arusha

Tanzania Safari Routes Distances

Tanzania, our incredible home, is always open for travelers! We can’t wait to share her beauty with you.

Take a look below at what we have to offer: the routes, the accommodations, and the experiences.

The north of Tanzania is full of incredible sights, every way you look. Most of the highlights of the region are in relatively close proximity to each other, making it easy to travel through all of them on safari. The diversity between the parks in this region gives travelers a broad experience of East African nature, culture, and wildlife.

The information here will give you a better understanding of the distances and travel times involved in a private safari in Tanzania. It will be useful as you plan yours!

There is so much opportunity for travel in Tanzania, and your trip can easily include a safari in neighboring Kenya or a beach getaway to idyllic Zanzibar. Get in touch to find your perfect safari!

Arrival day, Kilimanjaro Airport

Your guide will greet you at Kilimanjaro Airport, and, depending on your time of arrival, you will either start your safari immediately or go to your lodge in Arusha to get some rest before heading out on the safari trail the next morning.

Arusha / Kilimanjaro Airport - Lake Manyara National Park

Distance: 130 km
On the road: about 3 hours on paved roads from the lodge in Arusha. From Kilimanjaro Airport - about 4 hours (180 km).

The trip: see the town of Mto Wa Mbu and spend a couple of hours wandering the busy streets. Learn about the lives of the Maasai people and the 100 or so other cultural groups living in the area. Visit plantations, workshops, a local bar (to drink banana beer!), and the market stalls for some local produce. For our lunch, we will enjoy some authentic dishes prepared by locals.

Arusha / Kilimanjaro Airport - Tarangire National Park

Distance: 160 km
On the road: about 3 hours on paved roads.

The trip: From Arusha it takes about 2 hours, from Kilimanjaro Airport about 3 hours (160 km).

Arusha / Kilimanjaro Airport - Arusha National Park

Distance: 50 km
On the road: from Arusha about 1.5 hours on partly-paved roads, from Kilimanjaro Airport about 1 hour.

Lake Manyara National Park - Tarangire National Park

Distance: 100 km
On the road: about 1 to 1½ hours on paved roads.

Lake Manyara National Park - Serengeti Central

Distance: 210 km
On the road: 6 hours on roads partly-paved, but mostly sandy and bumpy.

The trip: drive to Serengeti National Park via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with incredible panoramic views of the Ngorongoro crater below. Eat lunch on the way while heading for the north of the Serengeti. This route goes straight through the heart of the Serengeti in the area of the Seronera River - one of the most thrilling rides in the region.

Things to do (optional): visit a Maasai Boma settlement and experience how semi-nomadic communities live with their age-old traditions.

This route may also be covered by airplane. Please contact us for more information.

Lake Manyara National Park/ Karatu - Serengeti North (Lobo and Mara) / North East (Bolongonya)

Distance: 290 km
On the road: 8-9 hours on roads partly paved, but mostly sandy and bumpy. The road conditions here are poor and you will not have a lot of time to spend on game drives. We recommend to spend a minimum of 2 nights in the North Serengeti Region or opt for a flight in/out.

The trip: the road from Lake Manyara to Serengeti National Park goes through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with incredible panoramic views of the Ngorongoro crater below. This route goes straight through the heart of the Serengeti in the area of the Seronera River - one of the most thrilling rides in the region.

Things to do (optional): visit a Maasai Boma settlement and experience how semi-nomadic communities live with their age-old traditions.

This route may also be covered by airplane. Please contact us for more information.

Lake Manyara National Park - Lake Natron

Distance: 80 km
On the road: 2 hours on mostly sandy and bumpy roads.

The trip: an adventurous route to a special, off-the-beaten-track place. The road to Lake Natron takes you through the cultural home of the Maasai people, passing the archeological site of the stone-age settlement Engaruka, as well as the majestic Ondoyo Lengai, the only active volcano in the Great Rift Valley. Lake Natron fascinates visitors with its colors, varying from pink, to lime green, to red. The concentration of minerals in the water makes this place a surreal and breathtaking landscape (which may also include flamingoes!).

