10 Best Wildlife Safaris to Visit in Tanzania

Tanzania depicts and delivers a unique experience of witnessing the untouched and pristine wilderness of Africa. It hosts a massive number of threatened and endangered species and the grounds of its national parks act as breeding grounds for many such species.

To unravel the gems of Tanzania’s wildlife and witness such awe-inspiring places, keep reading to know where you will locate and embark on the experience of wildlife safari in Tanzania.

Tanzania stands out for its natural beauty and housing exquisite wildlife. Tourists often prefer going on safaris to explore the wildlife.

The list of the top 10 wildlife safaris in Tanzania is as follows:

1. Selous Game Reserve

Being relatively uninterrupted by human activities, this reserve has flourished over time housing a large number of species of black rhinoceroses, elephants, hippopotami, cheetahs, giraffes, and crocodiles. There are around 40,000 hippos, 100,000 wildebeests, and plenty more to watch during the safari.

• Area Covered: 54,600 km²
• Best Time to Visit: June to October
• Average Time to Spend: 2 to 3 days
• Operational Hours: Sunday to Saturday from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM
• Distance from the Airport: 369 km from the Zanzibar Airport
• Other Activities: Multiple game drives, boat safari, guided walking tours, and bird watching
• Entry Fee: $50 per person
• How to Reach: The most convenient option is to board a plane from Dar es Salaam or Ruaha National Park. It will take approximately 45 minutes to an hour to reach.

2. Ruaha National Park

The prominent feature of this Tanzania wild safari park is that it is home to the largest number of elephants in East Africa. Besides that, Ruaha National Park is also home to 10% of the world's lion population. Interestingly, you can spot several rare species such as roan and sable antelopes, along with several others.

• Area Covered: 20,226 km²
• Best Time to Visit: Mid-May and December
• Average Time to Spend: 2 days
• Operational Hours: From 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM from Monday to Friday and 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM only on Saturdays
• Distance from the Airport: 445 km from Julius Nyerere International Airport
• Other Activities: Game drives, bush walking, and fly camping
• Entry Fee: $35 per person for adult visitors and $15 per person for children
• How to Reach: There are multiple charter and scheduled planes from Selous, Iringa, Dar es Salaam, Serengeti, Mbeya, and Arusha airports.

3. Serengeti National Park

This park is known for huge herds of zebras, wildebeests, and gazelles. Currently, it has the highest number of threatened wildlife species such as wild dogs, cheetahs, and black rhinos. However, the most interesting thing here is that this is the only place in Africa where land-animal migration is still prevalent today.

• Area Covered: 14,763 km²
• Best Time to Visit: Late June to October
• Average Time to Spend: 4 days
• Operational Hours: 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Distance from the Airport: 320 km from the Kilimanjaro Airport
• Other Activities: Nature walks, swimming, bird watching, hot air balloon safari, game drive, and bush meals
• Entry Fee: $71.8 per person for visitors aged 16 or above, and $20 for children aged 5 to 16
• How to Reach: The best way is to fly in from Kilimanjaro International Airport. You can also fly from Julius Nyerere International Airport and Arusha Airport.

4. Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The built-up of the area began for multiple land uses in 1959. The semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists co-existed with wildlife in this area. As of today, it has an interesting mix of land use comprising the world's largest caldera, a volcanic crater, and rare species of wildlife. The annual migration of zebras, wildebeests, and gazelles is another highlight of this area.

• Area Covered: 8,292 km²
• Best Time to Visit: End of June or early July
• Average Time to Spend: 2 days
• Operational Hours: 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Distance from the Airport: 180 km from the Kilimanjaro Airport
• Other Activities: Picnics, game drives within the crater zone, mountain biking, a visit to Maasai villages, nature walks, hot air balloon safari, Gol Mountain and Oldoinyo Lengai hiking tour
• Entry Fee: $ 71.8 per adult and $ 20 per child
• How to Reach: If you are going by air, there are plenty of daily flights from Arusha Airport to Lake Manyara. Once you reach Lake Manyara Airstrip, it will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. However, if you are travelling by car from Arusha it will take around 2 to 4 hours.

5. Katavi National Park

Another popular Tanzania jungle safari option lies with Katavi National Park. It is well-known for huge herds of elephants, lions, wild dogs, hyenas, elands, buffaloes, and cheetahs. It stays almost undisturbed from the interference of humans in this beautiful wildlife paradise.

With its awestruck views, this park provides an amazing opportunity to click some aesthetic wildlife photographic sceneries.

• Area Covered: 4,471 km²
• Best Time to Visit: July to October
• Average Time to Spend: 2 days
• Operational Hours: 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Distance from the Airport: 1153.9 km from Kilimanjaro International Airport
• Other Activities: Bird watching, guided nature walks, visit to historical sites, and camping
• Entry Fee: $20 per person, free for children
• How to Reach: Your entry point is the Kilimanjaro International Airport or the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar. You can fly to any of the two domestic airports, namely, Arusha or Dar es Salaam.

