Best of Tanzania Safari: 5 bucket list experiences that will change your life
Last updated: 23.01.24
Who doesn’t dream of going on a safari? Encounter wild animals in their natural habitat. But a safari isn’t just a safari! There exist different types of safaris.
In this travel blog post I will share the best of Tanzania safari with 5 bucket list experiences that will change your life.
These 5 safari bucket list experiences includes:
- Safari game drive in Serengeti
- The Great Migration
- Hot air balloon safari
- Safari game drive in Ngorongoro Crater
- Overnight stay in Serengeti
It’s time for you to imagine the feeling of being a part of the the movie “The Lion King” – Such a majestic feeling to watch wildlife on a safari!
Disclosure: My safari tour was done in a collaboration with Safari G.O.A.T.S (safari company), Miracle Experience (hot air balloon safari company) and Kenzan Luxury Camp (camp company). This article was not part of our deal and everything expressed in this article is based on my personal experiences and opinions.
Best of Tanzania Safari: 5 bucket list experiences that will change your life
Safari
Safari is an adventure like no other! It offers you a unique opportunity to connect with nature while witnessing breathtaking wildlife moments.
The power of the moment of observing wildlife in its natural habitat is something special.
Our safari adventure in Tanzania was one of our highlights in 2023. I definitely recommend you to try it!
It’s a unique feeling to observe majestic lions sleeping in the grass, graceful zebras running around, massive elephants walking around and many more beautiful creatures from the animal kingdom interacting in their rightful habitat. It’s impressive how close you can observe these creatures and their life, without interfering with what they are doing.
Safari is the perfect way to disconnect from the digital world and reconnect with nature. Getting around in the beautiful landscapes and untouched wildness provides a sense of peace.
A safari can be a transformative experience and allow you to appreciate the simple joys of life. It’s also a powerful reminder of the importance of taking care of our nature and planet to preserve the wildlife.
You may find yourself out of your comfort zone in new environments, which can lead to personal growth and self-reflection.
For me a safari is not just a vacation – It’s so much more! It’s an experience with huge impact and lasting memories!
I had the pleasure of doing multiple safari tours in Tanzania and it contained so many highlights. I fell in love with watching wildlife and its’ definitely not my last safari tour!!
5 safari bucket list experiences in Tanzania
Here are 5 safari adventures in Tanzania you can’t miss!
These are some of my highlights and biggest recommendations from my safari tours in Tanzania:
1. Safari game drive in Serengeti:
If you know a little bit about safari, I’m sure you have heard about Serengeti National Park. It’s ranked as one of the best places to do a safari and it’s incredible how many animals we spotted on our safari game drives there.
Serengeti National Park is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Animals of the Serengeti:
The Serengeti has great variety of wildlife living in an unspoilt natural environment.
In this park it’s possible to discover the iconic Big 5.
Watching the Big 5 is definitely also worth adding to your bucket list!
If you don’t know what the Big 5 is, let me tell you:
It’s lion, elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo and leopard.
The term referred to the difficulty of hunting these animals. Because of the danger they were considered a trophy for hunters. Today the Big 5 is all about watching them and not shooting them.
Besides the Big 5, Serengeti National Park has many other animals to watch. Common animals to find are wildebeest, zebras, different bird species (more than 500 bird species are recorded), hippos, giraffes, impalas, different gazelles and many other species. Cheetahs, leopards and hyenas are also residents of Serengeti.
You will find a diverse wildlife that I’m sure won’t disappoint you!
2. The Great Migration:
It’s a unique experience to witness parts of the Great Migration in front of you. It’s more than 2 million wildebeests and zebras migrating between Serengeti and Masai Mara.
It’s fascinating to watch more than a million marching animals in a formation up to 40 kilometers long.
The Great Migration is an 800 kilometer trek and the largest mammal migration on earth.
