Best Tanzania Backpacking Safari
Overview
Enjoy a spectacular holiday on your trip to Africa. We offer the best Tanzania backpacking safari package touring Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro crater & Serengeti in a span of six days enjoying the stunning wildlife and marvelous landscape.
We organize daily departures from Arusha with a minimum of two pax and a maximum of six pax in the group. We also craft private safaris on request for families, friends or colleagues.
Tanzania Budget Accommodation
While on safari we will carry camping equipment which we pitch on special campsites. The public campsites have basic facilities like a bathroom where you will use a bucket to take a shower; water for showering is boiled by our cook. There is a long drop toilet in the camp.
We will set up a mess where meals are served in buffet style. We also cater for special diets [Vegetarian/Vegan meals]. You can opt for a group joining safari or a private safari.
Transport Logistics
Transport and game drives are facilitated by 4×4 safari vehicles that are customized for the ultimate safariing experience. The jeeps are accessorized with pop up roofs ideal for game viewing, hifi radio communication gadgets and comfortable seats.
Tanzania Backpacking Safariing
While on the best Tanzania backpacking safari you will enjoy the services of our experienced driver guides who have enormous knowledge on wildlife as well as different sceneries you will be visiting.
The thrill of touring various wildlife gems is an adventure that should be on every tourist’s bucket list. Our budget safari package gives you the opportunity to experience first hand the diversity in terms of culture as you socialize with the locals as well as epic game viewing encounters in this premium park.
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Contact us today and embark on the best Tanzania backpacking safari package that meets your dream vacation on any budget.
Take a step towards your ideal safari by getting in touch with our personnel. We will assist you with information, what to expect and guide you where necessary so as to achieve your travel goals.
- Nairobi Excursions.
- Mombasa Excursions.
- Hell's Gate Day Trip.
- Lake Nakuru Day Trip.
- Mount Longonot Day Trip.
- Amboseli Camping Safari.
- Masai Mara Camping Safari.
- Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru Budget Safari.
- Climbing Mount Kenya Sirimon Route.
- Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro Machame Route.
- Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro Marangu Route.
Six Days Lake Manyara / Ngorongoro Crater / Serengeti Backpacking Safari. [Itinerary]
Day One: Arusha – Lake Manyara
A representative from Kenya epic safaris will meet you at your hotel or pick you up from the airport and after briefing you he or she will hand you over to your assigned driver guide to facilitate the best Tanzania backpacking safari. You will be driven to Lake Manyara by your driver guide who will keep you entertained and informed on different sceneries as you journey to your destination arriving in time for a hot delicious lunch at the campsite. After settling in the campsite; pitch your tent and head out for the evening game drive.
Lake Manyara is 230 kilometers squared while the whole park is 330 kilometers squared inclusive of the lake. It is located under the wall of the Rift Valley and has the highest population of elephants per square kilometer in the country. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions.
The lake attracts thousands of lesser flamingos as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks, due to its alkaline nature. Dinner and overnight at Jambo campsite.
Day Two: Lake Manyara – Ngorongoro Crater
Pre Breakfast game drive which offers you an opportunity to view game you might have missed, return to the camp for your full breakfast and shortly depart. Hit the road and journey to Ngorongoro crater enjoying the ride and different landscape sceneries on the way arriving in time for lunch. After pitching your tent, relax at the campsite enjoying your afternoon.
Afterwards proceed for a guided walking tour on the crater rim; this offers amazing view of the crater and a perfect setting take amazing photos and selfies. Dinner and overnight at Simba campsite.
Day Three: Ngorongoro Crater
Breakfast will be served bright and early as the African sun rises. Descend 2000 meters with a four wheel drive vehicle to the floor of the crater. Ngorongoro crater is commonly referred to as the “Garden of Eden” and the park is inhabited by about 30,000 animals, of which half are zebra and wildebeest.
The park has recorded over 14000 wildebeest. Tanzania’s few remaining black rhino are regularly sighted in the crater, as are large herds of buffalos. On the crater floor and in the Ngoitokitok swamps, reside plenty of hippos who remain partially submerged during the day and graze on grass at night. Bird life is also abundant.
