There are lots of information about safari holidays in Tanzania; from where to go, when to go, things to do, what to carry, what to expect and so on. Below are helpful information to guide you plan your perfect safari holiday in Tanzania.
At Kentz Safaris, we combine your safari holiday ideas with our extensive holiday planning experience to hand pick; well tested destinations and luxury accommodation that meet all your specific requirements. We take great pride in planning custom safari holidays in Tanzania. Check out some of our safari packages below or contact one of our holiday experts, to structure a safari holiday for you.
What to encounter on a normal day on Safari in Tanzania
On the left is a view of wildebeest and on the right are Giraffes on the open plains of Serengeti.
The beautiful wilderness at Ngorongoro Crater full of wildlife.
The great migration from Serengeti to Masai Mara National Park.
Some of the top end safari lodges Tanzania
More hotel pictures in Tanzania
Safari is a Swahili word that means 'journey'; the word is usually used by tour operators to refer to wildlife watching tour in Africa. Safari holiday is no doubt the most popular type of holiday in Africa; millions of local and international tourist visit Africa to experience the beauty of a Safari.
There are two main types of Safaris; that is animal watching safari and bird watching safari. A typical wildlife watching safari would include visiting major national parks and reserves to watch thousands of wildlife that include the 'Big Five', Gorillas, cheetah, crocodiles, Hippos, wildebeest, Giraffe among many other. Bird watching safari would include visiting lakes, forests and national parks to watch hundreds of different bird species; the two types of safari can easily be combined to one holiday itinerary. While on a safari; you can either choose to use an open roof 4x4 car or truck, or on a guided walking and horse riding safari, or on a luxury flying safari that include; chartered flights, hot air balloon flights and helicopters.
To plan a safari holiday, You can either join a ready prepared group safari or plan your own (Tailor-made safari). Group safaris are usually led by one tour guide and a support staff, accommodation varies from luxury lodges and camps to standard hotels, it is ideal for single travelers who wish to meet other people and the budget travelers(as they can share cost among the group members). The downside of a group safari is that it has a fixed start/end date, fixed destinations and activities are done as a group.
Most people prefer Tailor-made safari, as they have the option to plan a safari that suits them; they can choose their start date, duration, areas to visit, type of accommodation and activities. The Cost highly depends on what you choose; it could be as cheap as a group safaris or expensive as luxury safaris, the choice is all yours. The options to plan your own holiday makes this type of safari famous and ideal for families, honeymooners and special holiday makers.
A well planned safari holiday can be exciting and full of memories that are forever cherished, to plan your safari; You need to pick out your major attractions carefully; what to watch, which game parks to visit, when to tour, type of accommodation and the cost.
For example if you want to experience the famous wildebeest migration, you need to know when the migration is at Masai Mara or Serengeti; which Camps or lodges are closer to the migration route and how much it would cost you. For the Big Five or other lesser known wildlife and birds species; you would need to know, where you can easily spot them, best season, accommodation and means of transport.
Other factors to put into account is the Budget, on this aspect you need to think about the type of accommodation; safari holiday accommodation varies from luxury 5 star Hotels to budgeted private and public tented camps. Once you identify the type of accommodation you prefer, you then need to decide on the mood of transport; whether you prefer flying from one park to the other and using a private open roof 4WD car to move around the park watching wildlife, or you prefer only using a private 4WD car, or a shared group van and mini buses. According to our own mode of transport analysis; most guest prefer using private 4WD cars just within the park and on short distance transfer, and scheduled or chartered flights on long distance transfers.
The best time to spot most wildlife is on the dry season, animal are easily spotted on the open plains and near rivers or water holes in search of food and water. In Tanzania the dry season are between January-March and July-October, this is the best time to spot wildlife. April, May and November are considered to be shoulder season with lesser wildlife compared to the high season. Bird’s watching is best in October - December.
On a normal safari tour, you would wake up early for tea/coffee with snacks, before the sun rises head out for a guided wildlife viewing safari; at around 10am, the sun is usually hot and animals go into their hiding places ,so we return to the lodge/camp for breakfast and a brief rest.
