Wedded Wonderland

Luxury holidays in Tanzania

Tanzania travel packages

Stand on the rim of Ngorongoro as the mist lifts off the crater floor. Tell us your month and we follow the Serengeti herds, with camps, flights and guides between parks.

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Watch the Serengeti herds, then rest on Zanzibar

Tanzania is for travellers who want the safari to feel vast. The Serengeti holds the great migration all year, with calving on the southern plains early in the year and river crossings in the north in the middle of the year. Your camp can be placed wherever the herds are that month, and in the quieter south, Ruaha and Nyerere give you lion and wild dog with hardly another vehicle.

Ngorongoro Crater is a different experience, a sunken world where black rhino browse near the lions and buffalo. Tarangire draws big elephant herds to its baobabs in the dry months. Many guests finish on Zanzibar, walking past the carved doorways and spice markets of Stone Town before a few days on white sand beside the Indian Ocean.

Find your Serengeti dates in the list

Tanzania

Kilimanjaro by the Machame Route

10 days · 9 nights

Arusha → Arusha National Park → Machame → Barranco → Kosovo Camp → Uhuru Peak → Arusha

You begin with an acclimatisation walk in Arusha National Park, between Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. The climb follows the Machame Route through rainforest, moorland and the Barranco canyon, with two shorter days built in to help you adjust. Summit day takes you to Uhuru Peak before you descend for a farewell dinner in Arusha.

Price on enquirySee the journey: Kilimanjaro by the Machame Route

Tanzania

Ngorongoro, the Serengeti and Amboseli

11 days · 10 nights

Arusha → Ndutu → Ngorongoro Crater → Serengeti National Park → Arusha → Amboseli National Park → Nairobi

You fly from Arusha to Ndutu and stay near the Ngorongoro Crater, descending to its floor twice. Three days on the Serengeti follow before you fly back to Arusha and drive across the border into Kenya. Your last three nights are at a new lodge beside Amboseli, with Kilimanjaro on the skyline.

Price on enquirySee the journey: Ngorongoro, the Serengeti and Amboseli

Decide between the northern circuit and the south

The north has the crater and the migration, and the south trades crowds for wilderness.

  • Arusha

    The safari town below Mount Meru, where most journeys begin, with coffee farms and a small national park nearby.

  • Serengeti

    Endless plains where more than a million wildebeest move through the year, followed by lions, cheetahs and hyenas.

  • Ngorongoro Crater

    A collapsed volcano with grassland, a soda lake and rhino on its floor, seen from lodges on the rim.

  • Tarangire

    Baobab trees and some of the largest elephant herds in Tanzania, at their best in the dry season.

  • Mount Kilimanjaro

    Africa's highest mountain, seen from the plains or climbed over a week with an experienced team.

Book your own Serengeti vehicle and guide

Tanzania is best on a private safari with your own guide, and small group departures and tailor-made journeys are also on offer.

  • Private tours

    Your own vehicle and guide, so a long wait at a river crossing is your choice.

  • Small group tours

    A small group shares a vehicle and guide on the northern circuit, crater and plains.

  • Safaris

    Game drives across the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, with mobile camps placed near the herds.

Time Tanzania around calving and crossings

Calving fills the southern Serengeti early in the year, and the Mara River crossings follow in the middle of the year.

  • JanuaryGood

    Calving begins on the southern Serengeti plains, with short showers.

  • FebruaryBest

    Peak calving season in the southern Serengeti, with predators close by.

  • MarchMixed

    Long rains begin, the herds still graze the southern plains.

  • AprilAvoid

    The wettest month, some roads are hard going and several camps close.

  • MayMixed

    Rains ease, the herds start moving north through the western Serengeti.

  • JuneGood

    Dry season begins, with river crossings in the western corridor.

  • JulyBest

    Dry and cool, the herds reach the northern Serengeti and the Mara River.

  • AugustBest

    Mara River crossings in the north, Tarangire's elephants at their busiest.

  • SeptemberBest

    Herds still in the north, dry bush makes game easy to spot.

  • OctoberGood

    Herds head south, warm days and fewer vehicles in the parks.

  • NovemberMixed

    Short rains return, the plains turn green as the herds arrive.

  • DecemberGood

    Herds settle on the southern plains, festive dates book early.

Reach Kilimanjaro airport through a hub

Most travellers fly into Kilimanjaro or Dar es Salaam via Johannesburg or a Gulf hub.

  • Sydney (one stop): about 22 h
  • Melbourne (one stop): about 22 h
  • Brisbane (one stop): about 23 h
  • Perth (one stop): about 16 h
  • Los Angeles (one stop): about 26 h
  • London (one stop): about 13 h
  • Dubai (one stop): about 8 h

Join Tanzania with Kenya or Uganda

The migration crosses into Kenya's Mara, and Uganda's gorilla forests are a short flight away.

  • Kenya

    The Maasai Mara's migration and elephants beneath Kilimanjaro.

  • Uganda

    Mountain gorillas in Bwindi and chimpanzees in Kibale.

  • Zambia

    Livingstone's side of the falls, with Chobe and the Okavango.

Check the details before you fly to Tanzania

How do I get a Tanzania eVisa?
You apply online before you travel. Most visitors, Australian passport holders among them, need a visa, though some single entry visas are issued on arrival. You must also buy inbound travel insurance from the National Insurance Corporation for the mainland, or the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation for Zanzibar. Check your own government's travel advice before you book, as rules change. Your travel expert confirms the rules for your passport when you book.
Where are the Serengeti herds during calving season?
The herds gather on the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti and Ndutu to give birth early in the year, which draws lions and cheetahs. Your travel expert places a mobile camp nearby for those months.
How many nights does the northern circuit need?
Seven or eight nights covers Tarangire, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti at an easy pace. Add four nights on Zanzibar if you want the beach as well.
When should we travel to Tanzania?
The long dry season in the middle of the year is the classic safari time, with Mara River crossings in the north. The long rains in April and May bring fewer visitors and some camp closures.
Can we climb Kilimanjaro as part of the trip?
Yes, but the main routes take six to eight days on the mountain, so the safari follows the climb. Your travel expert arranges a guided climb with rest days before the Serengeti.
Is Ngorongoro Crater worth a full day?
Yes. Vehicles descend about 600 metres to the crater floor, where black rhino, lion and buffalo live all year, and a full day allows a picnic by the hippo pool. A lodge on the rim makes the early descent easy.
Is Zanzibar a good way to end a honeymoon?
Many couples fly from the Serengeti to Zanzibar for four or five nights, with Stone Town first and then a beach on the north or east coast. A sunset dhow sail is the usual way to mark the occasion.
Are the southern parks worth adding?
Ruaha and Nyerere are wild and far less visited, with big lion prides, wild dogs, walking safaris and boat trips. They suit a second safari or travellers who have already seen the north.

Tell us about your trip to Tanzania

Tell us when you want to go, for how long and who is travelling. Your travel expert replies in writing with a trip shaped around you.

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