Tanzania Parks - Ratings & Reviews

Wondering which parks you should visit in your Tanzania Safari? you have come to the right place!

We asked our guides to rate the parks and regions in North Tanzania keeping in mind clients' overall experience while visiting these locations. Since several parks are huge and require multiple days to cover properly, these parks have been rated day wise, for multiple days. Further, as experience widely varies from month to month, all the ratings are specific to a month.

Here are the average ratings for each park, for each day of visit on a scale of 1 (Very poor) to 10 (best) throughout the year.

For clients planning a safari tour in Tanzania, we recommend considering the above ratings along with detailed information on each park and the location of each park before finalizing their itinerary.

Watch out for:

1. These ratings do not take into account locations, transfer times, accommodations and prices of these parks.

2. These ratings are an average of opinions provided by our guides. They have guided clients over several years and have a vast experience.

3. Since everyone's interestes and tastes are different, if you (a client) are visiting these parks, you may or may not agree with our relative ratings for each parks. So we suggest you to consider this information along with detailed reviews of each park in the region.

4. For North Serengeti in early July and South Serengeti/Ndutu in December, the above ratings are assuming migration arrives here by early July/December. But it is possible the great migration might not have arrived by early July/Dec. Sometimes migration arrives at North serengeti by Mid July and at South Serengeti/Ndutu by end of December or early Jan. It is not possible to predict exact migration location at week by week level during these months so your experience of these regions can vary significantly depending on migration movement during the year you are visiting.

5. The number of days we have considered for each park are what majority of clients spend at these locations. But it is possible to arrange more days at any of these locations than what has been considered above.

Detailed Review of Parks

You can find our short and long reviews for each of popular parks/regions in North Tanzania that you can visit as a part of your safari in below links.

1. Lake Manyara National Park hosts a wide range of diverse habitats that support a variety of ecosystems and provide shelter to various kinds of animals and birds. But each of the eco systems are small and the number/variety of wildlife sightings here are not as great as what you find in other national parks in North Tanzania. To get more information about Lake Manyara National Park, click here

2. Tarangire National Park is famous for its Baobabs and concentration of elephants. Its diverse habitats hosts good amount of wildlife and during dry season many even compare it to the Serengeti itself. Birdlife here is richer than any other park in North Tanzania. Given it's size, you can easily spend 2 days in this park. To learn more about Tarangire, click here

3. Ngorongoro Crater, part of Ngorongoro conservation area is Africa's personal Garden of Eden. With a huge concentration of animals including all of the big 5, scenic beauty, this is an year round attraction and you will have the highest chances of spotting a rhino(though not always guaranteed). Given its small size, we recommend only day for game drives here. To understand Ngorongoro better, click here

4. Central Serengeti, the beating heart of Africa's most popular National park - Serengeti, is humming with incredible variety of wildlife, and is a must visit destination for all wildlife lovers. You will find more big cats here than at any other region in Tanzania, any time of the year. To get more information about Central Serengeti, click here

5. Ndutu is where the huge herds Wildebeest and Zebra gather between mid December to early April. Calving happens for about 3 weeks during Jan/Feb where 1000s of wildebeest give birth each day. Predators like lions, Hyenas, cheetahs, leopards will be eagerly awaiting for this event and you have good chances of seeing a hunt here. To know more about Ndutu, click here

6. Northern Serengeti hosts the great migration between July to October. It has plains, hills, woodlands, valleys, and the famous river Mara. From late July to early October, you might be able to witness the dramatic river crossings of the wildebeest herds as they make their way across the crocodile infested Mara River. To learn more about Northern Serengeti, click here

7. Western Serengeti is recommended during May/June when the widlebeest and Zebra herds visit this region. Also recommended for its decent wildlife and birdlife and the opportunity of doing game drives in a remote and less crowded region of Serengeti. To get more information about Western Serengeti, click here

8. Lake Natron is recommended for its flamingoes, beautiful and unique landscape, scenic hikes, cultural activities. The emissions from the nearby active volcano - Oldonyo Lengai have the turned the lake into a highly alkaline water body, which makes it an ideal breeding ground for lesser flamingoes. To get more information about Lake Natron, click here

9. Lake Eyasi is recommeneded for clients interested in experiencing the way of life of the Hadza, the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in East Africa. You can engage in activities like hunting and gathering, learning about their customs and beliefs, and gaining a deeper understanding of their way of life. Additionally, the lake and surrounding area offer beautiful scenery and attract a variety of birds. To learn more about Lake Eyasi, click here

10. Arusha National Park is located right next to Arusha city and has beautiful landscape that includes Mount Meru, the Momela Lakes, and lush forests. The concentration of predators in this park is very low which makes it a good location for hikers and bird watchers. To get more information about Arusha National Park, click here