When planning your African safari, one of the most important things to figure out is where to go. If Tanzania has been on your mind but you are still undecided on whether its the best place to go on safari then here are 23 reasons why you should book your safari in Tanzania.
You can click on any of them to jump to the explanation.
- Amazing wildlife sightings
- The large variety of wildlife
- Many Parks are close together
- Calving Season
- The Great Migration
- The Big 5
- Large Lion Populations
- Tanzania is Relatively Safe
- Established tourism industry
- The parks are not crowded
- Easy entry visa
- The Maasai people
- Rugged Parks
- Exclusive experiences
- Engaged travel community online
- Safari Extension in Zanzibar
- Beautiful lesser-known parks(Southern Circuit)
- Chimpanzees
- Safari Extension with Mt Kilimanjaro Climb
- Hot Air Balloon Safaris
- Friendly People
- Opportunity to learn Kiswahili
- Rich Tanzanian Culture
- Amazing Food
- Great Bird Watching Opportunities
23 reasons why Tanzania is a great place to go on safari
1. Amazing wildlife sightings
Tanzania offers an unparalleled wildlife viewing experience and is considered by most travel enthusiasts as the best place to go on safari.
The country has some of the most amazing wildlife scenery in the world.
According to the Tanzania Ministry of tourism, Tanzania has 17 national parks, spread over an area of more than 42,000 square kilometers (16,000 sq mi) and forming approximately 38 percent of the country’s territory.
With that much land protected for wildlife, there are many opportunities for great sightings and encounters with the species that you have seen on TV.
2. The large variety of wildlife
The other thing about Tanzania is that it has a very wide variety of wildlife in its multiple parts that gives you an opportunity to view interesting species that you would have only seen on TV.
There are over 430 species of animals in Tanzania and most of these will be animal that you’ve never seen on any other part of the world other than Africa
The rich variety of wildlife that is concentrated in relatively small spaces like the Ngorongoro crater Offers an interesting opportunity to see many types of animals in the park without having to search a lot.
3. Many Parks are close together
Tanzania has the advantage of having 5 parks r located relatively close to each other. This group of parks is commonly known as the Northern Circuit.
The northern Safari circuit consists of the following parks
- Tarangire National Park:
- Arusha National Park:
- Manyara National Park:
- Ngorongoro Crater & Conservation Area:
- Serengeti National Park
The proximity of these parks to each other makes viewing a large variety of scenery relatively inexpensive and logistically easier.
4. Calving Season
Tanzania is home to hundreds of thousands of wildebeest that come to give birth in the Serengeti after traveling in the great migration between Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve a d the Serengeti National park in Tanzania.
The calving season sees thousands of wildebeest calves being born which is popular with many tourists.
In addition to this, the increase in the population of easy prey increases the number of predators and this increases the chances of witnessing a Hunt. (I know that sounds Cruel. I’m sorry if I have offended you. )
5. The Great Migration
One of the things you should look forward to When visiting East Africa is witnessing the great migration.
Between the months of June and October, millions of wildebeest Zebra and gazelles migrate from the Masai Mara National Reserve to the Serengeti game reserve in Tanzania.
The most exciting part is when they are crossing the crocodile-infested rivers and have to swim quickly to avoid becoming lunch.
6. The Big 5
Seeing the Big 5 animals are usually the goal of most game drives and there are few other places that offer you the excitement of looking at these animals than Tanzania.
Just in case you were wondering, the big 5 are
- Lion
- African buffalo
- Leopard
- Elephant
- Rhino
The other thing that makes Tanzania great for spotting the big five is how expansive the parks in this county are. This means that you will not spot the animals too easily and this makes the first sighting all the more exciting.
7. Large Lion Populations
Tanzania has the largest population of lions in Africa. According to All Africa News, Tanzania has a lion population of 15,000.
This will make spotting them more easily but you will need to put into consideration that the parks are expansive and it may take you an hour or two to spot your first pride.
8. Tanzania is Relatively Safe
Compared to some of its neighbors like Kenya (where I am from) and South Africa, Tanzania is a relatively safe country to go on Safari.
Compared to Kenya, Tanzania has never reported a terrorist attack compared to Kenya which has suffered a number of terrorist attacks due to the border it shares with Somalia.
Although the country has been put under “increased Caution” Travel Advisory at the time of writing this, Tanzania is generally a peaceful country with few things to worry about.
9. Established tourism industry
Although not as developed as Kenya, Tanzania has a well-developed tourism industry that is well regulated by the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators Who help in regulating how the players in the industry treat their clients.
This makes for a generally better tourism environment where the tourists are treated well and have an avenue for recourse if something goes wrong.
