A game drive with 50,000 zebras. Lions with a fresh kill. Face to face with black rhinos. Horseback riding alongside giraffes. Witnessing the great wildebeest migration.
Of all the African safari countries, Tanzania is the most iconic. Why? Quite simply, it has the most famous safari destinations and the greatest populations of wild animals.
EliteVoyage Marketing Director Stephen Bailey previously spent two years based in Moshi, Tanzania, working for a safari specialist.
He’s been lucky enough to experience many Tanzania safaris and he gives us the inside perspective.
Why visit Tanzania?
I was lucky! I was there for work, developing the safari business for a Silicon Valley-based travel company.
Moshi was my base, a small town beneath the snowy peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. It’s very convenient for the international airport and Tanzania’s main safari destinations.
For lunch I’d eat fresh avocados as big as footballs. And on most weekends I was off on safari. But why should you visit Tanzania?
Tanzania is good for a first-time safari
The sheer abundance of wild animals makes Tanzania a top choice for a first-time safari. You don’t see a few elephants and the odd lion. You encounter hundreds of them.
Tanzania’s other advantage is you can easily go on safari in three to four very different, neighbouring destinations
Overall, Tanzania isn’t as wild as Botswana or Zambia. Nor is it as polished as South Africa or Kenya.
Tanzania is a good middle ground – authentic, wild, lots of animals, but also convenient.
Tanzania is NOT the most exclusive safari destination
Tanzania has the most animals and it’s the most popular. Unlike Botswana and Rwanda, Tanzania doesn’t focus predominantly on exclusive low-impact, low-numbers safari.
Many people enjoy their first-time safari in Tanzania, on a budget. So the images of 20 vehicles crowding around a lion can be true. Not everywhere though.
However, Tanzania does have private concessions and reserves, where the experience is a lot more expensive and exclusive.
My recommendation: be very selective about where you go in Tanzania. Not just a destination like the Serengeti, but the specific area within the Serengeti.
Tanzania does have outstanding luxury camps and lodges
Discerning travellers can discount Tanzania because they believe it doesn’t have the high-quality lodges and camps of other countries.
South Africa, Botswana and Kenya all have a greater number of truly top-level luxury lodges. But Tanzania still has some exceptional options. The best ones are on par with anywhere in Africa, to a standard on par with anywhere in the world.
You might be put off by the thought of a camp. Canvas is the best construction material for safari accommodation. It has minimal environmental impact and keeps you closer to nature, smelling, hearing and feeling the wilderness.
The best safari camps are like an opulent hotel room, with canvas for walls.
Tanzania is good for families, but only with teenage children
Tanzania is in a malaria area and most visitors prefer to take antimalarial medication, even if the health risk is minimal. Both the risk and medication are impossible with young children.
Teenagers will have an amazing time because it’s always a fast-paced all-action type safari, with lots of new experiences every day.
Mount Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater are not worth it
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the world’s biggest bucket list experiences. I can tell you it’s a very challenging, very crowded, very rough experience. If you want to climb an amazing mountain, Nepal is a much better destination.
I once asked a Tanzanian friend if he had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, seeing as he lived in its shadow his whole life. He said: “Of course not, what business do I have up there.”
Ngorongoro Crater is an amazing place. Around 25,000 wild mammals live on the floor of an extinct volcanic caldera. Lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards, buffalo, hippos…just about every famous African animal you can imagine is all in one place.
Perfect for a one-day safari then? Yes. That’s the problem. Ngorongoro is far too popular and there are no private areas. It’s a mass tourism destination. I can recommend going for a morning safari, but don’t stay there, continue your journey to elsewhere.
A Tanzania safari is good to combine with the beach
Zanzibar is part of Tanzania. You can even fly between the Serengeti and the beach.
In many ways, Zanzibar reflects the Tanzanian holiday experience. It can be a crowded and non exclusive beach destination. But then there are gems like andBeyond Mnemba Island and the underwater room at The Manta Resort. It all depends on where you stay.
A Tanzania safari is good to combine with gorilla trekking in Rwanda
One of the most common requests for a first-time trip to Africa, is a big-game safari plus gorilla trekking. These experiences are not always so easy to combine.
There’s a direct flight between Kilimanjaro and Kigali, Rwanda, so the Tanzania Rwanda combo actually makes a lot of sense.
Tanzania is a lot more than the famous great wildebeest migration
People always ask me, when is the best time for the great wildebeest migration. I always reply: “do you think 2 million wild mammals vanish for parts of the year?”
I’ve had some magical experiences with the migration, at different times of year.
Tanzania’s greatest highlight is not a single experience. It’s the combination of diverse wildlife experiences.
Recommended Places & Experiences in Tanzania
These are some of my personal favourites and recommendations.
Grumeti Game Reserve
The greater Serengeti-Masai Mara ecosystem is roughly the same size as Slovakia and it’s home to over 2 million wild mammals.
My recommendation is not Serengeti National Park, rather the private Grumeti Game Reserve. It’s a huge unfenced area, full of resident wildlife, accessible to only a handful of visitors.
Singita operates six small accommodations here, the most iconic being Singita Sasakwa. Staying with Singita means you can do mind-blowing activities not possible in the national park, like horseback riding with zebra herds.
Ruaha (& Southern Tanzania)
Tanzania is most famous for its northern circuit safari, comprising four diverse and neighbouring destinations: Lake Manyara, Tarangire, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti.
Only a tiny fraction of visitors go south, where the safari experience is a little rougher, wilder and naturally more exclusive. There are less than half the animals and less than a tenth of the people.
Ruaha made me feel like an explorer from a century ago. For 20 minutes there can be nothing, then you turn a corner and see two massive elephant bulls having a fight. Or lions with their kill.
Safari Flights
Tanzania’s roads are pretty abysmal. Avoid them as much as possible. Combine these roads with long distances and you can understand why the country’s remote destinations are not touristy.
Tanzania’s safari flights are magical and efficient. Fly over safari wonders and animals, touch down on a dusty airstrip in elephant country.
Charters are obviously the best option. Scheduled safari flights have a specific route and they pick up and drop off passengers at different locations on the way. Multiple landings and take offs become tiresome, so your exact itinerary is very important.
Tarangire Treetops
This is not the best or most luxurious accommodation in Tanzania. But it’s such a unique concept, sleeping in a large en-suite treehouse, at the same height as giraffe and elephants.
I don’t find Tarangire a particularly special destination, in comparison to others in Tanzania. Tarangire Treetops is the reason to go – it’s a real once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Mobile Camping with the Great Wildebeest Migration
Mobile camping isn’t luxurious either. It’s quite rudimentary yet it is surprisingly comfortable.
Imagine a private camp, on the route of the great wildebeest migration.
Everyone wants to see the migration. Very very few people have such a close-up and immersive experience created by a mobile camp. You literally hear the herds all night, open your tent to many thousands of animals.
Two nights is enough. Then I recommend a stay at a lodge where you can get back to some creature comforts.
One Nature Nyaruswiga
I just love this stylish property in the heart of the Serengeti. It’s perfect for anyone who is a little apprehensive about going on safari.
If you don’t want to get your boots too dirty and you want all the hotel comforts with your animals, One Nature Nyaruswiga is the best first stop. It’s great for families too.
Your Tanzania Safari
Have you been on safari yet? Have you come face to face with the greatest animals on earth?
Have you ventured into the animal kingdom?
You won’t have another holiday experience like this.
