but it also offers 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 birders, 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 sceneries while you get up.

When you reach its peak, you find them all year around glaciers where you can take some photos. You need to arrange the mountaineering adventure up Mountain 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 the visit, you can take 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 on the Tanzanian holiday comfortable.

Zanzibar is the spice island of Africa and was the collection point for enslaved people during the Arab Marchant days. You may get a chance to visit the points where enslaved people were collected, where the exchange of enslaved people happened, and so much more.

How to get around Tanzania for A safari

Tanzania has two international airports: Kilimanjaro International Airport and Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-el-Salaam.

While on Tanzania safari, you can get to the destinations by domestic flights in the country 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 drawing an itinerary, you need to know the distance from one safari destination to another.

When is the best time to book a Tanzania safari?

The dry season, which is June, July, August, September, December, and January, is the most popular month for Tanzanian safaris. Tanzania is open for safaris all year, but the peak season is the most demand.

The grass in the game parks is lower, and wild animals are quicker to spot. For the chimpanzee trekking safaris, the undergrowth along the trails is lower, too, providing a chance to walk through the jungle. In the dry season, chimpanzees feed closer to the ground.

Chances of spotting other forest dwellers are more open, 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 of March, April, May, and November, there is less demand for Tanzania safaris. This opens chances 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 the Tanzania safari, the low season may offer you this opportunity. There are fewer people booking safaris, and the park environment favors you to relax in the middle of nowhere.

How sure can it be to see animals during the Tanzania safari?

Game safari is a probability activity, but most game safari destinations in Tanzania have chances for you to see a variety of wild animals. As you start the 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. The community of chimpanzees is first habituated for some time before being opened 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 chimpanzee trekking day, you undergo a briefing to 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?

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 keep law and order around the parks.

As you walk on the streets of Tanzania, ensure you keep your belongings safe from pickpocketers. 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 so many beasts may be watching.

While in the 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

• Do not expect a smooth ride while on safari in Tanzania because the roads in the countryside are marram and dusty during the dry season. In case you have road sickness, swallow some pills where need be.
• Carry just what is necessary for your time on the Tanzania holiday so that you are not inconvenienced by the limited legroom in case you share the vehicle with others.
• Do not hoot or make noise in the park because you may scare the wild animals and push them into hiding, yet others would like to see them, too.
• If you have children on safari, do not let them out of sight, as the parks have savages that may pounce on them.
• Drive at a speed that is recommended by the Park authorities so as not to cause any accidents to the animals or yourself.
• Do not dangle your limbs or get out of the car during the game drive because you do not know what awaits you in the bushes.
• Take some anti-malarial before traveling for a safari in Tanzania because this is a tropical country.
• No feeding the wild animals while on safari because they are wild animals that must search for their own food and not depend on human provision.
• Never dump garbage like wraps, cans, and foil in the wilderness because this alters the nature of the environment where wild animals thrive.
• During the walking safaris, wait for the ranger guides to lead the way because you may easily be terrified by the wild animals.
• Never drive off track, as this may call for a penalty, and if you have to do so, seek permission from the authority.
• Do not leave your engine on when you locate the wild animals because you may scare them.
• Respect others while on a game drive so that you can all have the chance to enjoy the wild.
• Carry nothing from the Tanzanian safari destinations other than the photos as memories, and leave only the marks of your vehicle.

Contact our team to plan your safari to Tanzania today.