Tanzania Travel Guide

All you wished to experience was right in front of your eyes

Northern Circuit - Tanzania

We spent 5 days in Tanzania during the first week of January 2017. Despite this being the "off season" (not during the Great Migration), we saw abundant wildlife and felt that our experience was truly 5 star. We visited Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and Serengeti National Park. We saw not only the "Big Five", but countless giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, hippos, gazelles, countless varieties of birds - along with over 50 lions, elephant, African buffalo, cheetah, leopard, and more. The scenery was phenomenal - looked just like the professional travel photos we had seen in advance. Our safari included a visit to a Masai village and Oldupai Gorge (worth it). We stayed in the Serena lodge chain (great accommodations, and lodges blended nicely into the scenery). The roads are mostly dirt and very bumpy - be prepared - and our decision to drive one way and fly back to Arusha on a small regional plane (12 seater) was a good choice. Our guide/driver was highly knowledgable about the area and the wildlife, was a terrific driver, and made our trip. This was our first trip to Africa and the decision to select Tanzania as our safari destination was spot on - would definitely recommend. We travelled in and out of Kilimanjaro Airport and the air and ground service was great. Before you go, invest in a very good pair of binoculars!

Can't say it in words - you have to see the amazing nature and wildlife

I did my safari with *feline safari tanzania* and that was awesome! Everything was perfect organized and worked out.
We saw sooooo many animals especially lions, the big five ,I think everything.
He was polite and always asked us what we wanna see and how we are doing .
We had our own cook and he made us such a lovely food it was soooo deliscous.
I was with them for 4 days camping safari ...I enjoyed so much and I do think a lot about the great time

You can see the Big Five and many others.

A respite from quarantine

After a few months of restrictions of our normal activities, we decided to return to our favorite destination, Tanzania.
We have traveled with African Big Cats in the past and would not consider traveling with any other tour company. Emanuel assisted us in arranging a unique itinerary allowing us to experience new locations. He assured us of the precautions being taken by the country and his company regarding Covid. We saw wash stations, use of hand sanitizers, and sanitizing in all the accommodations and parks. It was a perfect time to experience the parks with so few tourists, and with Emanuel's exceptional guidance. For us to return to Tanzania at this time was the perfect antidote to the restrictions of our daily life. A wonderful break from this "new Normal."
Asante sans, Emanuel

The most eye-opening and life-changing experience I’ve ever had.

I’m writing this review many years late. But my appreciation for Tanzania, the people I met there, and the wildlife is still a driving force in my life. I went in 2012 and my tour guide on this safari was Loth Kornelio and his team. They were absolutely incredible—they had extensive knowledge of the land and wildlife, were so kind, and gave us all memories we’ll cherish forever. I’m so grateful for them and their hard work—I hope to go back some day!

Big beasts, big leaves, big spices

Day one of our trek proper and we were picked up early by our guide (Beerman), who was going to be our driver and tracker for the next three days. We also had our first experience with “African Time” – tell the chef you need breakfast early because you are leaving at 7.30 – “no problems, we will be ready at 7″, only for it to arrive at 8.15 (it was only fruit and muesli!!!)

Anyway, we still didn’t really know what to expect – so we met with our guide for the three day safari (Beerman) and rode off towards the Serengeti National Park. The drive up took about 5 hours and we first had to go through the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation area (Ngorongoro means “cowbell” in Masai because apparently that is what the word sounds like.) We didn’t go into the crater on the first day, instead we drove around the rim and down into the plains of the Serengeti. First of all we were so excited to see anything we stopped to take pictures of whatever we saw, no matter how far away they were. But once we got down onto the vast plain, there were no shortage of things to look at – especially wildebeest, impala and zebra, which are in total abundance.

Approaching dusk, we pulled into our campsite for the night – not exactly completely in the bush (there was at least a toilet (long drop, not very pleasant) but there was no fences and nothing to stop the animals coming in…

Beerman and some others from the safari company cooked us dinner and we were a little disconcerted that they slept in the caged off area that served as the kitchen while we were out in the open!! We managed not to get eaten alive although everyone (apart from me) heard a pride of Lion killing a buffalo scarily close to our campsite.

