Tanzania

East Africa's largest safari country

Tanzania holds the largest share of the Serengeti ecosystem, the setting for most of the Great Migration's calving season and river crossings across the year. The Serengeti itself is vast, and different sectors come into their own at different months, which is why timing a visit around the migration's location matters as much as the season.

From savannah to sea

Beyond the northern circuit, the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park add dense, easily viewed wildlife within reach of the same itinerary, while Mount Kilimanjaro draws trekkers to its summit routes. Tanzania's population includes more than one hundred ethnic groups, and Swahili culture along the coast and islands reflects centuries of trade with Arabia, Persia and India, visible in Stone Town's architecture and the region's cuisine. A short flight from the mainland, Zanzibar and its outlying islands add this coastal history and warm-water beaches, making a safari-and-beach combination one of the most popular ways to see the country; our Serengeti & Zanzibar itinerary follows this pattern.

When to travel

Tanzania's dry season, roughly June to October, is generally the most reliable period for wildlife viewing across the northern parks, while the short rains around November and the long rains from March to May bring green landscapes and fewer visitors but less predictable game viewing. Our migration guide breaks the year down month by month for travellers planning around specific migration events. Travellers wanting to compare the northern circuit with Kenya's side of the same ecosystem often read our Kenya guide alongside this one.