Elephant Safari and Zanzibar – Go BUDGET

Tarangire National Park is one of the fourth largest national parks in Northern Tanzania, located in Manyara Region. It’s well-known for its elephant migration and the name of the park come from Tarangire River that crosses the park. Tarangire River is the source of water for animals in Tarangire National Park during the dry season. Except rhinos, you can spot all the other animals from the big five during peak season. It is a marvellous spot for a day trip from Arusha or as an addition to a Serengeti/Ngorongoro centred itinerary. Tarangire Ecosystem is defined by the long-distance migration of wildebeest and zebras. During the dry season thousands of animals concentrate in Tarangire National Park from the surrounding wet-season dispersal and calving areas. It covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 square miles.) The landscape is composed of granitic ridges, river valley, and swamps. Vegetation is a mix of Acacia woodland, Commiphora-Combretum woodland, seasonally flooded grassland, and Baobab trees.

Lake Manyara National Park is a Tanzanian National Park located both in Arusha Region and Manyara Region, Tanzania. The two regions have no control over the park. The park is governed by the Tanzania National Parks Authority. Lake Manyara National Park is known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake and for the famous tree climbing lions which can be seen if you are very lucky. During the wet season flamingos inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands, but they are not so present during the dry season.

The majority of the land area from Lake Manyara National Park is a narrow strip running between the Gregory Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara, an alkaline or soda-lake, to the east. Lake Manyara has a big number of elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, wildebeest, impalas, water-bucks and warthogs, but also small antelopes known as Kik’s dik dik as well as Klipspringer along the ramps of the escarpment. If you are very lucky you can spot jackals, cheetahs, leopards which are held within the broken forests and slope and also the healthy lions that are widely known for their tree climbing pranks. Lake Manyara is also home for a large number of monkeys such as baboons, blue monkeys, black and white monkeys and other species, but it also has more than 400 species of birds which can give you a total show in front of your eyes.

Lake Manyara National Park consists of 330 km2 (130 sq. mi) of arid land, forest and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km2 (77 sq. mi) of land during the wet season, but is nearly nonexistent during the dry season. The park is located 126 km (78 mi) south west of Arusha. The park can also be reached easily from Babati the capital of Manyara Region. The park is also very close to Tarangire National Park. There is also an airport, Lake Manyara Airport (LKY), located at the top of the rift wall.

Zanzibar consists of a series of small tropical islands off the coast of Tanzania in the southern waters of the Indian Ocean. The capital of Zanzibar is ‘the’ Stone Town. Zanzibar archipelago consists of two main islands – Unguja (commonly known simply as ‘Zanzibar’) and Pemba. The origin of the name is thought to have Persian or Arabic origin. In Persian the name is believed to have derived from the words ‘Zangh Bar’, meaning ‘the Negro Coast’. In Arabic the name is thought to come from the words ‘Zayn Z’al Barr’, meaning ‘Fair Is This Land’. There are beautiful beaches in Zanzibar – the beach locations include Nungwi and Kendwa [northern tip of Unguja], Matemwe [mid-south east], Kiwengwa [eastern coast], Paje and Uroa. There a lot of activities in Zanzibar as mentioned here Stone Town, Spice Tours, Jozani forest, Dolphin Tour Safari Blue etc.

Animals are present all year round. So there is not really a bad or good time to go, but almost anytime it suits you. However there are two main seasons in Tanzania. High season is usually between June and October when you can expect the highest number of tourists. Mid season is usually between November and March. Dry season is usually during April and May when the heavy, but short rains can often occur, but it’s also the season when it’s the least crowded.

Moshi City and surroundings offer you many activities to choose from. Shopping tour, mountain biking, waterfalls, half day or one day trekking, clear water springs, Maasai cultural village tours and more.

Tarangire National Park and the area around it offers to all travellers the chance to go for a night game drive, a walking safari, a cultural safari or simply to enjoy some bush meals in the wild.

Lake Manyara National Park gives you the chance at an extra cost to have a Night Game Drive, to do some Hiking activities, to have a special Bush meal, to do accompanied walking and visit the nearby villages or to do some guided forest walks on the escarpment outside the park.

In Zanzibar there are many other activities you can do.

For all the activities, both in the National Parks and in Zanzibar we recommend you to have a look on our Activities page.