Since Tanzania is very popular with tourists, the competition among tour operators ensures that the tourism industry grows to fill the needs of the visiting tourists.
High competition generally improves the quality of services provided to the visitors and this makes Tanzania even more attractive as a Safari Destination.
Great Safari Tented Camps
Tanzania has a number of really nice tented camps. That follows where the large groups of wildlife are. This makes for an interesting experience where high levels of luxury are created in relatively simple structures.
10. The parks are not crowded
Due to how expansive the parks in Tanzania are, they are not as crowded compared to some places like South Africa or Kenya during the busy season. In addition to this, private conservancies restrict the number of visitors they allow. This could mean that you are one of the few tourists for many miles. This exclusive experience comes with higher fees but if its something you are keen on, you might enjoy it.
11. Easy entry visa
Tanzania has a simple online way of applying for your tourist visa for their online portal. The visa application takes 10 days to process so you will need to make your application in good time to avoid any delays. If you are not able to make the application online, you can get your single entry visa on arrival at the airport. I would not advise you to do this since you may encounter delays.
12. The Maasai people
One of the great things about traveling to Tanzania on Safari is the fact that you will not only encounter the incredible wildlife there, but you will also get to interact with the local community. The Masai People who live in both Kenyan and Tanzania reside near the parks and there are a number of tour operators that organize cultural tours to engage with them.
13. Rugged Parks
The park has some really rugged terrain within the parks. This will mean a lot of bumps and getting tossed around when going on safari drives. I personally think this adds to the excitement of going on Safari and adds to the sense of adventure.
14. Exclusive experiences
Tanzania offers a wide range of exclusive safari experiences with a number of private conservancy’s having highly exclusive admissions and a restriction on how many people can be in the park at a time.
This also makes it generally more expensive to do a safari in Tanzania but if high-end exclusive safaris are something you are interested in then Tanzania is the country of choice
15. Engaged travel community online
one of the other interesting things that makes Tanzania a great safari destination is that we have a very engaged online community of travelers and travel enthusiasts.
The TripAdvisor Tanzania community has thousands of people who are willing and ready to assist new travelers with information about traveling around Tanzania.
This makes it fairly easy for travelers who are not very familiar with the region to understand how to travel around Tanzania and have the most worthwhile experiences.
it’s fairly common to see a simple question answered in a matter of minutes with people who have actually traveled there and that are very experienced with the region.
16. Safari Extension in Zanzibar
After enjoying your Safari in Tanzania, You have the option of spending a few days in one of the most famous beach destinations for tourists in the region: Zanzibar. This island is popular for its white sandy beaches and its rich culture that spans several centuries.
If you choose to go to Zanzibar as your safari extension, you will have the opportunity to visit beautiful places like Stone Town where you will get to experience interesting architecture constructed a few centuries ago.
You will also get an opportunity to view one rare species: the Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey that is only located in Zanzibar.
17. Beautiful lesser-known parks(Southern Circuit)
Tanzania has a number of lesser-known parks in the southern circuit that give tourists an opportunity to go off the beaten path. These parks include:
- Selous Game Reserve
- Ruaha National Park,
- Mahale National Park
- Katavi National Park
These parks are less frequented by tourists which make them more tranquil and slower-paced. If you are looking for an off-the-beaten-path kind of adventure, the southern circuit may be the safari for you.
The southern circuit is a great place to do birdwatching. It has varied landscapes and ecosystems that will give you the best variety of bird watching opportunities.
18. Chimpanzees
In addition to this, if you would like to see chimpanzees in their natural environment, you can visit the Mahale National park located in the Southern circuit. You will track them in the jungle and have an opportunity to see how the chimps live in the trees and coexist with the rest of nature in this untamed and untouched part of Africa.
This park is mostly untouched with minimal development done there to preserve the ecosystem. This will definitely add to the adventure of trekking through the untouched rain forest in search of the chimps.
19. Safari Extension with Mt Kilimanjaro Climb
If you are in the mood to conquer the tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, you have to go to Tanzania.
Kilimanjaro is an aspiring climber’s dream, you can climb it even without being an expert climber since many routes are trekking routes that just require you to be physically fit to climb them.
20. Hot Air Balloon Safaris
One of the things you might really enjoy when going to Tanzania on safari is viewing thousands of animals from the sky with a hot air balloon safari. These are generally more expensive than your average game drive but give a breathtaking view of the wildlife and landscapes in Tanzania.
21. Friendly People
Tanzania is famous for extremely friendly people who l0ve entertaining visitors. If you get an opportunity to interact with people other than the safari operators, you will find that everyone is very welcoming and willing to assist you if you have any queries. Some will be curious about where you are from but you will generally find a lot of smiling faces.
