3-Day Nyerere (Selous) Safari Tours

4.4/5 – 87 Nyerere Reviews

You’re in for a treat if you have 3 days to spend in Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous Game Reserve). This is a wonderful park for both wildlife and landscapes, and 3 days here will give you a real taste of what the Selous has to offer. Apart from its watery expanses and river frontage, the park is famous for its wildlife that includes lion, elephant, giraffe, hippo, crocodile and so much more. This is one park where you might even see lions hunting giraffes. The presence of the Rufiji River along the park’s boundary adds many different safari possibilities, and a boat trip out on the river is one of the best things you can do here.

1-20 of 60 Nyerere National Park 3-day trips, itineraries, holidays, packages & vacations

5 Questions About 3-Day Nyerere Safaris

Expert

Answered by

Anthony Ham

Anthony has written more than 150 Lonely Planet guidebooks, including Kenya, Tanzania and East Africa. He writes for magazines and newspapers around the world. He is also the author of The Last Lions of Africa, which includes a section on Nyerere.

› More about Anthony

What is the best way to get to Nyerere National Park?

“If you only have 3 days for your Selous tour, I strongly recommend that you travel here by plane. That’s partly because your 3 days on safari includes the day that you will be traveling to the park and another for traveling back. If you fly, you have a much better chance of maximizing the time you actually spend inside the park and looking for the animals that you’ve traveled so far to see. Flying is more expensive than driving, of course, but the views on your way in and out of the Selous are likely to be a real highlight of your tour. Coming by plane usually involves flying to the airstrip just outside the park’s eastern Mtemere Gate in a six- to 20-seater aircraft from Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro International Airport (in northern Tanzania) or an airstrip in one of the other Tanzanian parks. The other option is to travel by road, although it’s a half-day drive to Selous from Dar es Salaam. If you’re coming from Mikumi National Park, the time you spend on the road will be less; it’s a five- to six-hour drive from Mikumi to Nyerere.”

Which activities are available on a 3-day safari in Nyerere?

“As in so many of Tanzania’s fantastic safari parks, the guided game drive is likely to be the centerpiece of your safari. With 1 full day and possibly 2 half days at your disposal while on tour, you can expect to enjoy around four such game drives. These involve early morning or late-afternoon excursions in an open-sided 4WD vehicle with a canvas roof and tiered seating. Your guide and driver will take you to the best wildlife areas and help you look for animals. What Nyerere has that no other Tanzanian parks can match is the Rufiji River, which wonderfully combines beautiful views (especially at sunset) with a different perspective on wildlife viewing. Look for hippos and crocs, as well as land-based mammals coming down to the water’s edge to drink.”

What are the accommodation options on a 3-day Selous safari?

“Nyerere has lots of accommodation, both inside the park and just outside its eastern Mtemere Gate. Those accommodation choices outside the park are mostly in the forest along the banks of the Rufiji River and have outstanding sunset views. Many have a mix of rooms, safari tents, and simple campsites that have communal showers and toilets. Inside the park, accommodation mostly takes the form of tented camps (where you’ll sleep in a safari tent with en suite bathroom) and caters overwhelmingly towards mid-range and high-end safari price categories. There’s very little (if any) budget accommodation within the park. Most accommodation choices have a bar, restaurant, lounge area, possibly a garden and maybe even a pool. On a 3-day Nyerere safari, you will most likely have 2 nights’ accommodation in or around the park. On the third day, you’ll be leaving the park and will sleep elsewhere.”

What is the best time of the year for a 3-day Nyerere safari?

“The best time to visit the Selous is from June to October. This is the Dry season, when you can expect the best weather conditions (clear skies and mild temperatures) and the park’s dirt tracks will be easier to drive without vehicles getting stuck or blocked from getting through. The best time of all is late in the Dry season (usually September and, even more, October) because as water sources start to dry out, animals are drawn to the pools, lakes and rivers that remain, thereby making them easier to locate. November and December can also be fine. The worst weather (with the highest chance of rain) will usually be in March and April. If you’re a birder, consider coming between November, when migratory species arrive in great numbers from Europe, southern Asia and North Africa, and April, when most of them leave and return to the north.”

How much does a 3-day Nyerere safari cost?

“A 3-day Selous safari will start at US$150 to US$200 per person per day. Major costs (apart from your accommodation) are likely to include air transfers (which could cost US$300 return per person) and the daily park entrance fees (US$50/25 per adult/child per day). Check whether these are included in the quoted price when making your booking, or whether they are considered additional costs. Prices will, of course, vary greatly from one safari tour operator to the next. Prices also change depending on the accommodation you choose. A budget camping experience some distance from the park entrance will clearly cost considerably less than a five-star luxury tented camp well inside park boundaries. High-season prices run from June to October; traveling outside of these months can significantly reduce the cost of your safari. And it will also make a difference whether your 3 days on tour is spent on a private safari, where you will have your own guide, driver and vehicles, and pay for them all, or a group safari, where these costs and experiences are shared with other travelers.”

