There’s no getting around it, going on safari in Tanzania is an expensive feat. In this article, we share the exact breakdown for the cost of a safari in Tanzania — from safari lodges at every budget to the cost of transportation, guides and park fees. Plus, we’re sharing exactly how to book so you can get the most bang for your buck!
If you’re planning a safari in Tanzania and find yourself wondering just how much to expect everything to cost, you’re not alone.
It can be really hard to find this information online. And once you do, and you see the price tags, it’s enough to make your eyes water.
So how much should you expect for your Tanzania safari cost? And are there any ways to cut costs?
In this article we’ll help you determine the cost of a safari in Tanzania by going over average costs for things like accommodation, food, transportation and activities. We’re also sharing some tips for saving money, and exactly how to book so you can get the most bang for your buck.
Tanzania Safari Cost Guide
- Tanzania safari cost
- What you are paying for
- Factors that affect cost
- Tips for saving money on your Tanzania safari
- How to book your Tanzania safari
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Tanzania safari cost
I’m gonna give it to you straight… Yes, going on safari in Tanzania is expensive.
Accommodation is expensive.
Guided game drives are expensive.
Park and conservation fees are sky-high.
There’s really no way around it.
Still not swayed away? Good, because despite the high prices, going on safari in Tanzania is still very much worth the splurge. Plus there are some sneaky ways you can save money.
Below, we’re sharing average daily costs (in USD) for different travel styles, based on a 2 person occupancy.
Budget Tanzania safari cost: $400 – $500 per person, per day
A typical budget safari in Tanzania would involve camping, however, that is a lot harder to organize. As such, planning a safari to stay in budget lodges would start from roughly $400 per person per day. At this end of the scale the cost savings for travelling off season are not massive.
Mid-range Tanzania safari cost: $500 – $700 per person, per day
A typical mid-range budget for a Tanzania safari is around $500 per person per day. Again the cost savings in this category for travelling off season are not huge. If you travel during low season it might drop to $450 per person, per day.
Luxury Tanzania safari cost: $700 – $1,500 per person, per day
Luxury safaris in Tanzania start from around $700 per person per day. Premium luxury safaris (these include lodges that are top tier and usually all inclusive in terms of food, drinks, laundry and special services) start from about $950 – $1,500 per person per day.
These lodges have very seasonal pricing and there are big cost savings for travelling off peak season. In low season, rates for the premium luxury lodges might be half of what they are in the peak months.
What you are paying for on your Tanzania safari
You may be looking at the prices above and thinking, whoa! The sticker shock can definitely get to you. I know.
So what exactly are you paying for and what goes into the cost of safari in Tanzania? We’ve broken down the major costs below.
Safari lodges
This is arguably where the majority of your Tanzania safari budget will go. The cost of safari lodges in Tanzania varies greatly, but even the budget lodges have a fairly high cost of entry.
I speak from personal experience when I say, the quality of the lodge makes a big deal on your Tanzania safari.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go for the luxury lodges. It does mean that you will want to make sure you are staying in a highly-rated lodge that has been vetted by other travelers (or your safari company) and isn’t just a place with low standards to cut costs.
I personally stayed in mid-range budget lodges such as Zawadi Camp in the Serengeti. The lodge is actually a tented camp, and while it was pretty basic in terms of facilities, it was very highly rated and well-run by the staff. Plus the beds were extremely comfortable and having hot showers and indoor bathroom facilities was very necessary.
Meals
Most of the safari lodges in Tanzania include your meals, but this is a good thing to look out for when booking. Some only include breakfast and dinner and offer picnic lunches to-go at an additional cost.
The cost of food in Tanzania isn’t super high, but it’ll depend entirely on what is including and the prices set by your safari lodge.
Transportation / professional safari guide
Unlike other popular safari destinations like South Africa, Tanzania is definitely not set up for self-drive safaris. You will absolutely need to hire a driver/guide and have an adequate 4×4 safari vehicle for game drives in the parks.
If you are booking a safari package, this will all be arranged for you and included in the cost. However, if you choose to book with a lodge directly, the game drives usually come at an extra cost. Typically $300 per day is the flat rate for a game drive in Tanzania, which includes your driver/guide and vehicle for the day, but often does not include park fees.
