New to safari

New to safari? Start here

Six questions, answered straight, in the order people actually ask them. Read it in a few minutes, then tell us the basics and we will do the rest.

How many days?

Four days is a taste: Tarangire, the crater rim, one night on the plains. Six is the sweet spot. Eight or more buys the far north in migration season, or a week on the coast at the end.

See the safaris

4 days: A taste of the northern circuit, and enough to see the crater properly.
6 days: The sweet spot. Two nights in the Serengeti instead of one, and no day spent only driving.
8+ days: The migration in the far north, or the northern circuit and Zanzibar in one trip.

When to go?

There is no bad month, only different months. June to October is the dry season: thin grass, animals gathered at water, and the crossings in the far north. Come in the green season and you trade a little certainty for space, colour and quiet.

The migration, month by month

The dry season, filled

Quieter month:Jan
Quieter month:Feb
Quieter month:Mar
Quieter month:Apr
Quieter month:May
Good month:Jun
Good month:Jul
Good month:Aug
Good month:Sep
Good month:Oct
Quieter month:Nov
Quieter month:Dec

January to March: Calving on the southern plains, with the predators close behind.
April and May: Green, the quietest parks of the year, with rain most afternoons.

Where?

Almost every first safari runs the northern circuit, and it starts in Arusha. Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti sit within a day's drive of each other, so you travel by road and see the country in between. Zanzibar is a short flight east, which is why so many trips end there.

All the parks

What does a day look like?

You are up before the sun and out on the first drive while the air is still cold and everything is moving. Back for a long lunch and the hot middle of the day, then out again until the light goes. Dinner is by the fire, and it is usually early to bed.

Read a day by day itinerary

Wildebeest crossing the Mara River, from Nora's vehicle.

What does it cost?

Park and conservation fees are charged per person for every day you are inside, and they set the floor before a camp is even chosen. Above that floor the difference is mostly where you sleep, from a lodge outside the gate to a tented camp inside the park. Tell us a band and we will price real camps against it, or say honestly if it will not stretch.

Tell us a budget

Per person, excluding international flights

Under $3,000 per person
$3,000 to $5,000 per person
$5,000 to $8,000 per person
Over $8,000 per person

We do not publish a headline price, because it follows the itinerary. Send us the basics and you get a real figure with the camps named.

What do I need?

Most visitors need a tourist visa. For many nationalities it can be applied for online or bought on arrival, but check the rule for your own passport well ahead. Yellow fever is required only if you arrive from a country with a risk of it, malaria prevention is recommended everywhere, and a travel clinic six weeks ahead settles both. Pack soft bags rather than hard cases, layers for cold mornings, neutral colours, a hat, and more memory than you think you need.

The rest of the questions