6. Tarangire National Park

Scenic trees of baobab and spectacular bird watching make this park very popular. It consists of a high jumper of breeding birds as compared to any other wild Tanzania safari that you will not find in any other place on the face of Earth. Cheetahs, hyenas, bush elephants, and leopards are some of the popular wildlife species you can spot here.

• Area Covered: 2,850 km²
• Best Time to Visit: June to October
• Average Time to Spend: 2 days
• Operational Hours: 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Distance from the Airport: 134 km from the Kilimanjaro International Airport
• Entry Fee: The entry fee structure is  as follows:
  • Peak season (16th May – 14th March): For 16 years and above is $50, Between the ages of 5 and 15 years is $15, free for children below 5 years.
  • Low season (15th March – 15th May): For 16 years and above is $40, Between the ages of 5 and 15 years is $ 15, free for children below 5 years.
• How to Reach: The fastest option is to fly down from Kilimanjaro International Airport. However, you can also opt for charter flights from Arusha airport as well. By road from Arusha, it is a journey of around 140 km.

7. Saadani National Park

It is demarcated as the only national park in Tanzania that protects the mangrove forests and is also listed as one of the very few breeding sites for endangered species of green sea turtles alive on earth today. Moreover, you can also spot many Black and white Colobus Monkeys.

• Area Covered: 1,100 km²
• Best Time to Visit: June to August and from January to February
• Average Time to Spend: 2 to 3 hours
• Operational Hours: From Sunday to Saturday, from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
• Distance from the Airport: 57 km from Zanzibar Airport
• Other Activities: Boat safari, guided walks, and game drives
• Entry Fee: $ 20 per adult
• How to Reach: You can reach here by air and also by road. By air, avail a charter flight from Tanga, Arusha, Dar es Salaam, or Zanzibar airport. By road, it will be 131 km to reach Gamma Entrance Gate taking Bagamoyo off Makurunge from Dar es Salaam.

8. Lake Manyara National Park

This park was built to conserve tree-climbing lions and huge herds of elephants. Its lake showcases a spectacular view of huge flocks of pink flamingos flying and sitting along its shores. You can also witness blue monkeys, bushbucks, leopards, baboons and more.

• Area Covered: 325 km²
• Best Time to Visit: Late June to October
• Average Time to Spend: 1 day
• Operational Hours: 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM every day
• Distance from the Airport: 89 km from Arusha Airport
• Other Activities: Bird watching, nature walks, game drives, boat rides, and community visits
• Entry Fee: The entry fee structure is  as follows:
  • Peak season (16th May – 14th March): For 16 years and above is $ 50, Between the ages of 5 and 15 years is $ 15, free for children below 5 years.
  • Low season (15th March – 15th May): For 16 years and above is $ 40, Between the ages of 5 and 15 years is $ 15, free for children below 5 years.
• How to Reach: The best and most convenient way is to get down at Kilimanjaro International Airport and then take any public transport.

9. Arusha National Park

The name of the park is inspired by the ancient local Waarusha people who used to reside in the area. The notable feature of this park is that it consists of the largest population of giraffes in the world.

Besides that, you can also see Mount Meru, which is a prominent volcano having a height of 4566 mt.

• Area Covered: 137 km²
• Best Time to Visit: June to September and December to March
• Average Time to Spend: 1 day
• Operational Hours: 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Distance from the Airport: 40 km from the Kilimanjaro Airport
• Other Activities: Game driving, Mount Meru hiking, walking safari, and canoeing
• Entry Fee: The entry fee structure is  as follows:
  • Peak season (16th May – 14th March): For 16 years and above is $50, Between the ages of 5 and 15 years is $15, free for children below 5 years.
  • Low season (15th March – 15th May): For 16 years and above is $40, for Between the ages of 5 and 15 years is $15, free for children below 5 years.
• How to Reach: To reach the main gate of the park, it will take around 40 minutes by road from Arusha and around 30 minutes from the Kilimanjaro Airport.

10. Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park

It is the only national park situated on the island of Zanzibar. This park is a unique ensemble of coral rug forests, mangroves, salt marshes, and agricultural as well as residential areas. You will also find many rare shrubs and trees on its grounds, which are beneficial as a source of medicinal treatments.

• Area Covered: 50 km²
• Best Time to Visit: June to September and December to February
• Average Time to Spend: 2 to 2.5 hours
• Operational Hours: 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM
• Distance from Airport: 20 km from Zanzibar Airport
• Entry Fee: $7.3 per person
• How to Reach: There are bus 309 or 310 available from Paje or Zanzibar Town. You can also drive from Zanzibar airport in a little over half an hour.