The Great Migration starts in the south of the Serengeti, here are half a million calves born between January and March. The migration is timed with greening of nutritious grasses on the short-grass plans during wet season. This makes it easier to spot predators which makes the area safer and an ideal place for calving. But when the plains dry the wildebeest are forced to move.
The movement of the migration is clockwise from the south, west, north and back to the south.
The migration comes with a risk. The animals are crossing rivers with about 3000 crocodiles, that want to kill and eat them.
Timeline of the Great Migration:
This is an overview of the Great Migration cycle:
This is how it usually happens – but keep in mind that there are no guarantees. But following this schedule is your best chance to experience it – I also recommend you talk with your guide when planning, if watching the Great Migration is important to you.
December- April: Serengeti: The southeast and Ndutu
The area southeast of Seronera: Typical Serengeti plains are all the way to Ndutu near Ngorongoro. February is the calving season.
As early as March or April they start to move again.
May-July: Western Corridor
Starting day of the 800 kilometer long trek is anytime between April and early June.
They will move towards the Western Corridor, where they face the obstacle of crossing the Grumeti River.
August-September: The Serengeti Mara area
After crossing the Grumeti River they move further north and meet the next big obstacle the Mara River. This is in July or August.
After this the animals gets to the northwest plains and Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
(Don’t visit Serengeti National Park in August and September and expect to experiences the Great Migration – However half of the herd stays on the Tanzania side in the Mara Serengeti area).
October-November: Northern Serengeti and Lobo area
Usually in October (sometimes earlier) the animals have to cross the Mara River again. They cross the northern plains and Lobo area. In late November the wildebeest return to the plains around Ndutu.
And then the Great Migration starts all over again!
3. Hot air balloon safari:
This is an opportunity you can’t miss. Watching the sunrise and wildlife from above was such a breathtaking and peaceful moment.
Imaging you’re floating peacefully over the treetops and spotting wildlife while the sun rises. It feels so peaceful floating around and having a new perspective of Serengeti.
Our personal hot air balloon safari experience:
The combination of safari and a hot air balloon ride is one of the coolest things I have tried!
Flying over the savannah in a hot air balloon at sunrise watching the wildlife from above – I don’t think it gets more magical.
This is some of the highlights from our trip in the sky:
- The Great Migration
- A lion hunting
- Cheetah walking
- Beautiful sunrise
- Lots of wildlife
It was definitely worth waking up early for!
Safari game drive in Ngorongoro Crater:
It’s a deep volcanic crater and the world’s largest caldera.
In the crater you will find more than 25,000 animals in the small space of 260 square kilometers. That means this place has a large concentration of wildlife.
The Ngorongoro Conversation Area is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Animals in Ngorongoro Crater:
The crater is home to both small and large animals. It’s possible to spot the Big 5 in Ngorongoro Crater. You might even find rare Black Rhinos.
Another cool thing about the crater is that it has the highest lion pride per capita in the world with over 55 lions.
Other numbers of animals: 7000 Wildebeest, 6000 Black spotted Hyenas, 4000 Zebras, 3000 Elands, 3000 Gazelles, 300 Elephants and 30 Black Rhinos + many more animals.
Overnight stay in Serengeti:
Such a cool experience to stay in the wild and be close to the animals. Perfect location and no time wasted on driving to the game drive location the next day.
Our Serengeti safari camps:
We had two nights in Serengeti at two different camps.
The first one was a luxury camping in the heart of Serengeti National Park. I loved that you still have comfort and luxury – Pretty impressive out in the wild. You even have wifi.
The second accommodation was another unique tent experience with a beautiful view from our tent at Lake Ndutu with countless amounts of flamingos.
But the camp doesn’t always have the same view. The cool part about this camp is that it’s following the Great Migration. Such a unique experience to be a part of.
Enjoy planning your safari tour to Tanzania. If you can’t choose between these experiences I’m happy to tell you: All the safari experiences are possible to do in the same week – We did that.
After reading this I’m sure you have no doubts about how much I recommend you to go on a safari in Tanzania. It’s such special experience!
