What Is The Best Safari In Tanzania?

During the dry season, the weather is consistently warm, highlighting the beauty of any of Tanzania’s safari parks. Since permanent water within the parks dwindles, animals are forced to gather around any remaining sources. At the same time, the vegetation thins out, making it easier to see the animals. While this is particularly revelatory in Ruaha, Katavi, Tarangire, and Selous, all of Tanzania’s safari parks are worth visiting during this time.

Stay in Chada Camp – a simple beautifully designed bush camp tucked into the shade at the edge of the Katavi plain.

How Many Days Do You Need For A Tanzania Safari?

Few people are prepared for how immersive a safari experience is. Time on safari can be tiring – up before sunrise with long evenings spent under the stars. If you’re travelling with children, we always recommend a private guide and exclusive vehicle that means a lie in here and there is always possible if needed.

There is no hard and fast rule for the number of days on safari but we would recommend not flying through safari parks rather than immersing yourself in your location. Give yourselves time to stop. Perhaps consider a few days R&R on the beaches of Zanzibar or Mafia Island to recharge the batteries before heading back to the rat race.

Is Tanzania A Good Family Safari Destination?

Travelling to Tanzania with your family is an outstanding way to spend quality time with your children, immersed in nature and free from the tyranny of Facebook, Xbox and other evils. There are plenty of amazing things to do for the whole family to enjoy. Fall off the map in the Serengeti – just you, your family, a great guide, a private camp and an awful lot of animals. A private house at Lamai could be a superb option for families – an outstanding small safari lodge tucked into a kopje just a couple of miles from where the migration crosses the Mara River.

Much will depend on the age of your children, but if they’re on the young side (less than 10 yrs.), then we’d advise that you don’t try to do too much with them and plan your Tanzania safari in bite size chunks so there is always a new excitement around the corner. Better to leave wanting more than wish you’d left earlier.

What Should I Wear On Safari In Tanzania?

When travelling to foreign destinations it is always respectful to dress modestly and we suggest the emphasis is on comfortable clothing.

It is often warm on the plains and at lower altitudes but cold in the hilly and mountainous areas; a rain jacket, fleece and good quality walking shoes/boots are essential.

When Is The Great Wildebeest Migration?

The Great Migration, in Tanzania and Kenya, is one of nature's greatest events, but how do you know where and when to go to actually witness it?

The vast Serengeti plains and the hills of Kenya’s Masai Mara are the setting for the world’s greatest wildlife spectacle, the 1.5 million animal ungulate (wildebeest) migration. Over 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle, relentlessly tracked by Africa’s great predators, migrate in a clockwise fashion over 1,800 miles each year in search of rain ripened grass.

Once the ‘short rains’ fall in November and December (sometimes as early as October) the migration moves from Kenya's Maasai Mara down through the eastern side of Tanzania's Serengeti into its sweet and fertile southern-grass plains. Here, the wildebeest and other ungulates settle between January and April. In April and May the ‘long’ rains set in and the migration starts moving from the depleted southern plains north to the long grass plains in the western corridor. Large river crossings on the Grumeti and Mara Rivers occur as the migration heads back into Kenya's Maasai Mara – the season dries out and fresh grazing and water can be found in the far north. The Masaai Mara is usually at its best in August, September and October.

How Long Are The Drives Between Lodges?

The drive times from lodge to lodge will vary but most of the lodges in Tanzania are between 5hrs and 8hrs drive.

There are, however, a number of lodges that are only an approximate 3hrs drive from one another. You may only be travelling 200kms to your next lodge but road conditions, especially during the wet seasons, lengthen the journeys. Also, in many locations you will be game driving and participating in other activities en-route to your next lodge meaning that you may check into your next lodge at sunset.

For the majority of the time however we recommend flying between the various lodges you are staying at; this offers you a quick and reliable means of transportation and also offers you some stunning views!