Tanzania: the Serengeti, the crater and the coast
The largest herds, the most famous plains, a volcanic crater full of game and an island at the end of it. Tanzania is the safari of superlatives, and it rewards time.
Why Tanzania
Tanzania has the Serengeti, and the Serengeti is the stage for the Great Migration: around 1.5 million wildebeest and several hundred thousand zebra and gazelle moving in a loop around the ecosystem all year. Unlike in Kenya, where the herds visit for a few months, in Tanzania they are always somewhere, and a good specialist can put you in front of them in almost any month.
Next door is Ngorongoro, a collapsed volcano whose 260-square-kilometre floor holds a resident population of lion, elephant, buffalo, hyena and one of East Africa's last easily seen black rhino, all in a natural amphitheatre. Add Tarangire's baobabs and elephants, Lake Manyara's tree-climbing lions, and Zanzibar's beaches and Stone Town an hour's flight away, and you have the most complete two-week safari on the continent.
The trade-offs: it is expensive, park fees are high and rising, and the northern circuit's famous sites are busy in peak season. The quieter, wilder southern and western parks, Nyerere, Ruaha and Katavi, are for second visits and for people who want few other vehicles.
Where to go
Serengeti National Park
Nearly 15,000 square kilometres of grassland and woodland. The migration moves clockwise through it: calving in the southern plains in January and February, the central Seronera area through the dry season, and the Grumeti and Mara river crossings in the north from June to October. Resident big cats all year.
Serengeti guide
Ngorongoro
A single day on the crater floor can produce lion, rhino, elephant, hyena, hippo and flamingo. The rim lodges sit at 2,300 metres with views down into it; mornings are cold. The crater is best visited early, before the day-trip vehicles arrive from Arusha.
Tarangire
Underrated, and in the dry season from July to October one of the best elephant parks in Africa, with herds of several hundred along the Tarangire River among giant baobabs. Two hours from Arusha and a natural first stop on the northern circuit.
Zanzibar
An hour's flight from the Serengeti airstrips. Stone Town's old Swahili and Omani streets, spice farms, and the east coast's white beaches and reefs. The classic way to end a Tanzanian safari, with three to five nights the usual stay.
When to go
- June to October: dry season. The migration pushes north through the western corridor and into the northern Serengeti, with Mara River crossings from roughly July to September. Ngorongoro and Tarangire are at their best. Peak prices and peak demand.
- January to February: the calving season on the southern Serengeti plains, when around half a million wildebeest are born within a few weeks and the predators follow. Warm, mostly dry and a superb, slightly cheaper alternative to the crossings.
- March to May (long rains): wet and quiet. Many camps close in April; those that stay open cut their rates heavily. The herds are moving through the central and western Serengeti.
- November to December (short rains): brief showers, green grass and the herds returning south. A good-value shoulder season.
Getting there and around
For the northern circuit, fly into Kilimanjaro International (JRO), between Arusha and Moshi, with direct flights from Amsterdam, Doha, Addis Ababa and Nairobi. Dar es Salaam serves the southern parks and Zanzibar. From Arusha, you either drive the circuit with a driver-guide in a 4x4 (Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti over seven to ten days) or fly between airstrips. Most itineraries combine the two: drive out, fly back.
Where to stay
- Mobile migration camps: seasonal tented camps that move with the herds, so you are near the action whichever month you travel. The best way to see the migration.
- Permanent lodges and camps in the Serengeti: from large lodges to small luxury camps, concentrated in the central Seronera area and the north.
- Crater rim lodges: a handful of lodges with the view, at a premium. Lodges in Karatu, 30 minutes away, are the affordable alternative.
- Zanzibar: everything from Stone Town guesthouses to beach resorts on the east coast.
Practicalities
Visas. Most nationalities, including the UK and EU, pay US$50 for a single-entry tourist visa; US citizens must take the multiple-entry visa at US$100. Apply for an e-visa online in advance (allow up to ten working days) or get one on arrival at Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, paid in cash US dollars. Passports need six months' validity.
Zanzibar. Since October 2024 all foreign visitors to Zanzibar must buy mandatory travel insurance on arrival, about US$44 per adult, separate from your own policy.
Park fees. Tanzania's park and conservation fees are among the highest in Africa and change regularly; they are included in packages but drive the overall cost. Ngorongoro has a per-vehicle crater fee on top of the per-person fee.
Malaria and yellow fever. Malaria is present throughout the safari areas and on Zanzibar; take prophylaxis. A yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from or via a yellow-fever country, which includes connecting through Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Kigali.
Money. Parks and lodges price in US dollars; carry small, recent notes. Cards work in Arusha, Dar and Zanzibar but not reliably in the parks.
Electricity. 230V, British three-pin (Type G) plugs. Camps run on solar and generators.
Book this trip
Tanzania is the country where a specialist matters most: the migration moves, camps move with it, and the right month decides everything. Our partner links are being finalised.
Checked October 2026. Entry rules, fees and seasons change; confirm with official sources before you book.
