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Ngorongoro Crater Safari Tours & Holidays

4.6/5  –  655 Ngorongoro Crater Safari Reviews

An Ngorongoro Crater tour is usually combined with a safari in neighboring Serengeti National Park. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area protects the volcanically formed Crater Highlands, which are dotted with deep volcanic craters. The best known, Ngorongoro is the world’s largest intact caldera and a natural wildlife reserve with few peers. Ngorongoro safari tours offer your best chance in Tanzania of spotting all the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino) in one game drive. The crater is also notable for the spectacularly scenic combination of the verdant plains of the lake-studded crater floor and imposing 600m-/1,968ft-high cliffs that enclose it on all sides.

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9 Questions About Ngorongoro Safaris

1. When is the best time to visit Ngorongoro?
2. What opportunities are there to meet local Maasai people?
3. Are there accommodations inside the crater?
4. What animals can I see as part of an Ngorongoro safari?
5. How long is the drive to the crater?
6. Does it get cold while camping on the crater rim?
7. How is Ngorongoro different from other parks?
8. What lodges or camps do you recommend for an Ngorongoro safari?
9. How much does an Ngorongoro safari cost?
 
 

9 Questions About Ngorongoro Safaris

Answered by Philip Briggs

When is the best time to visit Ngorongoro?

“It’s worth booking Ngorongoro safari packages for any time of year. June to October is the Dry season, which offers good visibility and wildlife viewing, but the crater is at its most beautiful in the wetter months of November to May. This period broadly coincides with the arrival of large numbers of migrant waterbirds from the northern hemisphere. Most of the crater’s more charismatic wildlife (elephants, rhinos, lions) are more or less resident. Migrant grazers, such as wildebeest and gazelle, tend to be higher in numbers in the rainy season. April and May are the low season, but it’s actually a great time for Ngorongoro holidays due to the relatively low tourist numbers. Safari prices may also drop over April to June as lodges offer discounted rates to attract more business.”

› More about Ngorongoro's best time to visit 1

What opportunities are there to meet local Maasai people?

“Ngorongoro Conservation Area is not a national park but a biosphere reserve where a diversity of wildlife lives alongside the iconic Maasai. These traditional pastoralists are recognizable by their trademark toga-like red checkered shuka cloths and fondness for elaborate beadwork jewelry. You won’t need to spend long in Ngorongoro before you encounter Maasai cattle herders walking alongside the road. But if you want to interact with Maasai people, and especially to photograph them, it’s customary to visit one of several manyattas (groups of huts within an enclosure) that now welcome tourists for a fixed fee. Sadly, many visitors tend to disparage these manyattas as touristy, but this assessment is way off the mark. In most cases, the Maasai manyattas visited by tourists are long-standing pastoral settlements. Their inhabitants still live a traditional lifestyle but are very poor by any measure other than cattle ownership, and they make a large portion of their living from tourist visits.”

2

Are there accommodations inside the crater?

“No. It is forbidden to overnight on the crater floor. The best base for Ngorongoro safari tours is the crater rim. Options here range from simple campsites through to mainstream Sopa and Serena lodges and several exclusive tented camps. Alternatively, an ever-growing cluster of lodges and hotels can be found just outside Ngorongoro in the pretty hills around Karatu. Accommodations on the rim are typically more scenically located (the views over the crater are amazing) and better positioned for game drives, but the premier location means they tend to charge a lot more than lodges around Karatu.”

3

What animals can I see as part of an Ngorongoro safari?

“In a word, lots. There are few places where you can so reliably see such large numbers of wildlife, including all the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino), with a bit of luck, all year. The crater floor credibly claims to support the densest concentration of predators in Africa, with lions and spotted hyenas being particularly plentiful. Leopards are also seen regularly, but require a bit more luck. The fever-tree-covered Lerai Forest and adjoining Gorigor Swamp are the main haunt of the crater’s elephant population, which is dominated by old male tuskers. Ngorongoro is the only place in Tanzania where you can see both black and white rhinos. The open grassland that covers most of the crater floor also supports large herds of wildebeest and zebra, and smaller numbers of buffalo, Coke’s hartebeest, and Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle. Lake Magadi normally harbors large flocks of flamingos, while other less-salty bodies of water are home to plentiful hippos.”

› More about the wildlife of the Ngorongoro Crater 4

How long is the drive to the crater?

“The 150km/95mi road from Arusha to the main gate of Ngorongoro Conservation Area is surfaced in its entirety and can be covered in two hours or less. The short ascent to the crater rim and associated lodges is unsurfaced but in reasonably good condition. Allow 30 minutes to an hour from the gate, depending on the location of your lodge. The descent and ascent roads to the crater floor are short but very poorly maintained. They require a 4WD vehicle and some caution behind the wheel. Many people break up the drive from Arusha with a night or two in the vicinity of Lake Manyara National Park, which makes a great addition to Ngorongoro safari trips.”