At mid day, you are free to use the hotel’s activities, or enjoy reading your favorite book, take a nap, relax by the pool with a cold drink, or go on a cultural tour to the local villages. Afternoon activities starts at around 3pm by taking tea/coffee/juice with snacks and then embark on an evening safari, some minutes before 7pm you will return to the camp for a refreshing shower before your dinner at 8pm, after dinner you can choose to go to the bar or to the fire place. Most guests retire to bed at around 10pm.There are numerous Safari activities, this is just to give you a sense of how a normal day on safari could be.
This a twelve days safari holiday, exploring the best of Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara and Ngorogoro Crater; to watch the stunning landscapes and wildlife, then flying to Zanzibar for a five days beach vacation. It’s a great itinerary for a combined wildlife and beach holiday; additional attractions
This a nine days safari holiday, exploring the best of Serengeti National Park,Tarangire, Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Manyara national park; to watch the stunning landscapes and wildlife. It’s a great itinerary for wildlife and nature lovers, additional attractions would include passing by the Olduvai Gorge and a distant
This a seven days safari holiday, exploring the best of Serengeti National Park, Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Manyara; to watch the stunning landscapes and wildlife. It’s a great itinerary for wildlife and nature lovers, additional attractions would include passing by the Olduvai Gorge and a distant view of
This is a 5 days safari, full of real adventure and opportunity to view 1000’s of wildlife and birds species in Tanzania; taking you through Ngorogoro Crater the home to the best natural geographical views and the famous Serengeti national reserve, the world’s best known home to the
This a three days wildlife watching safari at Serengeti national reserve, this itinerary is focused on pure wildlife watching and a short cultural tour to the local Masai Villages; it’s an adventurous tour with opportunity to watch thousands of animals, bird species and stunning landscape. Other attractions on
This a three days wildlife and Landscape watching safari at Ngorongoro national reserve, this itinerary is focused on wildlife watching, Crater exploration and a short cultural tour to the local Masai Villages; it’s an adventurous tour with opportunity to watch thousands of animals, bird species and stunning landscape.
This a one day wildlife watching and nature walk safari tour of Arusha national park, the trip begins by driving from either Arusha or Moshi Town to the park; where you will spend the day hiking on mount Meru and going on a game drive to watch wildlife
About Serengeti Serengeti National park is part of the larger Serengeti ecosystem that extend to other wildlife conservation parks and reserves that include the famous Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve, the Loliondo, Grumeti and Ikorongo Controlled Areas and the famous Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. It is
About Ngorongoro Crater Ngorongoro Crater is an exceptional national Park; made up of a large spectacular bowl of about 265 km2, with sides of about 600m deep. It’s part of the Serengeti ecosystem, bordering the open plans of Serengeti National Park to the north and it’s a UNESCO World
About Tarangire National Park Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania, located about 118 Km south west of Arusha, it covers an area approximately 2,850 square kilometers and is famous for its huge number of elephants, baobab trees and the tree climbing African pythons. The
About Lake Manyara Lake Manyara national park is located beneath the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the edge of the Great Rift Valley and has a surface area of about 330Km2; it offers varied ecosystems, incredible bird life, and breathtaking views. It is situated on the way to
About Ruaha National Park Ruaha National Park is a spectacular national park situated in a remote area, west of Iringa town and Dar es Salaam city; it’s the largest national parks in Tanzania (with a surface area of about 20,226Km 2). The park is famous and offers a rare
About Selous Game Reserve Selous Game Reserve is located in a vast and remote area southeast of Tanzania, its Africa’s largest protected wildlife game reserve and covers more than 5% of Tanzania’s total area (about 54,600 km2 and additional buffer zones); it was named after Englishman Sir Frederick Selous. The beautiful
There is an endless list of hotels, Lodges, villas, Hostels, tented camps and camping sites in Tanzania; the list ranges from luxury 5 star hotels and Lodges, private excluded beach front villas to lesser remote tented camps and hostels.Whether it’s a wildlife safari holiday, a city excursion, a business trip or a more relaxed beach holiday; there is always accommodation for you. Check out some of our recommended hotels below or contact our holiday experts to find you an accommodation that suits you.
Arusha offers various type of accommodation, whether you are on transit, on a safari holiday or on a business trip; Arusha has it all, from top luxury hotels and lodges
Whether you are on a business trip, safari holiday, a tour of the city or on transit; Nakuru has an array of luxury hotels, lodges, villas, tented camps and hostels
Whether it's a business trip, safari holiday, a tour of the city or on transit; Dar es Salaam has an array of luxury hotels, lodges, villas, tented camps and hostels
Whether it's a safari holiday, a tour of the Lake or on transit; Lake Manyara has an array of luxury safari hotels, lodges, villas and tented camps just for you.