Tarangire National Park - Serengeti Central

Distance: 300 km
On the road: 6-7 hours partly on paved roads, but mostly sandy and bumpy roads.

The trip: the road from Tarangire to Serengeti National Park goes through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with incredible panoramic views of the Ngorongoro crater below. This route goes straight through the heart of the Serengeti in the area of the Seronera River - one of the most thrilling rides in the region.

This route may also be covered by airplane. Please contact us for more information.

Tarangire National Park - South Serengeti (Ndutu)

Distance: 225 km
On the road: 6 hours partly on paved roads, but mostly sandy and bumpy roads.

The trip: the road from Tarangire to Serengeti National Park goes through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with incredible panoramic views of the Ngorongoro crater below. This route includes a great opportunity to spot wildlife as you drive across the southern Serengeti.

This route may also be covered by airplane. Please contact us for more information.

Ngorongoro - Tarangire National Park

Distance: 150 km
On the road: 2 hours mostly on paved roads.

The trip: the road from Ngorongoro takes you through Mto wa Mbu before arriving in Tarangire National Park. You can start the day with a game drive in Ngorongoro and head for Tarangire afterwards, or you can head to Tarangire in the morning and take your game drive there.

Things to do (optional): see the town of Mto Wa Mbu and spend a couple of hours wandering the busy streets. Learn about the lives of the Maasai people and the 100 or so other cultural groups living in the area. Visit plantations, workshops, a local bar (to drink banana beer!), and the market stalls for some local produce. For our lunch, we will enjoy some authentic dishes prepared by locals.

Lake Natron - Serengeti National Park North (Lobo and Mara) and North East (Bolongonya)

Distance: 220 km
On the road: 7 hours mostly on sandy and bumpy roads. A beautifully scenic day-trip!

The trip: head out after breakfast with packed lunch boxes towards the north-eastern part of the Serengeti. Leaving the cliff ridges behind, you will be greeted by a majestic landscape and its residents with their cattle along the way. The landscape changes dramatically once you pass through Klein’s Gate and enter the Serengeti. Your road continues through seemingly-endless savannah with huge herds of grazing animals, and the carnivores which follow them.

Serengeti Central - Ngorongoro

Distance: 160 km
On the road: 3 hours on sandy and bumpy roads.

The trip: you can start the day with a game drive in the Serengeti and head for Ngorongoro right after lunch, or you can head to Ngorongoro in the morning and take your game drive there.

Serengeti Central - Serengeti North (Lobo and Mara) and North East (Bolongonya)

Distance: 140 km
On the road: 4 hours, or combined with a game drive about 7-8 hours. This also depends on the weather conditions, since many of the roads are gravel and corrugated. Alternatively, your guide may advise a different route with better roads, heading along the western outskirts of the Serengeti, with more time for game driving in the Kogatende/Lobo/Mara areas.

The trip: a full-day game drive in the off-the-beaten-track Lobo reserve. This is a relatively remote area of the Serengeti, so you will see real wilderness with rocky outcrops. Here, you will visit the Bologonja Springs, an important watering hole for migrating animals.

Ngorongoro Crater - Lake Eyasi

Distance: 90 km
On the road: about 2 hours on sandy and bumpy roads. These roads may be difficult during the rainy season (November - May).

Lake Eyasi - Arusha / Kilimanjaro Airport

Distance: 180 km
On the road: 4 hours to reach Arusha, partly on paved roads, with some sandy roads. 5 hours (230km) to reach Kilimanjaro Airport.

Arusha - Zanzibar

Time: 1¼-hour flight
From Arusha, you can fly to the Zanzibar archipelago or other beach areas on the coast of Tanzania for a luxurious wind-down after your safari.

A Tanzania Safari Adventure

A ten day safari multi country safari that became an adventure of a lifetime. Our client arrived in Arusha excited to go on a journey through the African bush. Her safari would take her into the depths of Tanzania and Uganda, finding animals that are awed among all others. 10 days and 6 parks was her itinerary for her epic adventure.

