With huge mountains, amazing wildlife, world famous beaches, and a major city – it might be easier to list what’s not in Tanzania. The country is home to some of Africa’s most iconic landmarks. The reason we came to visit the country was to see the Great Migration in Serengeti National Park. Serengeti is possibly the most famous national park in the continent and the wildebeest migration is one of the largest animal migrations in the world! Less than 6 hours away rests Mount Kilimanjaro. People come from all around the world to summit the iconic Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. If wildlife or hiking just isn’t your thing, head over to the island of Zanzibar for some of the best beaches in the world. What I’m trying to say is that there is something for everyone in this amazing country!
If not for the animals, mountains, or beaches, visit Tanzania to meet the incredible people. We came to try to see the wildebeest migration while doing a self safari in Serengeti National Park. However, we weren’t expecting one of our highlights to be our few rest days in the town of Arusha. Everyone in the city was so welcoming and friendly! Although English is one of the country’s official languages, there are definitely less people who speak it fluently than in neighboring Kenya. However, the people were so kind that language barrier was usually not even an issue!
Based on our experiences, research, and recommendations, here are 9 of our favorite things to experience in Tanzania!
1. Serengeti National Park
One of the best and well-known places to see African wildlife is Serengeti National Park! At 5,700 square miles big, Serengeti National park is larger than the entire country of The Bahamas! This whole area is home to almost every major African animal you can think of! But the thing that makes this park so unique is the great migration of wildebeest. With more than 1.5 million wildebeest crossing from Tanzania to Kenya, this is one of the largest animal migrations in the world! Although we were a little early to see the largest wildebeest cross the Mara River, we did get to see about 6,000 wildebeest and zebras running and jumping through the river trying to avoid the crocodiles lurking in the river. It was one of the coolest wildlife experiences we’ve ever had!
Em and I did a 3 day self-drive safari in Serengeti National Park and had an incredible experience. Some of our highlights were being stopped in the road by sleeping lions, seeing a parade of 50 elephants, and taking a hot air balloon safari! We rented our 4×4 camper vehicle from Mili Adventure Africa and can’t recommend them enough! In addition to the roof-top tent we had an electric cooler, portable stove, and any other camping gear we could imagine! If you’re interested in exploring Tanzania on your own, read our self-drive Serengeti blog post or visit their website.
2. Serengeti Balloon Safari
One of our favorite experiences in Serengeti National Park was taking a hot air balloon ride with Serengeti Balloon Safaris! The entire experience felt like something out of a movie. Hot air balloon rides are something I think that everyone should experience at least once in their life and there is no better place to do that than in Serengeti National Park. It was incredibly peaceful floating in the air over the park as the sun started coming over the horizon. The flight gave us a new and unique perspective to experience the animals. During our flight we saw herds of zebras, wildebeest, gazelles, hippos, and an elephant grazing in the fields below.
I never knew doing a balloon safari was possible until we started researching for this trip, but I am so happy we were able to do one. Our pilot with Serengeti Balloon Safaris was extremely skillful and made our flight an unforgettable experience! The entire balloon staff was so friendly and accommodating. After the flight, Serengeti Balloon Safaris prepared an incredible picnic breakfast out in the savanna. I still am not sure how the chef cooked an entire hot meal in such a beautiful remote location! We are so glad that we got to experience this once in a lifetime experience in one of Africa’s most popular national parks! For more information, visit their website.
3. Mount Kilimanjaro
One of the most iconic landmarks in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro. Not only is it the tallest mountain in the continent, but it’s also the highest free-standing mountain in the world. With no other mountain peaks in sight to contend with, Mount Kilimanjaro towers over the Tanzanian grasslands. It’s also one of the most popular mountains to climb. However, the mountain definitely isn’t a cake walk. It takes about 5-10 days on average to climb. From what I’ve seen in pictures, the mountain is breathtaking! Unfortunately, Em and I went to the town of Moshi, at the foot of the mountain on a cloudy day and weren’t able to even see the base of it! We had to ask a local which direction the mountain was because the entire mountain was covered in clouds!
Although the mountain is entirely located in Tanzania, the most popular photo spot is in Kenya at Amboseli National Reserve. Chances are if you’ve seen a photo of an elephant, zebras, or giraffes in the foreground with Mount Kilimanjaro towering in the background, that photo was probably taken at Amboseli National Reserve. If you are going just to see the mountain and not to summit it, be sure to give yourself a few days in case the clouds don’t want to cooperate!
4. Zanzibar
One of the best known beach areas in Africa is the island of Zanzibar. Known for its clear water, and beautiful weather, Zanzibar is the perfect beach town getaway. It almost doesn’t seem fair that Tanzania is home to one of the most well-known African parks, the continent’s tallest mountain, and some of it’s best beaches. Many international travelers head to Zanzibar after exploring Serengeti National Park or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. In addition to having crystal clear water and white sandy beaches, the island is also home to a village called Stone Town. Throw in a national park full of monkeys and bushbabies, and Zanzibar is the perfect place to go for an island vacation!