Spend the day exploring this natural habitat. Break for lunch at Ngoitoktok springs picnic site. Later ascend back to the campsite for dinner and overnight.
Day Four: Ngorongoro Crater – Serengeti
Rise and shine to the intoxicating African sun rise; breakfast will be served. Depart amd travel to Serengeti passing through Olduvai Gorge, a fossils site that was excavated by the Leakey family and they discovered human fossils dating back 2 million years.
Hot lunch at the Olduvai gorge; later proceed to the world famous Serengeti National Park. Serengeti is one of the largest wildlife sanctuary in the world and it is also the site of the most breathtaking events in the animal kingdom.
The migration of over a million wildebeest to the Masai Mara game reserve. After settling in the campsite; pitch your tent and head out for the evening game drive. Dinner and overnight at the Seronera campsite.
Day Five: Serengeti
After breakfast embark on extensive game drives in this world class famous park. Serengeti means “endless plain” in the Maasai language and much of the landscape epitomizes what we have come to expect from an East African safari; vast open savannahs dotted with acacia trees, rocky outcrops, riverine bushes, scrubs, rivers and swamps.
These features give Serengeti a fascinating variety of sceneries. Spend the day exploring this amazing park with a morning and evening game drive. The park’s wildlife population is over 4 million and over 400 bird species both migratory and terrestrial. Meals and overnight at Seronera campsite.
Day Six: Serengeti – Arusha
Pre breakfast game drive; depart the camp by 6:30 A.M and this will give you the opportunity to view the African sunrise and you will also get the chance to spot any game species you might have missed on our previous game drives.
Return to the camp around mid morning; your full breakfast will be served and afterwards depart and journey back to Arusha; lunch enroute arriving in the afternoon. Drop off at a hotel or the airport where the best Tanzania backpacking safari ends.
End of services.
- Transport in a customized safari jeep with a pop up roof ideal for game viewing .
- All park entrance fees.
- Meals as described in the itinerary.
- Accommodation in a budget campsite with basic amenities.
- Game drives and other activities as described in the itinerary.
- Services of an English speaking driver guide.
- Complimentary Bottled water 1 Litre per person per day.
- All government taxes.
- International airfares.
- All expenditure of personal nature such as telephone calls, hard drinks, soft drinks and laundry.
- Tips.
- Visas.
- Travel Insurance.
Tanzania Budget Camping Accommodation
Lake Manyara budget camping varies from pitching dome tents in a public campsite, facilities at the public campsite include a long drop toilet, bucket showers and a dining mess. Meals are prepared by our cook.
This can be referred to as basic camping. The other form of camping available is middle range where you find permanent erected tents with beddings, flush toilets and hot showers. Facilities include a swimming pool and a bar.
For those of you who are new to camping, don’t worry; all tents are easy to erect, your friendly guide will give a demonstration and are around to help you out.
Ngorongoro Crater camping comes in the form of public and private campsites all located at the rim of the crater. The campsites don’t have facilities and the tour operators carry everything required with them. Hot showers are available, heated by wood fires.
The toilet is a long drop. It is possible to visit the lodge bars and restaurants after dark, but we advise you to drive with caution, as many animals move through the area at night. Views of the crater are only a short walk away and are absolutely stunning.
Wild animals from the crater and Serengeti as far as from other parts of Ngorongoro conservation Area frequently visit the campsite which is not fenced, so you should move with caution. The campsite can become fairly cold (from an African perspective) and sometimes noisy at night.
Our cook will place you tent in the area where you will be comfortable and easily reached. He will also take care of your belongings while you are in game drive. We will provide camping equipment as far as an extra sleeping bag just in case you forget yours. Simba Campsite is a public campsite so you should expect other tourists from different companies.
Serengeti National Park budget camping comes in the form of public campsites which number up to nine, six around seronera, one at Kirawira in the Western Corridor, and one near Ndabaka Gate in the far west along the Mwanza-Musoma road.
The camps have well maintained toilets, hot showers heated by firewood and it is possible to visit the lodge bars and restaurants in the evening.
Wild animals frequently visit the campsite which is not fenced, so you should move with caution. There are also several rest houses at Seronera with running water, blankets and cooking facilities. You’ll need to bring your own food, although there’s a small shop at Seronera selling soft drinks, water and a few basic commodities.
