Are you looking for a reliable 4×4 car to rent with a driver/guide or self-drive in Tanzania? Look no further, Serengeti Trips offers a wide variety of reliable and well-maintained 4×4 rental cars in Arusha, Dodoma, Moshi, Mwanza, Morogoro, Tanga, Zanzibar, Kigoma, Tabora, Lindi, and Dar-es-salaam.
You can hire a 4×4 with a professional English-speaking driver, or drive your own adventure with a self-drive rental option. Our cars are comprehensively insured, serviced regularly, offered on an unlimited mileage basis, with 24-hour road assistance.
Our fleet includes cars like Toyota Prado, Nissan Safari, Land Cruiser GX, VX, V8, and Hardtop. For camping safaris in Tanzania, we have strong 4×4 jeeps with double and family rooftop tents and bush tents, and a Fridge.
Self - Drive in Serengeti National Park
Serengeti national park is among Tanzania’s most popular attractions comprising of savanna grasslands, acacia trees, small forests and woodlands. The park provides a great encounter of wildlife species since it hosts the great migration of wildlife.
The migration involves the flock of over 1 million wildebeests and thousands of zebras as they move towards the Mara river so as they can cross to Kenya. During the cross over to Kenya, the animals undergo various challenges like the infested crocodiles and lions that make a number of them lose their lives.
Other wildlife to spot during the safari include the elephants, cheetahs, buffalos, hyenas, impalas, wild dogs, elands, gazelles, lions, ostriches and many others. The wildlife can be encountered during different park experiences including game drives, nature walks, hot air balloon experiences and others.
Should I book a Guided or Self Drive Tour?
In order to answer this question, ask yourself the following: Would I like to travel with a guide or by myself? It is important to make an informed decision. Please bear in mind, however, that choosing a self-drive trip doesn’t mean that you are completely on your own.
Our office in Karatu is available to assist you at all times and, even on self-drive trips, a lot of the activities recommend by us are guided, in order to give you the best possible experience.
The main difference between a guided trip and a self-drive trip is that a guided trip includes your own personal guide for the duration of the trip, which is not included in a self-drive trip.
Serengeti 4x4 Car Rentals
Self Drive 4×4 Tanzania – 4wd Car Rental with Rooftop Tents
The best way to experience Tanzania is on a self drive safari. we offer 4wd car hire and camping gear rental at the most competitive rates.
Looking for strong car rental in Tanzania for long term or self drive adventure in Tanzanian National Park ? We have unique customized Safari Land cruisers with camping gears , Rooftop tents for your bush camping on Tanzania Safari.
Our 4×4 Rental cars in Tanzania are strong to handle the bad roads in Serengeti and Ngorongoro Craters which is included on our tailor made Safaris around Lake Victoria.
Land cruiser TZ/ TX
We recommend this jeep for self drive around Tanzanian National Parks excluding the visit to Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater. Our Toyota Land cruiser TX & TX range from model 1996-2002, with Working Ac, Radio, Engine Size 3400 CC, pope up roof for Wildlife Game Viewing, Recommended for self drive to Selous National Park , Ruaha national Park, Serengeti and all other National Parks in Tanzania.
Rates
| Ground tent Camping |
$ 5 pp/day |
| Land cruiser V8 & with roof top tent | $180 /day |
| Land Cruiser V8 with pope up roof |
$150 / day |
| Electrical fridge | $10 / day |
Toyota Land cruiser HARD TOP
| Ground tent Camping | $ 5 pp/day |
| Land cruiser LX & with roof top tent | $180 /day |
| Land Cruiser LX Normal | $160/ day |
Self-Drive Serengeti FAQ's
Yes, you certainly can! The Serengeti is probably the most rewarding game park in the world. However, it’s also a park best enjoyed when you’ve prepared well in advance.
We allow self-drive safaris into the Serengeti with Serengeti trips Tanzania vehicles, but only with a Land Cruiser. The main road running from Naabi Hill gate to Seronera, the center of action, and from Seronera radiating to the East and West, is notorious among tour guides in Tanzania for its rough driving conditions. It’s a challenging road, with a rocky surface and washboard ribbons. Drive at limited speed (25 km/h), or else you’ll lose control instantly. And with a single vehicle rollover as a result – this is NOT covered by the insurance.
Serengeti National Park is part of a cross-border ecosystem. Which includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), the Maasai Mara in Kenya, and a number of smaller game reserves. From Arusha, the most accessible parts of the Serengeti are its southern plains, comprising of Ndutu and Seronera. The western corridor and Lobo are rewarding to explore, but far out. If you want to explore lesser visited areas of the Serengeti, Serengeti trips Tanzania Tanzania highly recommends renting a car with a driver-guide.
Driving times to the Serengeti are as follows:
- Loduare Gate (Ngorongoro Conservation Area entrance) to Ngorongoro Crater entrance: 1.5 hours
- Ngorongoro Crater entrance to Naabi Hill Gate (Serengeti entrance): 2.5 hours
- Naabi Hill Gate to Seronera (public campsites): 1 hour
- Seronera to Lobo (public campsites in the North): 2 hours
- Arusha – Seronera: 9-10 hours
Best maps of the NCA and Serengeti:
- Harms Verlag (IC) Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- New Map of Serengeti National Park (pictured below). Guys sell them on the street in Arusha, at the clock tower right in the middle of town.
Refer to the Tanzania Practical Information section, for an up to date overview of the entrance fees of all Tanzanian Parks.
A ranger to help with wildlife spotting costs $23.60 and can be arranged at the park gate. He joins you in your car but you will drive yourself. This is highly recommended, as the Serengeti is so vast.
