As of 2024 there are over 3000 safari companies operating in Tanzania, the competition is incredible. The best place to start your search is https://www.safaribookings.com/. You don't have to book a safari there, but you can look at the offers and select companies. Note that the prices on the website are higher than if you write directly.
When to go on safari in Tanzania
On the same website you can choose the time to go. The best months for Tanzania parks are July - October, but there may be other good months in different parks. Here is for example the schedule for the Serengeti.
Note that during the high season the prices are the highest not only for safaris, but also for flights to Tanzania. In February you can fly 30% cheaper.
Where to sleep during the safari
You will sleep either in hotels or bungalows with stone walls (Lodge) or in tents (Tented camp). Sometimes the name Tented lodge is used, but it is the same tented camp.
There is a difference in comfort: - Hot water - in lodges it is always available, in tents you need to ask for it. - Microclimate - in lodges there are air conditioners, in tents it can be cold at night, though the blankets are warm. - Internet - lodges have it, tents may or may not have it.
Classes of accommodation: Luxury, Mid-range, Budget. There are some super-expensive lodges where rooms start from $1000 and go up to $10000-15000. If you book accommodation separately from the safari, it is very, very expensive. For example, the bungalow where we spent the night, on the booking site now cost $800 per night, but, of course, we did not pay such money, safari companies have much lower prices.
In Serengeti you can spend the night only within the national park, in Ngorongoro you can sleep outside, but it is not so interesting and convenient.
Some lodges even have swimming pools. If the day is hot and you have time left in the evening, this is very good option. Our first night we spent in Suricata Boma Lodge on the shores of Lake Manyara, it's a great place, with a pool and good views.
All in all, you'll only be in these places for one night, from 5-7pm to 6-7am. You will be tired, so I don't see much point in looking for something more expensive if there is a good mid-range or budget option.
After looking through the offers, we chose a few companies to which we wrote directly. Initially we planned a safari for 5 days, choosing the most popular parks: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, but the price was too high, so we reduced it to 4 days. Between Lake Manyara and Tarangire we chose the latter. Whether we did the right choice or not is not known as this is our first big safari.
Our letters were as follows:
Hello ********, we are searching for safari on these dates
6 persons: 4 adults and 2 children (4 and 5 years old). 30.07 - 18:00 pickup at the JRO or Arusha airport, accomodation in Arusha 31.07 - Safari Day 1 - Tarangire NP safari, accomodation anywhere on the route 01.08 - Safari Day 2 - Drive to Serengeti NP, accomodation inside Serengeti NP 02.08 - Safari Day 3 - Serengeti NP safari, accomodation on the top of Ngorongoro Crater 03.08 - Safari Day 4 - Ngorongoro Crater safari, transfer to Arusha, accomodation in Arusha 04.08 - transfer to the airport JRO in the morning
Which options do you have? Thanks *******
Though we received offers from safari companies for all price categories, we were only interested in the mid-range (comfort) price category. These are prices for 4 adults and 2 children (4 and 5 years old). Curiously enough, children up to 5 years old go on safari for free and do not get a separate place in lodges and camps. If your child is 5 years or older, he/she already gets a separate sleeping place.
6390 USD Tanzania Roadside Expeditions 7200 USD Suricata Safaris 7708 USD Wild Pride Safaris 8184 USD Tanzania-Specialist 8800 USD Serengeti Mystery Adventures 8980 USD Unlimited Expeditions: The Soul of Tanzania 9200 USD Nkollo Tours & Safaris
Next is an important point. We chose Suricata Safaris, not because of the price, but because we liked the lodge and tented camps we were offered to stay. When we arrived in Arusha, we found out at the info evening that all the places had been changed. At first we were upset as we had spent time reading reviews and searching for lodges and tented camps, but it turned out that they had been replaced with better ones, i.e. upgraded.
As a result, we were very satisfied and would recommend not worrying too much about a particular lodge or tented camp. Safari companies don't book them in advance and can replace them even during the safari. All you care about is the class and approximate location.
All companies take 20% prepayment, we paid via PesaPal, Africa's PayPal. The rest of the amount can either be brought in dollars (bills no older than 2009) or paid online, in this case you will need to pay 5% more.
What to do on arrival in Arusha
In Arusha we were met at the airport and brought to the 3-star hotel SG Premium Resort in the center of the city. Sometimes tourists are put up in lodges around Arusha. The center of Arusha looks like this.
We slept at the hotel on the first and last day of the safari, so we left a lot of things here. There is also a good restaurant in the hotel, where there is even our favourite Chicken Kiev on the menu. Find here (https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=20000&From=TZS&To=USD) current exchange rate of Tanzanian shilling.
You get up early in the morning, at 5-6 am, have breakfast, pack your bags, and drive to the national park. Or, if you spend the night in the national park, you go straight to the safari which is called game drive.
You spend 4 to 6 hours in the national park, with lunch, and drive to the next lodging place. The roads are mostly dirt, so safari is tough, prepare for that. Other than the time for lunch, the rest of your time will be spent in the safari jeep. Because of this, I don't recommend going on a long safari for the first time, 4-5 days is optimal.
Safari jeep with pop up roof is a special jeep and if you are offered something else, like a minibus, look for another company. The jeep has 4 or 6 seats for tourists, there are sockets and a small refrigerator.
All meals are included too, breakfast and dinner at lodge sites, lunch at picnic areas. Most companies have a lunch box: sandwiches, fruit, snacks. The best companies have a full lunch: salad, side dish, meat, fruit, juices, snacks.
Probably not. To capture beautiful footage, National Geographic journalists sometimes sit in one place for a WEEK! Safaris are a matter of luck and chance. You may see some rare animal scene, but it will be far away or the light will be bad.
Though, even without this scene, we would have enjoyed the safari.
What to bring with you on safari
We saw many tourists dressed in “Safari Clothing”. This is only relevant for pretty pictures at dusty picnic areas, but there is no practical sense in it. Take clothes you can't spare, especially shoes and warm sweaters for cold mornings. And binoculars, we used them a lot.
Is it possible to go on safari with children?
Before the trip we were looking for information on this topic. After a trip with two children of 4 and 5 years old, we can safely say that there are no problems. Everything turned out to be even easier than we expected. Because of the early rise, the kids were tired and went to sleep in the afternoon, when we had a long drive to the next lodging place. It's also important that your kids know how to keep themselves occupied. Don't count on your phone because the car shakes a lot on dirt roads. There can be nuances with the toilet, so use it whenever you can.
Also, we brought a lot of snacks and even small yogurts, you can put them in the mini fridge in the jeep. Snacks and juices can be bought in Arusha.
Tipping
At the end of the safari the guide is entitled to a tip of $10-15 per person per day. If you are traveling with a guide and a cook, 30% goes to the cook and 70% to the guide.
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