And that was just day one!!!Day two in the Serengeti started (after swapping stories of hearing lion in the night – some other group got a little over-excited and claimed that the lion were walking in between our tents!!!) with an early morning game drive – we left about 6.30 so any notion of this being a relaxing holiday soon got abandoned.

It wasn’t looking like being a terribly successful morning – we saw a herd of elephant in the distance, a water buck and some interesting birds (as well as the ever present impala and a few buffalo).

Then possibly the highlight of our tour thus far; going back through the main plains of the serengeti we spotted a cheetah in the distance. There were three about two hundred metres to our left and we watched them walking for about 10 minutes. Then, when we thought they were just going to wander off, they suddenly changed direction and headed towards the road. It turns out that they had spotted an Impala standing on a termite mound 300 metres to the right of our road. We watched them, a mother and two young, cross the road right in front of us and then slowly approach and stalk the impala right up until the final chase. The kill happened just over the brow of the hill so we did not see that (and neither impala or cheetah were seen again so we new they had made the kill) but that didn’t stop it being an amazing site!!!

That night we camped on the crater rim, which was alot colder than we had been used to. Also the campsite (another bush camp) was also occupied by an old (and grumpy) buffalo who grazed the site during the night and chased anybody who dared to go to the loo.

Surviving the night on the Crater rim with the not-so-friendly buffalo, day three of our Serengeti excursion started early again (6am) and straight after breakfast we descended through the mist into the crater itself, a massive caldera. David Attenborough could possibly tell you why but there is but there is an unbelievably amount of animals in the one location. Unlike the plains of the Serengeti, these animals do not migrate so there is always alot to see. The first thing we say as soon as we reached the bottom was this massive bull elephant. We had a distant view of a black Rhine, saw some Zebra giving themselves a sandbath and then spotted the aftermath of a lion kill. The Hyena were fighting over the carcass.

Ruaha National Park, the best hidden secret

After several safaris in Kenia and Uganda, we decided to go to Southern Tanzania to visit the still unspoiled Selous and Ruaha parks. Ruaha National Park is a beauty. From the landing at the airstrip, you see elephants, zebra, giraffe,... This park is totally uncrowded, you can drive around for several hours without seeing another vehicle. Wildlife is therefore not disturbed by jeeps and is very relaxed. We saw at least 12 lions (even up to 10m), cheeta, leopard, and of course dozens of elephants and hippos. Ruaha is a must for game drive lovers... We stayed outside the park at Tandala Tented Camp. A beauty...very comfortable tents, great bar, excellent food, very friendly staff. Masai protect you as wildlife come into the camp and every evening many elephants come to the waterhole in the camp.

Unforgettable honeymoon experience in Tanzania with Jiwe adventures

We spent our honeymoon in Tanzania during and made an 8-day Safari with Jiwe adventures. It was an outstanding and very unique experience which we will never forget! Our trip went from Arusha to Tarangire National Park (2 nights), to Lake Manyara (1 night), to Central Serengeti (2 nights), to South Serengeti/Lake Ndutu (1 night), to Ngorongoro (1 night) and back to Arusha. If you want to make a shorter trip, we recommend to skip Lake Manyara, all other places should not be missed!
Each stop was very different from the other with new highlights every day. We had wonderful lodges and especially recommend Lemala (Tarangire), Ndutu (South Serengeti) and Kubu Kubu (Serengeti). All of them had great views into the endless African wilderness with Zebra & Co. visiting us at the balcony, luxury accommodation, fantastic food as well as very friendly staff. Our driver Chris was super! He drove us to breathtaking places, made us see the big five (finally the rhinos on our last day in Ngorongoro crater), served delicious lunch every day and did not get tired of answering our countless questions from African animal behavior to Tanzanian economy and Massai traditions :) Thanks again Chris, we hope to see you again one day!

An underrated diamond in the rough.

I cannot compare the experience of the safari to that of others I have been to because Tanzania has surpassed all my previous adventures tenfold. A lot of this owes to the brilliant effort given by our safari guide who ensured we witnessed the already impressive wildlife in the most exciting fashion.
Thanks to him, we didn't just see the Big 5 and the other magnificent beasts, but experienced them.
The accommodation and staff were spectacularly suited to our needs and the food was another experience that cannot be found anywhere else.
Finally, I am obliged to implore future Tanzanian travellers to take a moment at night and look up. You won't regret it!