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User Reviews of Lake Manyara National Park (288 Reviews)

Lake Manyara Safaris Lake Manyara National Park
Sort By: Date Most Helpful 1-10 of 73 Reviews

Average User Rating

3.9722 / 5 4 /5
3.8696 / 5 4.2202 / 5 3.9344 / 5 4.0900 / 5

Rating Breakdown

5 star 105 / 10 105
4 star 91 / 10 91
3 star 73 / 10 73
2 star 17 / 10 17
1 star 2 / 10 2
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Male avatar icon mpotechin Canada flag CA       Visited: June 2011 Reviewed: Aug 7, 2011

20-35 years of age

The review below is the personal opinion of mpotechin and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 3 / 5 5 / 5 / 5

Lake Manyara is an interesting location that is very different from what one expects in East Africa. The lake provides year-round water, which makes Lake Manyara green and lush, and this location is one of the best for monkeys and baboons. We found, however, that the game drive here was a bit lacking compared to the other three locations we visited. The lake is full of flamingos, but there are no roads passing nearby (at least there were not when we did our game drive), so all we saw was a pink haze in the distance. We also saw small numbers of elephants, lions, giraffes... but after being spoiled by the amount of wildlife in the other parks, we were a wee bit disappointed. It is interesting to see this location, due to its dissimilarity from the other parks, but if you want to save money by cutting a day from the safari, this is the one to skip.

Male avatar icon David L United States flag US       Visited: March 2024 Reviewed: Apr 9, 2024

Email David L  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of David L and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 5 / 5 3 / 5 0 / 5

There are some elephants. There are lots of monkeys. There are birds. The park itself is dying as the lake grows and kills the trees. The other part of the park seems overgrown. You really only see animals that are within 6ft of the road. If you have been on other safari’s, I would recommend skipping it.

The night safari is a waste as well.

Male avatar icon Keir United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: December 2023 Reviewed: Feb 7, 2024

Email Keir  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Keir and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 3 / 5 5 / 5 0 / 5

On the morning I did the game drive, most of the animals seemed to be in bed. But we did see some, and the Sykes monkeys were delightful.

Male avatar icon Frank Switzerland flag CH       Visited: November 2023 Reviewed: Nov 28, 2023

Email Frank  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Frank and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
2 / 5 3 / 5 3 / 5 3 / 5

We have seen just one elefant and a few other animals. Bird watching was better. Scenery at the lake side nice. Djungle forest beautiful.

Female avatar icon Paula Finland flag FI       Visited: May 2023 Reviewed: Jun 11, 2023

Email Paula  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of Paula and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
2 / 5 3 / 5 5 / 5 3 / 5

We sadly did not see much wildlife at Lake Manyara but we loved the nature and landscapes.

Male avatar icon Haavard Norway flag NO       Visited: December 2019 Reviewed: Feb 10, 2020

Email Haavard  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of Haavard and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 / 5 5 / 5 / 5

A lot of elephants. This is the place where you come clostest to the elephants. There is some gaselles and monkeys here, but not that many other animals.

Female avatar icon Ava United States flag US       Visited: July 2019 Reviewed: Jul 30, 2019

Email Ava  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of Ava and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 3 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5

We went to Lake Manyara after visiting the other places, and it's just not as exciting as the Serengeti, or as beautiful as the Ngorongoro crater. They have a lot of cool birds there, a variety of monkeys, and the lake is beautiful with some nice vistas, but you just don't see as many animals here. It may have been a better place to go first, as it felt lackluster when we visited as our last destination. I would have rather spent another day in the Serengeti rather than stopping here.

Male avatar icon Polwach Wudhikulprapan Thailand flag TH       Visited: June 2018 Reviewed: Jul 8, 2018

Email Polwach Wudhikulprapan  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of Polwach Wudhikulprapan and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
4 / 5 4 / 5 3 / 5 3 / 5

Lake Manyara is pretty small comparing to other national parks we visited. What we like about this place is that we saw lions resting on the trees which was quite spectacular, thanks to the springwater that has an influence on their behaviors. There were not so many kinds of wild animals to see here although olive baboons were notably abundant. The lanscape is a mix of plain and forest and not so scenic as Serengeti or Ngorongoro.

Female avatar icon Beth United States flag US       Visited: April 2018 Reviewed: May 29, 2018

Email Beth  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Beth and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 / 5 4 / 5 / 5

It was rainin and one of the rivers flooded so we were unable to access a large portion of the park it seemed. It is heavily forested which made it difficult to spot wildlife, but still very beautiful.

Male avatar icon Robert United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: February 2018 Reviewed: Apr 6, 2018

Email Robert  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of Robert and not that of SafariBookings.
3 / 5 3 /5
3 / 5 / 5 4 / 5 / 5

Wrong time of year for the flamingos, wild life was poor.