A Tanzania Safari Holiday promises some of Africa’s most evocative places that’ll touch the heart of any kind of traveler. There’s the magical offshore ‘spice island’ of Zanzibar. The snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro rising dramatically above the surrounding scrubland. The endless plains of Serengeti National Park, the alienesque vistas of Ngorongoro Crater, and the vast tracts of bush enclosed within the Selous Game Reserve. Dusty Olduvai Gorge is the site of some of the most important hominid fossil finds ever, while the lush Gombe Stream is where Jane Goodall embarked on her pioneering chimpanzees’ study, our closest living relatives. The Maasai Steppe in the north, where Africa’s most charismatic pastoralists herd their cattle alongside fields of grazing wildlife. On the same map, you’ll find an Indian Ocean coast lined by the modern port of Dar es Salaam and its legendary medieval forbear Kilwa, as well as the sky-blue expanses of lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, Niassa-Malawi, Manyara, and Natron, the last situated below the temperamental volcano Doinyo Lengai.
Complemented by its fabulous natural wealth, Tanzania, as a leading East Africa safari destination, boasts of the finest and most exclusive safari lodges and camps and a world-class selection of city hotels and beach resorts you’ll find anywhere in Africa. The latter concentrated on the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Mafia.
We tailor our Tanzania wildlife safari holidays around Arusha and the northern safari circuit. Here, a well-defined tourist trail centers upon the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire national parks. But the region also boasts a wealth of more obscure highlights, among them ancient rock art of Kondoa, the hunter-gatherer cultures of Lake Eyasi, the biodiverse forests of Amani, and the primeval volcanic landscape of Lake Natron and Doinyo Lengai. It is also a region that offers some fine hiking, most famously the sapping climb of Kilimanjaro, the scenic ascent up Mount Meru (the fifth highest in Africa), and limitless opportunities rambling in the Usambara.
Safaris and wildlife viewing are also conducted by many operators in the southern and western safari circuits, though not as well known as the Serengeti and other Tanzania safari parks of the north. The south boasts three superb safari destinations, namely Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha and Mikumi national parks. These parks feel very untrammeled by comparison with the north, and Selous, in particular, is recommended to adventurous safarigoers who want to supplement conventional game drives with guided bush walks and boat trips on the Rufiji River. Wilder still is Katavi National Park, a great plains reserve which, together with the Mahale Mountains – the finest place in Africa to track chimpanzees – forms the cornerstone of the truly off-the-beaten-track western safari circuit.
Finally, there is the coast and offshore islands. The prime Tanzania holiday attraction here is the island of Zanzibar, with its atmospheric Swahili stone town, postcard-perfect beaches, and world-class diving and snorkeling adventures. The lesser-known islands of Pemba and Mafia offer a similar bouquet of attractions. At the same time, those with a yen for exploration point to the historic but little-visited old ports of Bagamoyo, Kilwa, Pangani, and Tanga. Also surprisingly characterful and unaffected by tourism is Dar es Salaam’s port, Tanzania’s largest city, and former capital.
