Tanzania on your own
The great migration through your own binoculars, a Noah's-ark crater, baobabs full of elephants and the Indian Ocean as an epilogue: Tanzania is safari written in capital letters — and you can drive it yourself.
When to go
Dry season June to October: the benchmark, animals concentrated at waterholes and Mara River crossings in the northern Serengeti (July-September). January-March, the migration calves on the Ndutu plains in the south — the year's best predator show. Short rains in November-December (manageable), long rains April to May: black-cotton tracks become impassable and many camps close — avoid for self-drive.
What it costs
The biggest line item isn't the car but the parks: entries $50-82/person/day depending on the park (+ 18% VAT), foreign vehicle fee on top, crater descent $295 per vehicle, public camping around $35/person. An equipped 4x4 (Land Cruiser, rooftop tent, twin fuel tanks) rents for €150-250/day in Arusha. Diesel around €1.10/litre. For two over 12-15 days including Zanzibar: €6,000-8,500 excluding flights — public camping is precisely what keeps the bill manageable.
Driving & transport
Left-hand driving, a British legacy. On tarmac: frequent speed cameras, a strict 50 km/h through every village (the limits chain on endlessly), police checkpoints courteous but fussy — international permit, warning triangle and fire extinguisher required. Never drive at night: buses on full beam, pedestrians, livestock. Inside the parks: 25 km/h, stay in the vehicle, and note your entry time — gates close at 6 pm. Gate payments are by bank card only, never cash: check your card's limit before departure.
Tanzania concentrates East Africa's greatest myths: the endless plains of the Serengeti and their two million wildebeest in perpetual motion, the Ngorongoro caldera and its last black rhinos, the baobabs of Tarangire, the Maasai's sacred volcano above Lake Natron, the roof of Africa at 5,895 m — and Zanzibar to rinse off the dust. The northern circuit loops out of Arusha, and contrary to legend, it works very well without a driver.
Let's be clear: this is the most demanding self-drive in this collection. Park fees are heavy (budget $70-80 per person per day in entries alone, payable by card only at the gates), the interior tracks demand a properly equipped 4x4 and a cool head, and Tanzanian administrative logic keeps its mysteries. In exchange: public campsites in the heart of the parks, hyenas circling the tent, and total freedom on the greatest wildlife stages on Earth.
The destinations that matter
6No. 013 to 4 nightsSerengetiTwo million wildebeest, plains touching the horizon in every direction and lions on every kopje: the Serengeti isn't a park, it's a country made of grass.No. 021 to 2 nightsNgorongoro CraterA caldera 20 km across, 600 m of cliffs and 25,000 large animals that almost never leave: Ngorongoro is Noah's ark with the walls still standing.No. 031 to 2 nightsTarangireAn army of thousand-year-old baobab giants and the largest elephant herds in northern Tanzania: Tarangire is the opening act the rushed circuits skip.No. 041 to 2 nightsLake NatronA soda lake that turns blood red, a pyramid volcano sacred to the Maasai and the nursery of millions of lesser flamingos: Natron is an alien planet at the end of the circuit's worst track.No. 056 to 8 days of trekking, 2 nights in Moshi either sideKilimanjaroAn ice-capped volcano standing alone at 5,895 m above the savannah: Kilimanjaro is climbed without rope or ice axe — but never without humility before the altitude.
No. 064 to 5 nightsZanzibarSwahili lanes charged with a thousand years of the spice trade, then turquoise lagoons at high tide: Zanzibar is the dream decompression after the dust of the tracks.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Tanzania on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
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