How Tanzania Works
Tanzania has some of the very best wildlife areas anywhere in Africa. Only a fool would argue with that. Having said that, you can get a Tanzania safari very wrong just as you can get it very right indeed. You must know where to go, when and with whom.
There is nobody with more combined experience of Tanzania safaris than us. We've built and managed camps all over the country, guided safaris into its every remote corner and flown across its length and breadth as commercial bush pilots. As well as planned and organised safaris of every shape and size into even the most obscure little bush camp.
If you want to plug straight into the detail, try our camp search facility which allows you to pull up all the areas and camps that we feature, sorting by your particular interests, time of travel or even budget. If you're new to Tanzania, it's worth first understanding how the various regions differ.
Northern Tanzania boasts several world beating wildlife areas within a relatively small region. Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Kilimanjaro are the biggest names but Tarangire, Manyara, Natron, Eyasi are worthy add-ons. Incredible scenery, diversity like you wouldn't believe and enormous variety and concentrations of wildlife. 80% of visitors to Tanzania visit this area alone, most doing driving safaris, most focusing only on the hotspots and, as a result, most missing out on the very best areas and experiences.
Southern Tanzania has opened up considerably within the last 10 years but still retains a charm and sense of wilderness that some parts of the north lost a while back. Selous and Ruaha are the headline acts and compliment each other perfectly but areas like Saadani, Udzungwa and southern Highlands all have their highlights. Generally with smaller, simple but quite stylish bush camps, more opportunities than in the North to walk, boat, flycamp, most people usually fly between the main areas rather than drive.
Western Tanzania is a little known jewel in Tanzania's crown. More and more people recognise this and perhaps talk about it with reverence but you'll find that very few have visited it in any great depth. Katavi and Mahale National parks are the key areas but the rest of Lake Tanganyika is worth considering, as are places like Rukwa, Ugalla and Malagarasi.
Tanzania Coast can sometimes get ignored, which is odd in that not only does it include Zanzibar and the other offshore islands of Pemba and Mafia, it has some of the finest beaches, diving and game fishing available anywhere in the Indian Ocean. Whether its a beach holiday with a few days safari tacked on or more normally vice versa, the combination is about as good as it gets.
We recommend that any safari to northen Tanzania hangs off the Serengeti element of the trip and this area is th best illustration of how you need to understand the park but the dynamics of the different areas within the park. Just by way of an example, we'd suggest that you treat the busy Serengeti Central with caution and, wherever possible look at visiting the quieter areas, in particular the Serengeti North between August and October or the southern Serengeti Plains and Loliondo between December and May. For a fuller explanation you might like to read about how the Serengeti works.
Southern Tanzania has a very different balance of species from the North and a greater range of activities on offer, different wildebeest in the Selous for example and no wildebeest but instead vast herds of buffalo and lots of predators in Ruaha. There are also many more southern African birds, animals and plants which contrasts well with northern Tanzania.
In strictly game viewing terms, the south is best between June and October, and Ruaha in particular can provide exceptional dry season game viewing, while Selous (which combines well with Ruaha) offers a great diversity of activities from walks to boat safaris, fishing, fly camping as well of course as game drives.
Western Tanzania is far less visited than either the north or south and is an area in which we have considerable experience, having worked in both Katavi and Mahale Mountains for quite a few years. Put simply, this is where you head if you want to experience what Tanzania was like 20 years ago. Because of the distances, and therefore cost involved (Mahale is 520 miles from Arusha) it's visited by few people, but offers a quality of experience that is hard to find anywhere else.
Katavi and Mahale Mountains combine perfectly, being completely diverse experiences in almost every respect and our advice is generally, once there, to devote as many days as possible to the West and certainly at least a week. Your time will definitely be well rewarded.
Within every region of Tanzania there are numerous less well known options in the peripheral areas that can be considered alongside or instead of the main parks. We are obviously well placed to take you through all of these depending on how you'd like to maximise your time within Tanzania.
More articles that you might find helpful
Which are the best game areas of Tanzania?
Tanzania visa requirements
When's the best time to visit Tanzania?
Tanzania's highlights
The best game areas in Tanzania
For videos, articles, ideas and news from Africa:
Have a look at our blog at safarigeek.com
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