Many of us including myself are jealous of this tailor made itinerary. Her first stop was Tarangire National Park. Here she stayed in Sangaiwe Tented Lodge it is has a beautiful view from the room balcony, after the drive and game drive through the park it was a great place to relax and see wildlife still. In the morning after breakfast, she had another game drive through the park seeing various animals and particularly having a few special moments watching elephants by the river.

Exiting the park the went into the Ngorongoro region and spent the night at Country Lodge in Karatu. This is just a stopover before carrying on in the morning in the Serengeti where she headed to the central part to catch the plethora of animals there this time of year. This trek between parks is known for its “serengeti massage”, a term coined because of the continuous corregations on the dirt roads. Lomayani, our driver made this trek as pleasant as possible with colourful conversation and information to keep her happy. Once in the park, she had sightings of leopard, lion, buffalo and rhino allowing her to check of seeing the ‘Big Five’. On the game drives that day and the next two in the Serengeti she had the ability to the wildebeest migration in the Central Serengeti. Tanzania is wildly known for this great migration of animals moving in a southern to northern pattern and back again depending on the season and time of year. This specific time of year the main herd of the migration was in Northern Serengeti and Maasai Mara as the rains have hit that region before the southern and central parts. This guest had sightings of the smaller groups of animals, during her entire trip. Her stay and Serengeti Kati Kati camp was amazing they treated well and made her stay exceptional.

Leaving the park on the third day she headed for Ngorongoro Crater. Some consider this to be the “The Eight Wonder of the World”. With the help of her driver they spotted. Overnighting at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, she had the perfect view of the crater right in front of her. In the morning, after an early breakfast they headed down into the crater to capture the beauty of this bucket list location. A few factors affect this awe inspiring crater; firstly, the scenery of how this crater has become an animal sanctuary; secondly, the diversity and plethora of wildlife; finally the combination of the previous factors has left people speechless and thankful for such amazing places on Earth. Our guest truly enjoyed herself here seeing the range of animals around.

The next day was spent in traveling across to Uganda, where she would have a very different experience on her 10 day African safari. We will dedicate a full blog to her adventures in Uganda with the Gorillas. Send us an email if you want to know more on booking a safari with us and going on an amazing adventure.

A successful Mount Meru Trek

Kilimanjaro Day Tour, Biking, and Lions!

Meaningful Travel Tanzania

Shadows of Africa is proud to present the Meaningful Travel Tanzania, program that will make your traveling experience in Tanzania unforgettable and in same time at customized prices participating in this program you will contribute to education of orphans. Each traveler in Meaningful Travel Tanzania will sponsor a child with school fees for 1 year. Travel, explore and contribute for the development of Tanzanian children to have better education, better future.

Thanks to partner local NGO From Arusha - Green Hope Organization, we are able to offer you an voluntaristic experience in Tanzania. You will spend one week  exploring Arusha and  its surroundings by  visiting local projects covered by Green Hope and additional three days will be spent on Tanzanian safari. If you want to add a meaning and personal growth to your visit in Tanzania, then this program is perfect for you.

During your stay in Arusha, Tanzania

• You will learn few useful Swahili words that you will find useful while you are here
• You will engage with the most vulnerable children (orphans) Visit 3 different orphanages. Hear their needs and wishes, sing a song, play football or any other game activity that you and children will find mutually interesting.
• You will visit the Green Hope Dispensary and look at the procedures and the way that clinic operate; talk with the Doctor at the clinic and find out more about the most common diseases and care, treatment of patients.
• You will meet with HIV positive community and visit 3 different families for home base care visit. Deliver them a small package of food as donation. Hear their challenges and problems they are facing on day to day basis.
• You will visit other NGO that is working on education and community development to the most vulnerable children. Get more information about their work and what they are trying to achieve.
• You will visit the only glass recycling place in town, where the people with disabilities are recycling glass and creating different types of useful decorations, tools and gifts.
• You will visit local craft market, where you will find unique carvings and gifts to buy for family and friends at home.
• You will go out clubbing to party and see the night life of Arusha.

NOTE: Depending on the traveler interest and profession these activities can be edited and changed.

Safari part of the program will start in Arusha and you will visit Lake Manyara, Tarangire National park and Ngorongoro crater!