HOW MANY DAYS SHOULD I SPEND ON A TANZANIA SAFARI?

Traveling to Tanzania for a safari holiday? Planning for how many days you will spend for a private multi-day Tanzania Safari? It depends on your budget, whether you are traveling with kids or solo, and the type of safari and national park you want to visit!

This is what a day on a Tanzania safari might look like; You wake up with the sunrise, eat a hot breakfast chased by strong coffee or tea, then head out with your Nature Horizons safari guide in a fully equipped safari vehicle. For hours you drift across the endless savannah or drop into large calderas teeming with wildlife. You stop and you observe, swimming in awe at the sheer amount of wildlife surrounding you.

After lunch at a sweeping overlook, you weave your way across rivers, snapping photos of two-ton hippos and sunbaked crocodiles. For the afternoon game drive, you spend hours tracking thirty elephants as they return from their favorite watering hole. By nightfall, you are back at your accommodations for a beverage, a hearty meal, some story sharing, stargazing, and finally, sleep.

So, what’s the ideal amount of time to spend in a wildlife paradise?

It’s an unusual question to ask, especially when safaris are so superlative, so huge, and utterly life-changing. Is more better? How do I know the optimal amount of days that will afford me time to witness the Big Five and everything in between?

What’s unique about a Tanzanian safari is how much you’re able to pack into a week. Along the Northern Circuit, for example, there is such a variety of experiences and landscapes that after a full week, you’ll have a bunch to process.

Here are just four of these highlights:

Tarangire National Park: Staff favorite; the best place to see African elephants.

Serengeti National Park: Ground zero for the best wildlife viewing on the planet.

Ngorongoro Crater: Largest intact caldera in the world, a beautiful condensed arena of wildlife.

Lake Manyara: Host to millions of pink flamingos, located in the heart of the Great Rift Valley.

The Serengeti is 5,700 square miles, about the size of the state of Connecticut. The last thing you want to feel when you’re out there and searching for those wild animals is rushed. To have at least four full days on the game drives will give you enough time to see an incredible amount of wildlife. Tack on arrival and departure days, travel to and from the national parks and reserves, and we think the optimal time for your safari experience is 6-7 days. This truly gives you the space to experience the essence of a safari while having time to prepare, decompress, and process.