As an individual traveller, you can’t book a ranger for a guided walking safari as you can in the Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Tarangire. This has to be booked via a specialised company, such as Wayo Africa.
If you visit the Serengeti, you will transit through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area ( NCA) when coming from and returning to Arusha. The fee for the NCA is $70.80 per person per 24 hours, plus the vehicle fee. This is payable by all who enter the Conservation Area, even if you are only in transit to and from Serengeti National Park. Be aware that you will end up paying the NCA fee twice – once on your way to the Serengeti, and again on your return to Arusha. The only way to avoid paying the NCA fee twice is by exiting the Serengeti via Klein’s Gate in the northeast of the park, on your way to Lake Natron. Bear in mind that it’s a long and bumpy ride from Klein’s Gate to Lake Natron – a solid 7-8 hour’s drive through a remote area.
The permits for all TANAPA-managed parks are paid at the entrance gate by credit card (Visa or Mastercard). No prior reservations are needed. Cash is NOT accepted; neither are debit cards.
For the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will need to obtain an entrance quote first, before going to the gate to actually pay for park entry.The NCA office is based in Arusha and Karatu and open from Monday – Friday. You have to go there in person, it’s not possible to obtain online. Roadtrip Tanzania can arrange the Ngorongoro quote on your behalf.
The Serengeti is famous for its annual wildlife migration: millions of wildebeest and other plains grazers on the move to fresh grass and water, with predators such as lions following in their footsteps. Whether it’s worth planning your safari dates around the migration is a matter of choice. In our experience, the Serengeti offers superb wildlife viewing year-round. With the best will in the world, you can never be sure of coinciding your few days in the Serengeti with the river crossing. Moreover, expect to pay exorbitant prices for the Mobile Camps that congregate near the river crossing, and to see plenty of other safari vehicles. Having said that, watching the frantic herds of the wildebeest migration crossing the Grumeti and the Mara River is truly spectacular, and the highlight of any safari.
Expert Africa is an excellent reference if you are having wildebeest migration location questions and they have visualised the migration in maps, which you can find here.
We’ve summarised the migration cycle below, which, being dictated by local rainfall patterns, does follow a fairly predictable pattern:
- December – May: the Southeast
The game movements are at their most predictable between December and April when the wildebeest and zebra congregate in Ndutu area to calf and foal. After the short rains of early November, the herds arrive on the short-grass plains feeding on the fresh, nutritious grasses. They stay here throughout January, February and March, with most wildebeest calves born in a short window of time (around February), and predator concentrations are at their peak.
- May – July: Western corridor
Game viewing is pretty good here throughout the year, but peaks from late May to July, when the migration usually passes through. Millions of wildebeest migrate to the North, in a braying column of up to 40 km long! The major obstacle faced by the wildebeest on this migration is the crossing of the crocodile-rich waters of the Grumeti River flowing through the Western corridor. The crossing typically occurs from June to early July and the first herd to cross are generally at greater risks. For this reason, it can take up to weeks from when the first wildebeest arrive at the southern banks of the river, for the actual crossing to begin. Tens of thousands of wildebeest congregate at the riverside. Watching the frantic herds of the wildebeest migration crossing the Grumeti and, later on, the Mara River can be truly spectacular; there are often scenes of great panic and confusion.
- July – September: Mara river.
Game viewing is excellent here throughout the year, but becomes mind-boggling between August and September when the herd crosses the Mara River, close to the Kenyan border.
- September – October: Lobo area.
By October, the wildebeest herds are migrating southwards again, back to the Serengeti heading to Lobo area and onwards. In December, it starts all over again…
Going on a safari in the Serengeti is expensive. The most budget option is camping at the public campsites. There’s a cluster of seven campsites close to Seronera Wildlife Lodge and two public campsites in the North, at Lobo area. During the migration, this is a good place to stay. It’s around a two hour drive from Seronera to Lobo.
TANAPA camping fees are $35 per person/night. You pay for the public campsites at the gate, using credit card only. You don’t need to book public campsites in advance.
The Seronera campsites lack a bit of character and are primarily set up to cater for budget group safari tours. There is a large fenced cooking area, the domain of the bush chefs of the tour operators, and a separate roofed dining area. Of course you as an independent traveller can use these facilities as well.You will most likely share the campsite with at least 40 other campers travelling with a budget safari company. Luckily, we did not experience this in the other safari parks in Tanzania.
If you stay in a lodge or Mobile Camp, expect to pay the following prices:
Budget: $300 – $400 – Double / B&B
Mid Range: $400-600 -Double / B&B
Luxury: $600-800 – Double / B&B
Your Bradt Travel Guide that comes with your Serengeti Trips Tanzania rental car is a great source of information and lists numerous lodges and campsites. Serengeti Trips Tanzania Tanzania has good experiences with WAYO Green Camps (high-end) and Serengeti View Camp (one of the more affordable lodges), but we don’t know and/ or have visited all the camps in Serengeti, there are so any and new ones keep popping up. So also consult Tripadvisor and quality blogs.
YES WE CAN, but
The so-called special campsites in the Serengeti are largely reserved by private safari companies, who bid on them for the season. As an individual traveller, you won’t be able to stay there. The less interesting special campsites are not taken by the safari companies and are available to book by individual travellers.
It is not easy to secure a spot and these camping permits are more expensive, but you will enjoy a true wilderness experience, camping in an isolated location. Bring your own food supplies. There are no facilities, also no drop toilets or showers.
If you prefer to stay at a special campsite instead of staying at one of the public campsites, we advise you to spend a day in Arusha before your safari and go to the TANAPA and NCA head office in Arusha (open Monday – Friday), check out what is available and reserve a spot. It’s not possible to organise your special campsite permit online.
