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Lake Manyara Safari - Compare 2,049 Tours

3.8/5  –  330 Lake Manyara Safari Reviews

Lake Manyara National Park is a worthy member of Tanzania’s world-famous Northern safari circuit. With the escarpment (very long steep cliff) of the Great Rift Valley to the west and the expansive Lake Manyara in the east, the park is a narrow strip of forest-filled land that’s known for unique wildlife experiences and beautiful scenery. It’s an easy park to explore, and you probably won’t need as many days here as you might in some of the larger and more complex parks. That said, the rewards of a visit to Lake Manyara are rich indeed, and it ends up being some travelers’ favorite park in East Africa.

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5 Questions About Lake Manyara Safaris

1. Am I likely to see tree-climbing lions in Lake Manyara National Park?
2. How many days are recommended for a Lake Manyara safari?
3. Which other parks are easily combined with Lake Manyara?
4. What is the best time to visit Lake Manyara National Park?
5. What is the cost of a Lake Manyara safari?
 
 

5 Questions About Lake Manyara Safaris

Answered by Anthony Ham

Am I likely to see tree-climbing lions in Lake Manyara National Park?

“Lake Manyara is famous for being one of few national parks in Africa where you can see tree-climbing lions. While there are no guarantees that you’ll see them, there’s a reasonable chance that you will. Always remember to look up as you’re driving through the forest while you’re in the park. You might just find yourself face-to-face with a family of lions draped along a branch and resting in the shade. If they’re up in a tree some distance from the track (there’s no off-road driving allowed in the park), then you might not see them. But lions everywhere are known for resting in the shade during the hottest part of the day. Lions here often spend a whole day up a tree, making them easier to see than if they were hidden away in a thicket at ground level.”

1

How many days are recommended for a Lake Manyara safari?

“I recommend having 1 full day to enjoy the park on your safari. In order for this to happen, you’ll need to organize a 3-day safari in the park when looking at the different tours and packages on offer. That’s because your transfers to and from the park have to be factored in. A 1-day safari is effectively a day trip, while a 2-day safari will mean that you travel to Lake Manyara on day 1, sleep overnight there, and then leave the park on day 2. Only on a 3-day safari will you get to enjoy a full day in the park. An extra day is always worthwhile here. It will enable you to get to know the park better. It can also mean that you spend some time relaxing in your accommodations or enjoying the neighboring provincial town of Mto wa Mbu.”

2

Which other parks are easily combined with Lake Manyara?

“There are lots of choices when it comes to visiting other parks as an add-on to your safari, as Lake Manyara lies in the heart of some of the best safari country anywhere in East Africa. Most safaris to northern Tanzania start in Arusha, then visit Lake Manyara National Park, followed by Ngorongoro Crater, before moving on to Serengeti National Park. These three alone have all the makings of a fabulous safari. If you have the time, you could easily add Tarangire National Park to the safari, probably before visiting Lake Manyara. With even more time, you could take in Arusha National Park, just outside Arusha and home to Mt Meru. To climb Mt Kilimanjaro, you’ll need to add a week to 10 days to your overall safari, but it’s certainly possible.”

3

What is the best time to visit Lake Manyara National Park?

“If you’re here to see wildlife, June to October is the best time for a Lake Manyara safari. This is when you can look forward to the best weather on your trip, with clear skies, mild temperatures and cool evenings (although it’s possible for the short rains to begin in October). And because it’s the Dry season (when animals are drawn to fewer and shrinking water sources to drink), you have a much higher chance of seeing the animals you’ve come so far to see on your holiday.”

4

What is the cost of a Lake Manyara safari?

“There is lots of variation when it comes to the cost of your Lake Manyara safari holiday, especially because there are so many tours and packages to choose from. All that can be said is that the cheapest budget safari might start at around US$150 per person per day, and this can rise to US$500 per person per day or even more for a high-end luxury safari. Unless you’re on a self-drive safari, which is a little unusual in northern Tanzania, these quoted prices should include all park entry fees (US$53/17.70 per adult/child per day), accommodation (including camping equipment), a guide, driver, vehicle, food, water, and two game drives per day (one in the early morning, the other late afternoon). On a really cheap camping safari, you might be expected to help out around camp. Prices may be a little cheaper outside the high season months, although there aren’t many of these: high season in Lake Manyara runs from July to March. A group safari (where you’ll share the guide, vehicle and driver) is much cheaper than a private safari (where you’ll have these things for yourself, but you’ll also have to pay for them).”

5

Lake Manyara Safari Reviews

3.8/5 330 Reviews
Expert
Ariadne van Zandbergen  –  
South Africa ZA

Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.

Elephants, Tree-climbing Lions & Dramatic Scenery
4/5

Lake Manyara National Park is one of Tanzania’s most scenic parks. The lakeshore with its floodplains gives way to acacia woodland below the steep walls of the Rift Valley escarpment. As you enter the park, you’ll find yourself in lush...

Full Review

Expert
Philip Briggs  –  
South Africa ZA

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

Tanzania in Microcosm
4/5

The dramatic setting of Lake Manyara was once extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest that I had seen in Africa” and it is difficult to take issue with this bold assertion. The lake, a fluctuating alkaline body set within a...

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Pierre Andre Plotkins  –  
Canada CA
Reviewed: Mar 23, 2026
4/5

In March vegetation was lush, but there was a lot of flooding. Land cruising was in effected by flooding ! Wild animals were less stressed due to abundant grazing. Encounters were numerous, and sometimes surprising. On several occasions,...

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Julie and Stuart B  –  
United Kingdom UK
Reviewed: Oct 28, 2025
4/5

Small National park but it was a lovely way to end our 10 day safari.
We had a wonderful time watching the elephant families coming to the waterfall/ river.
Plus we very lucky to see a small group of lions at the lake edge 😁😁

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Betty Lewis  –  
United States US
Reviewed: Sep 23, 2025
5/5

Completely different atmosphere in this park with animals we didn’t see anywhere else due to the lake. Monitor lizards and snakes, water birds etc. birds were a highlight in this park. The rangers were burning so the smoke was a little...

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Gianluca de Caprio  –  
Italy IT
Reviewed: Aug 11, 2025
5/5

Lake Manyara Park is a stunning place: it looks more like an asian jungle than an african forest. The trees are full of monkeys. Elephants emerge from the thick forest, breaking trees. Over the years, the lake has expanded, incorporating...

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All 330 Lake Manyara Safari Reviews