Best Things To Do in Tanzania – Our Expert’s Choice

50 Best Things To Do in Tanzania

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   1. Follow the Great Migration Through the Serengeti

   Some 2 million wildebeest are involved in the world’s largest mammal migration

   The annual migration through Serengeti National Park has been called the greatest wildlife spectacle on Earth. With good cause. Every year, an estimated 2 million wildebeest, zebra and other grazers undertake a clockwise migration through the

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   vast unfenced ecosystem focused on this national park. There’s drama throughout the year, whether you visit in the calving season, catch the dust-kicking columns on a northward or southward march, or witness an adrenaline-charged crossing of the Mara or Grumeti Rivers.Where the wildebeest march, the carnivores follow. Serengeti’s ungulates provide a movable feast to what is probably the world's largest remaining lion population. The park also supports substantial numbers of leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena, Nile crocodile and smaller predators such as jackal and serval. Indeed, if any one African park can lay claim to being the world's greatest all-round safari destination, it is surely the Serengeti.

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   Serengeti Safaris About Serengeti NP

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   2. Chill on Palm-shaded Beaches on Zanzibar Island

   The Spice Island also boasts dazzling coral reefs and the historic Stone Town

   Whether you head there for some post-safari downtime or as a beach holiday destination in its own right, Zanzibar never fails to enchant. The cultural focal point of this beautiful Indian Ocean island is Stone Town,

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   an enclave of Swahili traditionalism whose characterful alleys are lined with historic landmarks. Offshore, the island is hemmed in by shallow turquoise waters and multicolored coral reefs teeming with marine life. Inland, you can hike through tropical forests alive with monkeys, or visit the aromatic plantations alluded to in the nickname ‘Spice Island’.But for most visitors, Zanzibar’s main attraction is those postcard-perfect beaches. Lined with swaying palms, seafood restaurants and resorts to suit all tastes and budgets, the bone-white beaches of Zanzibar offer something for everyone. Collectively, they also provide perfect conditions for sunbathing, barefoot walks, swimming, kitesurfing, snorkeling, kayaking and a host of other seaside activities.

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   Safari & Zanzibar Packages About Zanzibar Island

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   3. Stand on the Snowy Summit of Kilimanjaro

   The multiday hike up Africa’s tallest mountain is challenging but achievable

   It is well known that Kilimanjaro, which rises to an altitude of 5,895m/19,341ft above the dusty plains of eastern Tanzania, is Africa’s tallest peak. But this extinct volcano is also the world’s loftiest freestanding mountain, with

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   a prominence of 4,900m/16,100ft from its base to its summit, and the highest that can be climbed without specialist equipment. It’s not an easy hike. A minimum of five days and a reasonable level of fitness are required. But it should be achievable to anybody who is sufficiently well prepared and determined.The rewards of a Kilimanjaro hike are plentiful. Accompanied by an experienced guide, you’ll set off in a rainforest alive with colorful monkeys and birds, before ascending into an Afro-alpine moorland studded with surreal giant lobelias. And the final nighttime ascent up slopes of loose black volcanic rocks brings you to the snowcapped summit in time (weather permitting) to enjoy a magnificent sunrise.

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   Kilimanjaro Climbing Tours

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   4. Descend Into the Eden-like Ngorongoro Crater

   The world’s largest volcanic caldera doubles as a stellar Big Five destination

   It’s incredible to think that Ngorongoro, back in its fiery volcanic prime, stood taller than Mt Kilimanjaro does today. That high summit has long since collapsed, but what remains is still nothing short of spectacular. This

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   is the world’s largest intact volcanic crater: a 260km²/100mi² expanse of grassland enclosed by a circle of 600m-/1,968ft-high cliffs.No less memorable is Ngorongoro’s wildlife. Massive herds of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra and gazelle provide sport to Africa’s densest populations of lion and spotted hyena. Dignified old elephant bulls with massive tusks forage amid fever trees. Black rhinos browse in the bushy grassland. Saline Lake Magadi is tinged pink by uncountable flocks of flamingos. The forested crater rim, meanwhile, is a haven for leopards and a colorful array of highland birds. Indeed, few places in the world offer a combination of wildlife and scenery comparable to Ngorongoro Crater.

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   Ngorongoro Safaris About Ngorongoro Crater

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   5. Holiday on Blissful Indian Ocean Beaches

   Tanzania’s mainland coastline and islands are lined with idyllic beaches

   With tourism to Tanzania being so focused on safaris and Zanzibar, it is often forgotten that the mainland coastline comprises 800km/500mi of gorgeous Indian Ocean frontage. Here, devastatingly beautiful beaches such as Ushongo, Kilwa and Bagamoyo

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   are ideal for a refreshingly off-the-beaten-track seaside break. There is also well-developed Kunduchi Beach, close to the bustling port city of Dar es Salaam. And farther north, Saadani National Park is the only Indian Ocean beach destination where lions and elephants still roam wild.Then, of course, there are the islands. Zanzibar needs little introduction, except to say that its beaches are every bit as wonderful as reputation suggests. And if Zanzibar is too much of a tourist hot spot for your tastes, try Pemba or Mafia, a pair of Indian Ocean islands that are just as idyllic, but have a far more exclusive feel.