Another part of transportation to consider is how you will get from the airport (typically you’d fly into Kilimanjaro (JRO) International Airport) to your safari lodge.
There is a small airstrip in the Serengeti with daily flights from JRO and Arusha that fluctuate in cost based on the season. When I was doing research for my trip in November, I found flights for as low as $155 per person one way.
Ground transfers from Arusha to the Ngorongoro Crater were quoted at about $200 one way.
Park fees
The park fees in Tanzania are high, there’s no getting around this. Set by the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA), these fees contribute directly to the conservation efforts of the national parks and are charged on a per person per day basis.
Some of the 2023/2024 park fees are as follows*:
- Serengeti National Park: $70 per adult, per day
- Ngorongoro Crater: $70 per adult, per day
- Tarangire National Park: $50 per adult, per day
- Lake Manyara National Park: $50 per adult, per day
- Kilimanjaro National Park: $70 per adult, per day
*Fees are listed for adults 16 years of age and above, during high season months (May 16 – March 14). Fees are lower for children and during low season months.
Visa cost
One thing that’s easy to forget when planning your safari costs is the price of a visa for Tanzania. Tourists from most countries must obtain a visa to enter Tanzania.
Holders of American passports who come for holiday or tourism will have to apply for a Multiple Entry Visa, which costs $100. The visa is valid for one year with a maximum stay duration of 3 months at a time. You can apply online and applications are typically processed within 10 days.
Insider tip: I recommend printing out your visa approval papers to have on hand when you enter the country. It will make the process of getting through immigration at the airport go much quicker.
Gratuities
You can’t forget about tipping when calculating the cost of a safari in Tanzania. You’ll find lots of different information online about tipping on safari. However, we were assured by our safari company that tipping your guide $20 – $25 (USD) per day was sufficient. As well as leaving $20 per night in the lodge tip boxes for the staff.
Additional activities
You may want to participate in additional activities such as walking safaris, hiking, biking and/or cultural exchanges while on safari in Tanzania that’ll cost a bit extra. In doing my research, I found the cost of each of these activities to be around $50 – $70 per person.
The exception to this was the hot air balloon safari, which costs $599 per person, regardless of season or company you go with.
Psst! Plan the perfect trip with our ultimate Tanzania safari itinerary!
Factors that affect the cost of a safari in Tanzania
There are a number of factors that may affect the overall cost of your safari in Tanzania. You can use these to your advantage to save money, or just understand what you are paying for.
Seasonality
As I’ve mentioned a few times above, your Tanzania safari cost can vary based on seasonality. As always, traveling in high season tends to come at the highest cost, while traveling during low season can give you some cost advantages.
High season in Tanzania is typically mid-May through mid-March. There is a mini low season from November – mid-Dec. But the true low season is mid-March through mid-May.
This is known as the “long rains” season, so it can be very wet and the grass will be very long making game viewing more challenging sometimes. Our safari coordinator told us she actually loves this time of year:
“It is beautiful but I think when people are investing so much in what is a once in a lifetime trip, it might not be worth the cost savings as it can rain all day long.”
The biggest cost advantage is that luxury lodges tend to lower their prices significantly during the low season. In these months the cost of premium lodges such as Mpingo Ridge become accessible to more people and these places are phenomenal.
The park fees are also reduced (just by about $10 USD) during low season.
At the budget level, most budget lodges are already operating pretty close to “at cost” so you won’t see much savings with seasonality there. Flights to and and within Tanzania may also be cheaper during off season.
Which parks you choose
Your choice of parks to visit on your Tanzania safari will influence your cost. The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater are premium parks and they are significantly more expensive than the other parks in Tanzania.
Due to its size, the Serengeti does not offer the option of staying outside the park and it is always significantly more expensive to stay in lodges inside the park.
Especially if you are coming during high season to witness the Great Migration (July- October) and see the river crossings, you will need a 3-night minimum (but ideally 4 night min) in the Serengeti, and you’ll be staying in the northern part of the park where accommodation is even more expensive than central Serengeti properties.
