Combination · 6 days · Private
6-Day Southern Circuit Safari: Mikumi, Udzungwa and Nyerere
Three southern parks in one loop from Dar: open floodplain game drives at Mikumi, a rainforest waterfall on foot at Udzungwa, and the Rufiji river by boat in Nyerere.
- Duration
- 6 days, 5 nights
- Group
- Private
- Activity
- Game drives, rainforest hiking, boat safari, walking safari
- Starts
- Dar es Salaam
- Ends
- Dar es Salaam
- Best months
- June to October and January to February.
The southern parks are usually visited one at a time, which is a shame, because the three of them together make a far better trip than any one of them alone. This loop takes Mikumi National Park, Udzungwa Mountains National Park and Nyerere National Park in six days from Dar es Salaam.
Why it works. Each park gives you something the others cannot. Mikumi is open floodplain: you drive, and you see big animals at distance across the Mkata plain. Udzungwa is closed rainforest with no roads at all: you walk, and what you find are primates that exist nowhere else and a 170-metre waterfall. Nyerere is river country: you get on a boat, you walk with a ranger, and you drive among lakes in Africa’s largest national park. Three parks, four completely different ways of being in them.
Who it suits. Travellers who have already done the northern circuit and want somewhere emptier. People with a week rather than a fortnight. Anyone who wants variety rather than six days of the same activity.
How it differs from our other southern trips. The 5-day Nyerere and Mikumi safari covers two parks. This covers three, and adds the walking and the waterfall that Udzungwa brings. If six days is more than you have, the three-day Mikumi and Udzungwa combination or the three-day Nyerere trip are the shorter versions. tell us your dates.
Trip highlights
- Three southern parks in one loop, none of them crowded
- Game drives across the Mkata floodplain at Mikumi, with the hippo pools
- The Sanje waterfall in Udzungwa on foot, 170 metres in three tiers
- A Rufiji river boat safari in Nyerere, at eye level with hippo and crocodile
- A walking safari with an armed ranger, which the northern parks do not permit
- Iringa red colobus, Sanje mangabey and a genuine chance of African wild dog
Day by day
Day 1 Dar es Salaam to Mikumi
Leave Dar after breakfast, west through Morogoro, about four to five hours. Enter Mikumi in the early afternoon and game drive across the Mkata plain to the hippo pools on the way to camp.
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Day 2 Mikumi, morning and afternoon
A full day in the park. Out at first light for the best light and the most movement, back through the heat, then out again mid-afternoon. Lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and eland on the open ground.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3 on to Udzungwa and the lower trail
A last Mikumi loop, then about an hour and a half south to Mang'ula. Afternoon on the lower forest trail with a park ranger, looking for colobus and getting used to walking in rainforest.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4 the Sanje waterfall, then east to the Rufiji
Early start on the Sanje trail: three hours up, a swim at the middle pool, two hours down. Lunch, then the drive east into Nyerere National Park, arriving at camp on the river in the evening.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5 Nyerere game drive, walking safari and boat
A morning game drive among the Rufiji lakes when the cats are still moving. Rest through the middle of the day. Mid-afternoon a walking safari with an armed ranger, then the boat safari and sunset on the river.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 6 last drive and back to Dar
An early game drive on the way out of the park, then the road north to Dar es Salaam, arriving in the late afternoon. Drop-off at your hotel, the airport or the Zanzibar ferry.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
What is included
Included
- Pickup and drop-off in Dar es Salaam
- Private 4x4 with a roof hatch, fuel and a licensed English-speaking driver-guide throughout
- Five nights’ accommodation across the three parks
- All meals as listed in the itinerary
- Mikumi, Udzungwa and Nyerere park entry fees, concession fees and government levies
- Rufiji river boat safari
- Armed ranger fees for both walking safaris
- Compulsory park ranger guide on the Udzungwa trails
- Drinking water throughout
Not included
- International and domestic flights unless stated in the itinerary
- Visa and travel insurance
- Drinks other than the water provided
- Tips for your guide and camp staff
- Anything personal
Before you travel
Pickup and meeting point
We collect you from your hotel in Dar es Salaam, or from Julius Nyerere International Airport if you are arriving the same morning. Give us the property name and your flight details when you book and we confirm the pickup time the evening before.
What to bring
Walking boots with grip and ankle support for Udzungwa, and lighter shoes for the drives. Neutral long sleeves and long trousers for the walking safaris and the forest. A waterproof. A hat, sunglasses and strong sunscreen. Binoculars. Swimwear and a towel. Insect repellent, and malaria prophylaxis: all three parks are malaria areas. A warm layer for early morning drives.
Safety
Inside the park you stay in the vehicle except at marked picnic sites and toilets. Your guide will say when it is safe to stand through the roof hatch. Do not feed or approach any animal, baboons included. Camps in the southern parks are unfenced: after dark you are escorted between your tent and the mess area, and you do not walk alone. Boats carry buoyancy aids for everyone on board and we ask that children wear one for the whole trip. Tell your guide before departure if anyone is not a confident swimmer. Sea conditions decide whether a trip runs; if the captain calls it off we move you to another day or refund the trip, and that decision is not negotiable. On the Udzungwa trails and both walking safaris you are with a ranger and you follow his instructions exactly. You travel in a maintained 4x4 with a licensed Tanzanian driver-guide. Seat belts are fitted in every seat. We carry a first aid kit and drinking water. Travel insurance is not included and we recommend you arrange it before you come.
Questions about this trip
Is six days enough for three parks?
Yes, for one good pass at each. You get two nights at Mikumi, one at Udzungwa and two at Nyerere, with real activity time in all three. It is a full trip rather than a rushed one, but it is not a leisurely one either.
How much of it is driving?
Roughly four to five hours on day one, ninety minutes on day three, four hours on day four and five to six hours on day six. The rest of the time you are in a park, on foot or on the water.
Can we start or finish in Zanzibar?
Yes. Fly or take the ferry to Dar and we pick you up there, and we can drop you at the ferry terminal or the airport at the end. Tell us when you enquire.
How does this compare with the northern circuit?
Fewer animals per square kilometre than the Serengeti in migration season, and no Ngorongoro Crater. In exchange: boats, walking, rainforest, and almost no other vehicles. People who have done the north once often prefer the south the second time.
What if we only have four days?
Take Mikumi and Udzungwa as a three-day trip, or Nyerere on its own as a three-day trip with the boat safari. Both are on the site and both work well.
Other trips in this circuit
3-Day Nyerere National Park Boat and Game Drive Safari from Dar es Salaam
The Rufiji river is what makes Nyerere different from every northern park. Three days by road from Dar…
2-Day Udzungwa Mountains Hiking and Waterfall Safari
Tanzania’s only park you visit entirely on foot. Rainforest that has been forest for thirty million years, two…
3-Day Mikumi and Udzungwa Safari and Hiking Combination
Two parks that could not be less alike, an hour apart. Open floodplain with elephant and lion at…
Where this trip goes
Udzungwa Mountains National Park
Rainforest, waterfalls and endemic primates in the Eastern Arc mountains. A walking park rather than a game-drive park,…
Nyerere National Park
Nyerere National Park covers 30,893 square kilometres and is Tanzania's largest. Rufiji River boat safaris, walking safaris and…
Mikumi National Park
Mikumi covers 3,230 square kilometres and borders Nyerere National Park. Open Mkata floodplain, elephant, buffalo and over 400…
Book this trip
Three short steps. We reply with a costed day-by-day itinerary for your dates. Nothing is confirmed and no payment is taken until you are happy with it.