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   Tanzania Beach Packages Best Beaches in Tanzania

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   6. Track the Big Five on the Northern Safari Circuit

   Northern Tanzania is home to some of Africa’s most celebrated national parks

   Two of Africa’s greatest and most famous safari destinations are the highlights of Tanzania’s Northern circuit. These are Serengeti National Park, with its prolific big cats and unique wildebeest migration, and Ngorongoro Crater, where all the

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   Big Five are regularly seen on one scenic game drive. Indeed, were you only ever to do one safari, Serengeti and Ngorongoro would be difficult to improve on as a first choice.But while almost everyone who visits the region goes to Serengeti and Ngorongoro, the Northern safari circuit incorporates several other superb national parks. Tarangire, for instance, supports incredible concentrations of elephants and ancient baobabs, while Lake Manyara is known for its tree-climbing lions and sensational Rift Valley setting. Lesser-known highlights and add-ons include forest-swathed Arusha National Park on the slopes of Mt Meru, the black rhinos of Mkomazi, and chimp trekking on the under-the-radar Rubondo Island.

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   Northern Circuit Safaris

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   7. Enjoy the Urban Vibe of Arusha

   The lively ‘safari capital’ of Tanzania has an agreeable highland setting

   Rapidly growing Arusha is the main starting point for safaris to Serengeti National Park and elsewhere in northern Tanzania. An attractively leafy city, it stands on the fertile foothills of Mt Meru. This dormant volcano rises

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   to 4,562m/14,967ft, making it Africa’s fifth-highest massif.Although most tourists just pass through, Arusha can be rewarding to explore in its own right. Urban highlights include a museum dedicated to tanzanite (a violet-blue precious stone found nowhere else in the world) and a great choice of restaurants and craft markets. Farther afield, Arusha is a useful base for day visits to some fascinating cultural programs run by the local Maasai people and other rural communities. Also nearby is the gorgeous Lake Duluti, while the forested slopes of Mt Meru are protected in Arusha National Park.

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   Safaris From Arusha More About Arusha

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   8. Head Off the Beaten Track on a Southern Safari

   The Southern circuit includes Tanzania’s two largest parks: Nyerere and Ruaha

   Tanzania’s Southern safari circuit is the connoisseur’s choice. At its wild heart, Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous Game Reserve) extends across 30,893km²/11,928mi², making it slightly larger than Belgium. Nyerere is home to four of the

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   Big Five (no rhino) as well as an abundance of giraffes and a large African wild dog population. But the park’s defining feature is the Rufiji River, where you’ll encounter countless hippos and some terrifyingly large crocodiles on boat trips.When it comes to wilderness, Nyerere is outdone by Ruaha National Park. Here, it is not unusual to see lion, leopard, cheetah and African wild dog in the course of one safari, along with a high diversity of antelope and other grazers. Elsewhere, the underrated Mikumi National Park, like Nyerere and Ruaha, hosts four of the Big Five, while the forested Udzungwa Mountains shelter three monkey and several bird species found nowhere else in the world.

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   Southern Circuit Safaris

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   9. Glide Above the Wilds of Tanzania in a Balloon

   A hot-air balloon ride provides a fresh perspective on the African sunrise

   Dawn is a magical time on safari. As the emerging sun smears the sky gold and orange, the lightly chilled air is filled with anticipation of the day’s wildlife encounters. And it is even more exciting

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   when experienced from a hot-air balloon, which offers an eagle’s-eye perspective on the sunrise as herds of elephant, giraffe and antelope mill around the plains below. Finally, when you descend back to Earth, this thrilling outing is capped by a delicious champagne bush breakfast.Serengeti National Park is Tanzania’s most established ballooning destination. Here, balloons depart daily from up to four different launch points scattered around the park. Time things right (aim for the Western Corridor in June or the Mara River area in September) and you might even find yourself gliding slowly above the wildebeest migration. Elsewhere in Tanzania, dawn balloon safaris are also offered in Tarangire and Ruaha National Parks.

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   Tanzania Balloon Safaris About a Serengeti Balloon Safari

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    10. Go Chimp Trekking in Tanzania’s Western Jungles

    Humankind’s closest genetic kin can be sought in three remote national parks

    We are more closely related to chimpanzees – and they to us – than any other living creatures. And although these fascinating black apes are primarily creatures of the West African rainforest, they also inhabit western

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    Tanzania, which vies with Uganda as the best place in the world to track them.For many, Gombe National Park, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, is the world’s most alluring chimp trekking destination. This is because it is where, back in the early 1960s, the acclaimed primatologist Jane Goodall established what is now the world’s longest-running wildlife research project. Also on Lake Tanganyika, the wilder and more scenic Mahale Mountains National Park hosts Tanzania’s largest chimp population. The community visited by tourists there was also habituated in the 1960s. A third option, in Lake Victoria, is Rubondo Island National Park, where you can track a chimp community whose ancestors were introduced in the 1970s and left to go wild.

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    Tanzania Chimp Trekking Tours