This is due to relatively short supply and the isolation—it is very expensive to move goods and staff to and from here—and the fact that they are seasonal. Lodges inside the parks pay huge taxes and these northern Serengeti camps have less bednights to earn enough to cover that.
Group size
Unlike my experience in South Africa, where safari lodges charge expensive single occupancy fees if you have an odd number in your party, Tanzania safari lodges are much more flexible with sleeping arrangements. I traveled to Tanzania in a group of 5 and every lodge was easily able to accommodate a triple occupancy room.
I actually found our total cost per person went down the more people we added to our itinerary (as long as we stayed under 8 people – enough to take just one vehicle).
All inclusive vs. self-arranged
I found this out first hand when doing research for my Tanzania safari. At first I was determined to plan it all on my own, without going through a safari company so as to avoid what I expected would be pricey markups.
As I gathered info, speaking to each lodge individually and getting quotes for everything from game drives and guides to meals, activities and transfers, the costs just kept adding up.
I finally caved and reached out to Safari Republic, the company we wound up booking with, and got a quote for exactly what I was looking for. I was shocked to find the costs were nearly the same if not less than if I’d planned the whole thing myself and arranged all the logistics piecemeal.
And the best part, going with the safari company meant everything—and I mean everything—was taken care of for us. We didn’t have to worry about a thing or factor in any additional costs. We just got to sit back and enjoy the adventure!
Tips for saving money on your Tanzania safari
- Travel during the “mini” low season (November – mid-December) for somewhat cheaper rates without the risk of all-day rain.
- Choose budget-friendly tented camps instead of luxury lodges.
- Spend the majority of your time in the smaller, more affordable parks, instead of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
- If you do go to the Serengeti (10/10 recommend!!) stay in the central area, instead of the more isolated northern area.
- Book with a reputable safari company that has years of experience, responsible tourism practices and tons and tons of happy traveler reviews, like Safari Republic (more on them below!).
A word of caution about budgeting: We will strongly caution you about trying to choose accommodation based solely on the lowest price possible. At the lowest budget end of safari accommodation in Tanzania, things are very simple and people that aren’t backpackers may be a little disappointed. For the sake of saving just $1 – $200 per trip, it is really worth staying at places that add to a safari—the lodges do make a big difference in your overall experience.
How to book your Tanzania safari
You pretty much have two options when it comes to booking your safari in Tanzania:
- Book directly with a lodge and arrange all of the activities and logistics yourself (at an additional cost).
- Book with a reputable safari company that’ll handle all of the logistics for you.
The only reason I would suggest option one is if you only have a few days to spend and want to only go to one safari park in Tanzania. In this case, you could book directly with the lodge and you might be able to save a bit of money (especially if you have discount status on Booking.com like I do :)). Even so, I’d encourage you to reach out to a safari company to get a quote, just to compare.
For the majority of you, if you’re going all the way to Tanzania for a safari, you probably want to experience more than one park and make your trip as seamless as possible. That’s where Safari Republic comes in…
Safari Republic
Safari Republic is an owner-operated boutique safari company with a combined decades of experience and in-depth knowledge of the Tanzania safari circuit. I stumbled upon them when doing research for my Tanzania safari trip and was blown away by the attention to detail and level of support I received.
Owner, Jackie, has a fantastic network of partners she works with across Tanzania to create exceptional experiences. They only employ the highest caliber guides, ensuring you will be in good hands from the moment you touch down in Arusha, to the moment you depart.
We also loved to read about their responsible tourism practices and values around sustainability and community support.
Plus, their prices are competitive, considering everything they offer. And I can attest to this as I did a ton of research gathering quotes and prices from other companies before settling on Safari Republic.
Take it from Jackie herself…
“I have 10 years experience of putting together [Tanzania safari] itineraries and I know how to spend a budget effectively for the most impact… We are a small company and happy to go the extra mile for guests.”
Bonus offer for YOU!
I had such a good experience traveling with Safari Republic throughout Tanzania, I knew I wanted to continue that relationship, and introduced Jackie to Katie and Ben. Before we knew it, a partnership was born 🙂
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Don’t forget to download our ultimate African safari packing list! It’s packed with good suggestions and insider tips to help plan your safari. And it’s completely FREE, so why not!?
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