In Mafia Island, there is a wide range of accommodation; from the Luxury 5 star beach hotels, Lodges and Villas to budget Camps and Hostels. Whether you are on a
Main activities around Mount Kilimanjaro, is wildlife and mountain viewing, nature walks and mountain climbing. There are a couple of nice huts and camping sites along the Kilimanjaro hiking routes
There are plenty of Hotels, Lodges, Tented camps and Camping sites in Ngorongoro Conservancy; accommodation ranges from top luxury 5 star hotels, private excluded bush lodges, to budgeted camping sites.
In Pemba Island, there is a wide range of accommodation; from the Luxury 5 star beach hotels, Lodges and Villas to budget Camps and Hostels. Whether you are on a
There are plenty of Safari Hotels, Lodges, Tented camps and Camping sites in Serengeti national reserve; accommodation ranges from top luxury 5 star hotels, private excluded bush lodges to budgeted
There are plenty of Safari Hotels, Lodges, Tented camps and Camping sites in Tarangire national park; accommodation ranges from top luxury 5 star hotels, private excluded bush lodges to budgeted
In Zanzibar Island, there is a wide range of accommodation; from the Luxury 5 star beach hotels, Lodges and Villas to budget Camps and Hostels. Whether you are on a
It is true that Budgeting for a safari holiday can be a hustle and painful. We at Kentz Safaris have broken down the cost in three categories (accommodation, transport and destination); to make it easy for you while calculating your safari holiday. The three categories determine the cost of a safari holiday and can vary quite substantially depending on what you choose.
The choice of a Safari accommodation is the most paramount factor when deciding on your holiday budget; the cost would vary from the class of hotel, its location, how secluded and private it is, how close it is to major attraction points, its reputation and services offered; hotels and lodges located inside national parks and private conservancy tend to cost more, because they have easy and more access time to watch wildlife. The other group is the small secluded lodges that accommodate small groups of friends, honeymooners and families; these groups of hotels tend to cost more because they are secluded and on less populated areas.
Destination is also a paramount issue; the parks entry fee vary from park to park, for example if you want to view all the Big Five at one place, the best place to tour is Serengeti National Reserve , it's a huge national park with lots of wildlife and thus making it more expensive compared to birds watching at Lake Manyara or Gorilla trekking at Gombe Stream national park. Other places that would cost more are the private conservations compared to public national parks.
On the mode of transport, you are likely to pay more on luxury mode of transport like fly in safari and private 4WD cars compared to shared minibuses and vans or on an overland safari. And finally the high or low season would influence the cost of a safari; for example going to Serengeti or Masai Mara at the height of the Great wildebeest Migration or on summer will cost you more than going at other times of the year.Traveling on low seasons or last minute can also help you save some money and still view a great range of wildlife.
Packing for your safari holiday can be a difficult task, below are some tips to help you out while preparing for your dream safari holiday. First, you need a small bag (about 15kgs) to use while on safari, excess baggage can be stored in the hotel.
Cloths and shoes
Clothing colors are important while on a safari, we recommend you avoid bright and camouflage colors, put on neutral colors like khaki and olive. Good walking shoes and socks are a must to avoid discomfort and injury. Make sure you try them before your travel.
Trousers and Long sleeve T-shirts can be won in the early mornings and evenings when its cold and can also prevent you from the mosquitoes; the shorts and short sleeve T-shirts are best during the day when its hot and sunny; a swimming suit, a sunhat, sunglasses and a waterproof/windproof jacket.
Supplies
Besides the personal supplies, other important supplies would include painkillers, Sun cream, insect repellents, a wildlife book, if you love reading (to read on your free time during the day), spare camera batteries and memory cards. For families with kids, you can park some games for the kids to play during the free time.
Equipment
To make sure you enjoy your safari holiday, we recommend that everyone to have a binocular and a camera with all its appropriate extras such as lenses and cleaner.
To ensure we get exactly what we require, we strongly advice all our guest to make early arrangements at least 6 months in advance
