Why Go on Safari in Southern Tanzania?
Positive Impact Safaris
Southern Tanzania's tourism is focused around sustainability. Each tailor-made trip offers a chance to be actively involved in conservation, community and environment initiatives. Exciting projects are underway that make your travel spend matter.
Superb, Year-round Game Viewing
Thanks to a mild climate, wide open spaces and an abundance of wildlife in less visited destinations like the Nyerere, Ruaha , Katavi and Mahale Mountains National Parks, Tanzania delivers sensational safari experiences any time of the year.
Remote & Wild Safaris
The parks in southern Tanzania are known for their undisturbed wilderness and raw beauty. This part of Tanzania is ideal for intrepid explorers and nature lovers wanting to experience pure, untamed Africa.
Exclusive Lodges & Camps
Despite some camps being situated in remote wilderness locations, they still offer superb amenities, including private plunge pools, spas and gyms. You may even find silver chandeliers and copper bathtubs in the middle of the wilds.
Quick & Easy Air Transfers
There are dedicated airports that service most of Tanzania’s national parks and game reserves. The best Tanzania safaris are fly-in itineraries, which eliminate the need for long road transfers – meaning more time on safari!
Convenient Add-ons
Regular flights and accessibility make it easy to combine your Tanzania safari with a once-in-a-lifetime gorilla trekking adventure in Rwanda or Uganda. The same goes for capping your trip in a tropical paradise like Zanzibar.
From Savannas to Mountains and Tropical Beaches
Safari happens almost everywhere you look in Tanzania. It’s been a way of life in East Africa’s second-largest country for decades.
Few destinations in Africa can rival Tanzania’s diversity of wildlife and landscapes. From the classic savannah destinations of Tanzania’s Northern Circuit, to the palm-fringed paradise island of Zanzibar and the roads less travelled in the county’s stunning south, a Tanzania safari delivers one massive experience after another.
From $500 USD
per person per Night sharing
From $700 CAD
per person per Night sharing
From $1,100 AUD
per person per Night sharing
From €1,050 EUR
per person per Night sharing
From £ 850 GBP
per person per Night sharing
From R16,000 ZAR
per person per Night sharing
Top Safari Destinations in Southern Tanzania
Here are some of our best packages, all completely customisable to your requirements and travel wishes:
Nyerere National Park
Remote, raw and filled with wildlife, Nyerere National Park is Africa’s largest game reserve. Yet unlike the iconic destinations of Tanzania’s Northern Safari Circuit, it remains relatively unknown to outsiders.
The sheer scale of the Nyerere National Park is difficult to imagine. Nearly four times the size of the Serengeti, this massive conservation area is home to Africa’s Big 5 and all the top predators – lion, wild dog, cheetah, leopard and spotted hyena.
Highlights
- Experience responsible tourism and support conservation efforts
- Incredible game viewing, including Tanzania’s largest elephant population
- Tailor-made safaris for couples, honeymooners, families and adventure seekers
- Enjoy walking safaris and boat rides in a remote wilderness
Ruaha National Park
Only 1% of visitors to Tanzania go on safari at Ruaha. Also known as the country’s best-kept secret, Ruaha National Park delivers one of the most rewarding and authentic wildlife experiences in Tanzania.
This fly-in destination offers off-the-beaten-track adventure and as well as luxury and excellent hospitality at beautiful riverside lodges and tented camps.
Highlights
- Few camps translates into an uncrowded safari experience
- Incredible year-round game viewing
- Spectacular scenery
- Easily combined with chimpanzee trekking in the Mahale Mountains
Katavi National Park
One of Tanzania’s best dry-season parks, little-visited Katavi has big prides of lions preying on spectacular buffalo herds. Set in an extension of the Rift Valley between Lake Rukwa and Lake Tanganyika in southwest Tanzania, this magnificent safari destination is wildly remote.
Far fewer tourists venture here than to the region’s more popular national parks, giving intrepid explorers the chance to step back in time and experience the magic of Africa at its most unspoiled.
Highlights
- Observe vast herds of buffalo and prides of lion
- Relax in luxurious accommodations in the heart of the park
- An exclusive safari experience away from the crowds
- One of the most pristine and rugged national parks in Tanzania
Consider Adding...
Zanzibar
The name alone is likely to conjure up images of spice markets, palm-fringed beaches and white-sailed dhows on a turquoise sea – and happily the reality doesn’t disappoint.
Lying only a short distance off the Tanzania coast but at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Zanzibar has long been at the centre of the Indian Ocean experience in East Africa.
Masai Mara
Another bucket-list destination and a must-add to any Serengeti safari, Kenya’s Masai Mara is a sanctuary for an abundance of animals like elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, hyena and the Mara’s famous big cats: lion, leopard and cheetah. It’s also an important stopover for the Wildebeest Migration between about July and November.
