Luxury Tarangire Safaris

Game drives are the main safari activity in Tarangire National Park. These are mainly done in closed 4×4 safari vehicles with a pop-up roof for sightings (as opposed to open-sided vehicles). The reason being is that Tarangire National Park is often combined with other safari destinations on a private driving itinerary. For this reason, closed vehicles are required as you are driving distances between the parks. Some safari camps and lodges offer walking safaris. These are usually done in small groups (with a maximum of 6/7 people) and last a couple of hours. Guided by an armed ranger and a professional walking safari guide, you will learn about the smaller things of the bush that are often overlooked in safari vehicles.

Tarangire National Park is approximately a 3-hour drive from Kilimanjaro and Arusha town. This makes it very accessible as a starting destination for those who have flown into Kilimanjaro. From Tarangire National Park, you can combine safaris with Lake Manyara National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, and then onto the jewel in Tanzania’s safari – the Serengeti National Park. The distances between these parks range around 3-4 hours depending on where you are staying, but the best thing about private driving safaris is that you can stop as much (or as little) as you like. You’ll pass through local Maasai villages and towns, markets, viewpoints and many more.

Tarangire is known for its localized migration of animals that come into the park in the dry season, between June and October. The main draw into the park is the water source that runs through the park, which makes game viewing along the riverbank exceptional. Lion prides and other predators often reside along the banks, looking for opportunities with antelope and other animals that come to drink. The park is particularly famed for its elephant herds that reside in the park during the dry season – with numbers up to 10,000 elephants. Within this period, the park is home to the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti National Park.

Tarangire National Park, located in northern Tanzania is large and diverse. There are safari camps located both inside the national park, as well as outside the park in the greater Tarangire ecosystem, so it depends on what experience you are looking for, and how much time you have to spend in Tarangire. If you are combining the park with other parks on a private driving itinerary (like Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park), then we would recommend staying in a safari camp on the northern side of the park, which is close to the park entry. This is good for a one or two night stay in Tarangire.