Know Your Parks
Lake Manyara lies 127 kilometers west of Arusha town, a driving distance of 2 hours. The park covers an area of 330 km2 which consist of dry arid land, forest and the lake. The Lake covers an area of 200 km2 and its alkaline, the lake dries up during the dry season and it is almost non-existent.
Most of the land area of the park is a narrow strip running between the Gregory Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara to the east. Ernest Hemingway once described the park as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa.
The park’s terrain is vast and impressive including large areas of ground water forest with giant fig and mahogany trees alternating with acacia woodlands and open plains. A good network of roads and tracks gives the tourist a maximum game and bird watching opportunity.
The lake is famous for its tree climbing lions, this behavior has been attributed to the torment of biting flies which is minimal while arboreal. The lake attracts thousands of lesser flamingos as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks. due to its alkaline nature.
Over 400 hundred bird species have been recorded in the park. Game to view include Leopards, lions, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelle, hippo, giraffe, impala, wildebeests and zebras.
The Ngorongoro conservation area was established in the year 1959 and later became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The crater is one of the biggest caldera in the world and has been described as one of the most spectacular game hunts in Africa. The crater has a diameter of 14.5km and a depth of 2000ft – 2500ft. The crater covers an area of 264 km2.
The crater floor is mostly open grassland with two small wooded areas dominated by Acacia xanthophloea. The major source of water for the park is Ngoitokitok Spring, Munge Stream and Lerai Stream.
The best vantage point is the flat-topped Engitati Hill in the north-eastern corner of the park. Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the south-western corner, is the main feature of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually be seen here.
The Lerai forest, a fever tree forest located in the south, is a good place in the park to see animals such as elephants, waterbuck and flitting sunbirds. Swamps, thorn scrub and grassland fill the rest of the park and provide the bulk of wildlife viewing. The park is one of the most densely crowded wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals. There are no giraffes, topi or impala in the park.
Another big draw to this picturesque park is its dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot.
The Ngorongoro Crater is only open from 06h00 to 16h00 and only 6 hour safari permits are issued which allows for only a single 6 hour morning game drive or 6 hour afternoon game drive to the park. There are two picnic and toilet spots in the crater.
The Serengeti National Park is widely regarded as the best wildlife reserve in Africa due to its density of predators and prey. The park covers 14,763 km2 (5,700 sq mi) of grassland plains and savanna as well as riverine forest and woodlands. The park lies in the north of the country, bordered to the north by the national Tanzania and Kenyan border, where it is continuous with the Masai Mara National Reserve.
The park is usually described in three regions: Serengeti plains, Western corridor and Northern Serengeti. Serengeti plains are characterized by the endless, almost treeless grasslands. This is where the wildebeest breed, as they remain in the plains from December to May.
Other ungulates also occur in huge numbers during the wet season. Kopjes are granite formations which are very common in the region, and they are great observation posts for predators, as well as a refuge for hyrax and pythons. The Western corridor the “black cotton” soil covers the swampy savannah of this region.
Grumeti river is home to enormous Nile crocodiles, colobus monkeys, and the martial eagles. The migration passes through from May to July. The Northern Serengeti landscape is dominated by open woodlands and hills, ranging from Seronera in the South, to the Mara river in the limit with Kenya.
Apart from the migratory wildebeest and zebra (which occur from July to August, and in November), the bushy savannah is the best place to find elephants, giraffes and dik diks. The park is well known for its healthy stock of other resident wildlife, particularly the “Big Five”. The park also supports many further species, including cheetahs, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, topis, elands, waterbucks, hyenas, baboons, impalas, African wild dogs and giraffes.
The park also boasts about 500 bird species, including ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, crowned crane, marabou stork, martial eagle, lovebirds and many species of vultures.
- Do not Litter the park/reserve.
- Do not feed the animals, i.e. monkeys or baboons.
- Do give the animals the right of way and do not disturb wildlife.
- Do not take any plant or animals remains, dead or alive.
- Do not start fires or throw cigarettes in the parks/reserve.
- Do stay in your vehicle except at designated viewing points.
- Do not shout, laugh loudly, honk or play loud music as this will keep away the animals.
- Do not provoke any animals; it’s dangerous.