22. Opportunity to learn Kiswahili
If you have always wanted to learn a new language, you should definitely visit Tanzania. Swahili is the National language here and there is no better place to perfect your language skills than Tanzania. Here you will get an opportunity to encounter a number of obscure Swahili terms and get to discover the rich Swahili culture with its sayings, proverbs, and stories.
23. Rich Tanzanian Culture
The people of Tanzania comprise 125 ethnic groups each of which has its own language and culture. Visiting Tanzania as a cultural tour will give you the opportunity to encounter these and learn a few things about how they live and coexist with each other.
24. Amazing Food
Come to Tanzania if you want to enjoy great food like Biriani, Mahamri, Mshikaki, Nyama Choma, etc.
You will have an amazing time in Tanzania if you are a foodie since you will get to experience food, unlike anything you are used to.
In addition to this, the rich diversity in the culture of the people of Tanzania creates a large variety of foods you can try out.
25. Great Bird Watching Opportunities
Tanzania has a number of popular parks where you can go to see birds. Parks like Lake Manyara, Tarangire National Park, and the Ngorongoro Crater offer you an opportunity to spot some exotic bird species.
Some of the species you would expect to find here include:
- Yellow necked spurfowl
- Northern white-crowned shrike
- Black-necked weaver
- White-faced whistling duck
- Red-billed hornbill
- Pygmy falcon
- African marsh harrier
- Woodland kingfisher
- Black-headed heron
- African Hoopoe
And more. You can view the full list of birds and find more details on this article I found about the birds in Tarangire National Park
Other Countries Near Tanzania that are great for Safari:
If you are not convinced or have already visited Tanzania, You may consider some other countries that are great for Safari and are located relatively near Tanzania:
Kenya
Location: North of Tanzania and a 1 Hour flight from Arusha to Nairobi.
Kenya is Tanzania’s main competitor when it comes to safaris. You will find a great diversity of wildlife and a highly developed tourism industry that makes it more affordable than Tanzania for Safari. The downside of visiting Kenya is that it can get more crowded so you will not have the exclusive feel that you will find in many parks in Tanzania.
I have written an extensive article with 40 reasons why you should visit Kenya. You should check that out if you are mildly interested in Kenya as a destination for a safari instead of Tanzania.
Botswana
Location: South of Tanzania & a 3 Hour Flight
Botswana offers a more exclusive ( and more expensive) safari experience compared to Tanzania. It has popular parks like the Okavango Delta and a number of beautiful National parks with a big diversity of wildlife.
Botswana is more of an off the beaten path kind of safari and this makes it more exclusive and expensive. It’s definitely worth considering as an alternative to Tanzania.
South Africa
Location: South of Tanzania and a 4-hour flight
South Africa is probably the most affordable safari destination in Africa and you will get an opportunity to save money on your safari with self-drive safaris and budget accommodation.
The downside to South Africa as a tourist destination is the fact that its parks are tamer and less rugged compared to Tanzania since a number of its parks are paved and curated. This does mean that you will see animals with greater ease but it will reduce the sense of adventure and excitement that comes from tracking animals for hours and the joy in finding a leopard after following its trail for hours.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an off the beaten path adventure, you should definitely visit beautiful Tanzania. You will be happy that you went.
A Final Word
As you prepare for your trip to Africa, I would like to recommend a few products that would help make your life easier.
- Shoes: I recommend that you check the Keen Hiking shoes. I have written an extensive article on the best shoes for an African safari and this shoe checks all the boxes for things you should look for when choosing a shoe for Africa. (Check out the Keen Hiking Shoes on Amazon)
- Camera: If you are not big on photography, I would not advise you to buy a brand new camera for your African Adventure. Good cameras can be expensive and buying a camera you will not use is not a good use of your limited budget. I advise that you rent a camera instead and Lens Rentals have a great Safari Camera Kit perfect for someone traveling to Africa. If you are thinking of getting into photography, then you can invest in a new camera but before you do, check out my pick for the best Safari Camera for a Beginner like Me
- Information About Africa: I have created a YouTube channel that focuses on things about traveling to Africa that only Africans can tell you about. Check out the channel for insights about African culture and things you can do as a traveler to optimize your trip. You should also visit TripAdvisor forum posts (Here is the Kenya Forum) and ask questions about your particular situation. There are a lot of people who are happy to help you out.
- Choosing a Safari Company: I have written an extensive article on how to choose a safari Company. You can. Check it out before starting the process of searching for a safari company.
- Consulting Session: If you have any questions you would like to ask me about Kenya, I would invite you to contact me for a 30-minute consultation session where I will share my knowledge about East Africa and share experiences that will help you make your trip easier. Reach out to me on email – antonynjoro@gmail.com
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