Nyerere Reviews

4.4/5 87 Reviews

Expert

Mary Fitzpatrick –

Mary is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including South Africa, Tanzania, East Africa and Africa.

Boat safaris, wild dogs & wilderness

4/5

Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous) is near the top of my list of recommended safari destinations. It offers sublime riverine scenery, year-round greenery and a complete climate and topographical contrast to the Northern circuit. While...

Full Review

Expert

Gemma Pitcher –

Gemma authored several Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guides to Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.

My top tip for Tanzania

5/5

Nyerere National Park (Selous) is my favourite game area in Tanzania, and possibly the whole of Africa. The landscape, with its emerald-green swamplands, dead trees submerged in water and shaggy-topped palms, is ravishingly beautiful. You...

Full Review

Andy Bees –

Reviewed: Oct 3, 2022

5/5

The large area of this park means that the wildlife can be a bit more spread-out and the animals can be a bit more timid of vehicles. But in my opinion that is a good thing and exactly as it should be. Another plus is that the scenery is...

Full Review

Carry –

Reviewed: Sep 4, 2022

5/5

We did not spot the big 5, but Al lot of great animals. When one of the guides spotted lions, it suddenly gets very crowded. The rest of the day you will hardly see any other drivers. We had a beautiful boat safari and two fantastic full...

Full Review

Krzysztof Poręba –

Reviewed: Feb 23, 2020

4/5

The Selous Park is beautiful. And so many of our dibrtch memories from Tanzania. Afebxha was waiting for us by changing the number of employees in the contract. It was only after our intervention that she confessed to guilty and we...

Full Review

Lyn Arnold –

Reviewed: Aug 7, 2019

Fantastic Reserve: Full of Animals, Not Full of People

5/5

Selous Game Reserve is a real jewel, full of wildlife and birds and intriguing flora with the added bonus of very few visitors. I stayed at Asilia Africa's Roho Ya Selous and it could not have been better. As a solo traveler, I look for...

Full Review

All 87 Nyerere Reviews

Cookie Settings

Manage Cookie Settings

Functional cookies

Analytical cookies (anonymous)

Advertising and social media cookies

Your Safari

Tour Length

Rates in USD $ – Change Currency

Starting From

Comfort Level

Private or Shared Tour

Safari Type

Operator Rating

Specialized Tours

Other Tour Features

Filter by Operator

Filter by Accommodation

Operators From

3-Day Nyerere (Selous) Safari Tours

3-Day Private Nyerere NP Game Drive, Walking & Boat Tour

3-Day Selous Reserve, Nyerere Park Boat, Drive & Walking

3-Day Flying Zanzibar to Nyerere NP (Selous) + 2 Games

3-Day Flight Zanzibar to Nyerere NP, 2 Game Drive & Boat

3-Day Safari in Nyerere National Park (Selous)

3-Day Nyerere National Park Mid-Range Tour

3-Day Nyerere NP (Selous GR) Boat and Walking Tour

3-Day Fly - Zanzibar to Nyerere NP - Two Crazy Game

3-Day Selous (Nyerere NP) Fly in, Fly out Private Safari

3-Day Wildlife Safari in Selous Game Reserve

3-Day Nyerere National Park Former Selous Game Reserve

3-Day / 2-Nights Selous Game Reserve Safari

3-Day Selous Tour, Walking and Boat Family Safari

3-Day Nyerere Wildlife Game Drive & Boat Safari

3-Day Selous GR, Boat +Walking with Bushman Family Tour

3-Day Dar Es Salaam, Selous - Nyerere NP, Zanzibar

3-Day Safari to Nyerere National Park Safari

3-Day Nyerere National Park - (Selous) Budget Safari

3-Day Selous Game Reserve, Walking and Boat Safari

3-Day Selous Game Reserve Safari

Related Searches

5 Questions About 3-Day Nyerere Safaris

Answered by

Anthony Ham

5 Questions About 3-Day Nyerere Safaris

What is the best way to get to Nyerere National Park?

Which activities are available on a 3-day safari in Nyerere?

What are the accommodation options on a 3-day Selous safari?

What is the best time of the year for a 3-day Nyerere safari?

How much does a 3-day Nyerere safari cost?

Nyerere Reviews

Boat safaris, wild dogs & wilderness

My top tip for Tanzania

Fantastic Reserve: Full of Animals, Not Full of People