Rwanda & Uganda
No other wildlife encounter can rival sitting with endangered gorillas in their natural habitat and observing the fascinating family dynamics of our ancient relatives.
The emerald rainforests of Rwanda and Uganda are incredible destinations for gorilla trekking, Africa’s most powerful wildlife experience.
When To Go
Dry Seasons: Jan–Mar & Jun–Oct
The weather is usually mild and dry from January to March, and most of the safari crowds are absent. June to October is safari’s high season, though Southern Tanzania’s parks see far less visitors than its Northern Circuit, and weather conditions are fantastic. It’s also a great time to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and if it’s a tropical beach getaway you’re after, head to Tanzania’s coast, Zanzibar or other Indian Ocean island retreats between June and March.
Green Season: Nov–Dec
The ‘short rains’ season relieve the dry mid-year winter. Clouds build up in the mornings and break in spectacular, but generally short-lived, showers in the late afternoons.
Migrant birds return from the northern hemisphere and resident plains game give birth, which means the predator action is thrilling. Landscapes are green and lush, which makes for the perfect photography conditions.
Browse our Tanzania resources
Southern Tanzania Safari Trip Ideas
Here are some of our best packages, all completely customisable to your requirements and travel wishes:
Private Safari:
Adventure Tanzania Fly-In Nyerere & Ruaha
Perfect for adventurous couples who want to splurge on luxury, romance and privacy on their Big 5 safari in Tanzania, this 9-day journey takes you to Ruaha and Nyerere National Parks – both are vast, undiscovered and untouched wilderness areas that are little-visited by safari-goers.
Your lodges are intimate and cosy, offering luxury as well as excellent service to ensure you have the most personalised safari experience possible. Spending four days in each allows you to truly immerse yourself in the landscape and gives you ample time to utterly relax at every lodge.
Destinations
- Ruaha National Park
- Nyerere National Park
- Dar es Salaam
PER PERSON Per Night Sharing
FROM $10,100 CAD
PER PERSON Per Night Sharing
FROM $16,150 AUD
PER PERSON Per Night Sharing
FROM €15,350 EUR
PER PERSON Per Night Sharing
FROM £15,300 GBP
PER PERSON Per Night Sharing
FROM R228,000 ZAR
Per Person Per Night SHaring
Fly-in Safari:
Tanzania's Hidden Gems Safari & Island
Begin your journey in Ruaha National Park, a hidden gem teeming with diverse wildlife like leopards and wild dogs. Stay at Jabali Ridge for luxury accommodation, safari adventures, spa treatments, and pool relaxation.
Then transition seamlessly to Pemba Island’s Fundu Lagoon, where white-sand beaches, lush palms, and vibrant culture await. Spend four nights in this secluded paradise, enjoying an exquisite blend of Tanzania’s wild beauty and coastal serenity, with each moment carefully curated for an unforgettable escape.
Destinations
- Ruaha National Park
- Zanzibar Island
- Pemba Island
PER PERSON Per Night SHaring
FROM $11,900 CAD
PER PERSON PER NIGHT
FROM $19,050 AUD
PER PERSON Per Night SHaring
FROM €18,100 EUR
PER PERSON Per Night SHaring
FROM £14,500 GBP
PER PERSON Per Night SHaring
FROM R268,000 ZAR
Per Person Per Night SHaring
How Much is a Tanzania Safari?
Rates generally depend on timing (i.e., key travel seasons like holidays) and level of luxury (the type of amenities and exclusivity).
From $450 – $1650 per person
What Costs Are Included?
Most accommodations are all-inclusive; all your meals, snacks, beverages, alcohol (with some exceptions) are part of your room rate. In addition, your game drives, and other excursions like walking safaris and cultural village visits will all be included. To operate in such remote areas at such a high level of hospitality, it takes some serious logistics and often means guest-to-staff ratios of more than 5 to 1. Not to mention many accommodations offer services like laundry, so you can pack light and travel easy.
The only things you’ll have to pay for are special activities (like hot-air balloon rides and spa treatments) and, in some cases, imported spirits. Beyond that, just gratuities for the incredible staff who will make your stay at each lodge so memorable.
Emma Hill
Tanzania attracts both first-time and repeat visitors to its diverse landscapes and variety of safari experiences for any type of traveller. Southern Tanzania allows travellers to witness a large variety and density of game with few other vehicles and tourists around, and to enjoy both water- and land-based safari activities in Nyerere National Park (Selous). You can travel with your own private driver/guide in a 4x4 vehicle or fly directly to your hand-picked camps and lodges via charter airplane.
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