Tanzania is a good first safari, and the reasons are practical rather than romantic. You can see the Big Five without changing country, the parks are set up for people who have never done this before, and English is the working language of the industry here. What follows is what we tell first-time travellers who write to us from Arusha, including the parts that are less convenient.
What makes it easy for a first trip
The northern circuit is four parks within a few hours of each other: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. You can cover all four from one base airport and one vehicle, without internal flights, which removes most of the things that go wrong on a first trip.
The Ngorongoro Crater in particular is the reason many people choose Tanzania first. It is a contained caldera with a resident population, so a single day there usually produces lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino. No other single day in East Africa is as reliable.
Where it is harder than people expect
Driving distances are long. Arusha to the central Serengeti is a full day on the road, and much of it is rough. People underestimate this constantly. If you have five days or fewer and you want the Serengeti, fly one leg. It costs more and it buys you most of a day.
The second thing is that the northern circuit is busy in the dry season. At a good sighting in the Seronera area in August there may be fifteen vehicles. That is the trade you make for reliable wildlife. If it matters to you, the southern parks are a different experience entirely.
How long to go for
Three days is enough for Tarangire and the Crater and will show you a great deal. Five to seven days is where a first trip starts to feel unhurried and lets you add the Serengeti properly. Beyond nine days most people are combining the safari with Zanzibar rather than adding more parks.
What it costs
Our own published trips start at $329 per person for three days camping in Mikumi and run to the mid-two-thousands for eight or nine days in mid-range lodges. A five-day northern circuit trip with mid-range accommodation sits around $1,500 to $1,600 per person. Those are our real prices, not industry averages, and every one of them is on the trip pages.
When to come
Late June to October is the easiest game viewing: short grass, animals gathered at water, and no rain to interrupt a drive. January to March is calving season in the southern Serengeti and is quieter and often cheaper. April and May are the long rains, when some camps close and prices fall sharply. There is no month with no wildlife, only months that suit different priorities.
The mistakes we see most
- Too many parks in too few days. Four parks in four days is mostly driving. Three parks in five days is a holiday.
- Booking the cheapest quote without reading what is in it. Park fees alone are a large fixed cost. A quote well below the others has usually left something out, and it is normally the accommodation or the park fees themselves.
- Arriving the same morning the safari starts. Flights are delayed and bags go missing. Land the day before.
- Assuming a game drive is a guarantee. It is wildlife. A good guide raises your odds considerably; nobody can promise a leopard.
Is it right for you
If it is your first safari and you want high odds of seeing a lot, in a country set up for visitors, with the option of finishing on a beach, Tanzania is a strong choice. If you want solitude above all, look at the southern circuit — Nyerere, Mikumi and Ruaha — which we also run, and which almost nobody puts on a first itinerary.
Tell us your dates and how many days you have and we will say honestly what is realistic in that window.