5

Does it get cold while camping on the crater rim?

“Yes. Despite the equatorial location, most of the camps and lodges on the crater rim stand at an altitude of around 2,300m/7,545ft and can be very cold at night. You’ll feel it most if you are camping or staying in a tented camp. However, most accommodations on the crater rim comprise built-up lodges and fires are lit at night to keep it warm and cozy. Still, don’t forget to pack some warm clothing.”

6

How is Ngorongoro different from other parks?

“The park’s wildlife-viewing showpiece is the Ngorongoro Crater. The world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, it encompasses 260km²/100mi² of moist savannah hemmed in by sheer 600m-/1,968ft-high walls topped by a cover of dense montane forest. Even without the wildlife, the crater would rank among the world’s most stunning natural wonders. But it also doubles as a unique sanctuary within a sanctuary whose prolific wildlife and immense scenic scale regularly draws comparisons to the biblical Garden of Eden. There is nowhere else in Africa quite like it.”

7

What lodges or camps do you recommend for an Ngorongoro safari?

“If your budget stretches to it, try to stay on the rim. It is better placed for game drives and offers a more immersive Ngorongoro experience than staying outside the conservation area. Of the built-up lodges, I tend to favor the Sopa as a base for Ngorongoro safaris. This is not because it is inherently better than its competitors, but because it lies very close to a combined descent and ascent road that is convenient for early morning game drives. If you prefer to sleep under canvas, Lemala Ngorongoro Tented Camp stands close to the same road and has a wonderful location in a stand of lichen-stained flat-topped red-thorn acacias. For unrestrained all-inclusive luxury (including excellent guided activities), &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is hard to beat. Of the many (mostly cheaper) lodges outside the park, personal favorites include the upmarket Gibb’s Farm, the mid-range Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, the more affordable Eileen’s Trees Inn and the few-frills but very budget-friendly Karatu Forest Tented Camp.”

8

How much does an Ngorongoro safari cost?

“The cost of your Ngorongoro safari depends on lots of variables, but prices usually begin around US$200 per person per day for a budget safari. For a more luxurious experience, expect prices to start at US$500 per person per day, but they can go much higher than this. Factors that influence how much your Ngorongoro safari will cost include: what type of safari (group, private or self-drive) you go on; whether you’re visiting in high, shoulder or low season; what kind of accommodations you choose (there’s everything from basic campsites to five-star luxury tented camps or lodges); and whether you travel to Ngorongoro by road or by air.”

9

Ngorongoro Crater Safari Reviews

4.6/5 655 Reviews
Expert
Stuart Butler  –  
United Kingdom UK

Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.

More than a Crater
4/5

This world renowned extinct volcanic crater covers a simply enormous 260km sq and is the largest intact volcanic caldera on the planet, but visitors don’t come here merely for the geology (although first views of this crater, from one of...

Full Review

Expert
Lizzie Williams  –  
South Africa ZA

Lizzie authored many guidebooks, including Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

A Spectacular Wildlife Extravaganza in the Densely Packed Ngorongoro Crater
5/5

Ngorongoro is everything you would expect, and there’s a staggering amount of game, which is so used to the army of vehicles with camera-toting tourists poking out the top, they practically stand to attention. I’ve had some amazing...

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Elena ********  –  
Italy IT
Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026
5/5

going down the scenic crater at dawn with morning mist and finding a black rhino at dawn pacing back and forth, sniffing and spray-marking on the shore of the lake, a couple of lions mating, a serval, many bird spotting like Kori's...

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Cassandra Spicher  –  
United States US
Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026
5/5

We stopped for a view from the top, looking down in, and thought, "There's nothing down in there." To our surprise, we were blown away by how many animals were there. There was even a beautiful, safe spot to watch hippos and eat our lunch....

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Julie Ann Tokle  –  
Norway NO
Reviewed: Aug 25, 2026
5/5

Ngorongoro Crater — Our Favourite Ngorongoro Crater was one of the absolute highlights of our Tanzania journey and probably our personal favourite. The scenery is simply breathtaking—the feeling of being inside this enormous natural...

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Hugh Fraser  –  
Spain ES
Reviewed: Aug 23, 2026
5/5

Our safari in Tanzania was honestly a trip we will never forget. From the moment we arrived, everything was so well organised, and the whole experience was made even more special by our incredible guide. His knowledge, patience and...

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All 655 Ngorongoro Crater Safari Reviews