5. Maasai Village
Tanzania is home to several local tribes with their own unique language and customs. One of the largest and best known ethnic groups in Africa are the Maasai. Located in Kenya and Tanzania, historically the Maasai were known as great warriors. In this region, boys used to have to kill a lion before becoming a man. (It’s safe to say that if I had single handedly kill a lion with a bow I would still be a boy to this day!) Today, Maasai are very focused on conservation and holding strong to their cultural traditions.
Just across the Tanzanian border in Kenya, we were able to participate in a Maasai cultural experience. We got to sing, dance, and eat with local Maasai. It was an amazing experience that we were honored to be a part of. A large part of Northern Tanzania is home to Maasai villages. However, if you are visiting another area of Tanzania, there are dozens of other ethnic groups to visit and learn more about their culture.
6. Ngorongoro Crater
Just outside of Serengeti National Park is the Ngorongoro Crater. The massive caldera was created from an imploding volcano. At 2,000 feet deep and 100 square miles big, Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest calderas in the world. Some geologists estimate that the volcano that collapsed may have been 15,000 – 19,000 feet tall! (That would be like the entire mountain of Kilimanjaro collapsing!) Today, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to a host of wildlife. There are herds of zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, gazelles and more that roam the crater floor. But just like the neighboring Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to lions, cheetahs, leopards, rhinos, giraffes, and pretty much every other African animal you can think of.
The drive into the crater is steep, but nothing a good 4×4 vehicle can’t handle. The crater costs more than $200 to enter, so we decided to skip the drive in and drive around the top of it instead. Unfortunately it was a very cloudy day and we didn’t have the best view! (Seems to be a theme for us at overlooks. 😄) However, based on pictures and people we talked with, the scenery and wildlife inside Ngorongoro Crater is incredible!
7. Other Safari Drives (In Addition to Serengeti National Park)
Em and I only visited Serengeti National Park, but the entire country of Tanzania is full of other incredible wildlife areas that we would love to visit some day! Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara National Park are two parks in northern Tanzania that are at the top of our list! Tarangire National Park has one of the biggest elephant populations in the country. Lake Manyara National Park is home to thousands of flamingos, a large population of giraffes, and a great place to spot tree climbing lions. Located in the south of Tanzania are Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve. These parks are definitely a lot harder to access, but we’ve heard that they are full of wildlife. In 2008, Ruaha National Park became the largest national park in Tanzania at 7,800 square miles! The park is only accessible by plane so it is very remote and full of wildlife! At 19,000 square miles, Selous Game Reserve makes Ruaha and Serengeti National Parks look tiny. It is the largest reserve or national park in all of Africa. It is also home to more than 4,000 lions, one of the largest populations in the world.
8. Olduvai Gorge
If you’re a fan of history, paleontology, or anthropology then Tanzania might be like Disney World for you. I’m not even going to pretend to act like I understand it, but the Olduvai Gorge is where some of the oldest human fossil records have been found. It is definitely way over my head and probably not a place that I would ever visit personally, but it is just another amazing thing that can be found in Tanzania!
9. Dar es Salaam
On top of the incredible wildlife, mountains, and beaches, Tanzania is also home to Dar es Salaam. This is by far the country’s biggest city and the capital. It’s the 5th biggest city in Africa and is located right next to the Indian Ocean. Like us, many tourists start their Tanzanian adventures in Arusha located in the north because it is right in the middle of Serengeti National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro. However, Dar es Salaam is a great place to fly into if you are planning on visiting Zanzibar. The city itself is huge and is full of museums, restaurants, and markets. Depending on when you are there you might be able to attend a game between Simba and Young Africans soccer clubs, Tanzania’s biggest soccer teams.
How We Got Around
Tanzania is an incredible country to visit! If you’re planning a trip there, we started our trip in Arusha and recommend booking transportation through Bookaway. Bookaway sells online transportation tickets such as bus, ferry, and trains worldwide – so it’s super easy to book your transportation tickets through them and focus on planning the rest of your trip!
Once you arrive to Arusha, Mili Adventure Africa is a great company to rent a vehicle through – our Serengeti self-drive safari wouldn’t have been possible without them. They rent 4×4 vehicles that are custom-created for game drives. The company was founded by safari guides with more than 40 years of safari experience. They have everything from extended land cruisers (the unofficial safari vehicle of East Africa), to roof-top tent 4x4s. They also offer guided safaris. We decided to go with the rooftop tent and full camping gear setup option on the 4×4 Suzuki Escudo. Mili Adventure outfitted it with everything you could ever need for a self-driving safari. As former RVers, we were blown away by all of the tools and camping equipment that Mili Adventure packed into the car. From start to finish, it took me less than 5 minutes to completely set up the tent by myself! The car also had an electric cooler and a full portable stove and propane tank! Even if we did ever run out of petrol, we had enough gear to last us for a week. If you’re interested in doing your own self-safari to Serengeti, Mount Kilimanjaro, or anywhere else close to Arusha check their website out here.Â
