Tanzania is one of the most highly rated safari destinations in Africa. It is home to several iconic parks, such as Serengeti National Park and Nyerere (formerly Selous Game Reserve) National Park, and the Ngorongoro Crater. These safari hot spots are serviced by a great variety of lodges and camps. Whether you’re looking for an old-school tented camp with maximum bush ambience or a luxurious designer lodge with all the mod cons, there are accommodation options covering all budgets and styles.
Remote tented camps, honeymoon retreats, boutique guesthouses, unapologetic luxury. Tanzania has it all. The accommodation on offer here places Tanzania firmly in the upper echelon of African safari destinations.
Accommodation in Tanzania, at Glance
It’s 6am. You’re handed a freshly brewed coffee. Orange streaks cover the sky towards the horizon as the sun climbs higher. You’ve got a full day of safari ahead of you.
Tanzania is one of Africa’s most popular safari destinations, and there is no shortage of exceptional accommodation here.
Picture a private veranda overlooking a verdant clearing. A private pool just a few hundred metres from a group of elephants. A whisky or wine around the campfire in middle of Africa’s wildest wilderness areas.
Types of Accommodation
- Luxury Lodges: Tanzania has an impressive number of five-star hotels, luxury beach resorts, city escapes, boutique guesthouses, and luxury safari camps and lodges.
- Private Islands: For a real treat after a safari adventure, head east to Pemba island or Mnemba island for a desert-island-lost-in-a-tropical-paradise experience, and a true barefoot luxury holiday.
- Tented Camps: In many of the national parks and conservation areas, you can find luxury and mid-range tented camps. These put you closer to nature, whilst retaining all the amenities and creature comforts you want on a safari.
Understand whats on Offer
The Northern Circuit
The Northern Safari Circuit in Tanzania is the most popular route. The Northern Circuit includes Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara, Lake Natron, and the Serengeti National Park.
In each park, there are a number of small, luxury tented camps and lodges. There are also moving camps and fly camps that follow the route of the Great Migration, depending on the season.
There are some less expensive options in the parks, but Tanzania isn’t a cheap safari destination. The remote location of these lodges, combined with the harsh conditions and resources needed to keep the camps running, means prices are high across the board.
The Southern Circuit
The Southern Safari Circuit in Tanzania comprises Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve. In both parks, there is a mix of luxury, mid-range, and budget options available.
The luxury lodges are not quite up to the same standard as those found in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro on the Northern Circuit, but they do more than enough to make for wonderful stays on your safari.
Many of the lodges and camps on offer here take the shape of eco-lodges, with many allowing animals to wander into the camp grounds!v
The Coastal
Most visitors come to Tanzania for prime game-viewing in reserves like the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. But when you have had your safari fill, the country’s coastline beckons with the promise of an idyllic Africa’s best beach holiday.
Sprawling, bustling Dar es Salaam is perhaps not an obvious choice for a beach holiday but its international airport and central location means that this city is the logistics hub for the Tanzania coast.
There are great beach hotels and resorts within a 2-hour drive of the city. You’ll be spoilt for choice with an array of beautiful Tanzania beaches, while another major drawcard of the destination is the slew of Zanzibar resorts taking pride of place on Tanzania’s main tourist island.
Serengeti Trips says
As if the wildlife, scenery, and brilliance of the locals wasn’t enough, Tanzania provides a truly exceptional range of accommodation. The truth is, even if these camps weren’t set amongst some of the best safari destinations in the world, they would still be well worth a visit.
