Experiences and activities
GAME DRIVE SAFARI
See animals in their natural habitat. A game drive is an iconic way in which to take a safari and get in touch with the wilds. Game drives into the parks are the heart and soul of your safari. Departing from your lodge or camp, our expert naturalist guide will take you to the deep into the wilderness where you can witness amazing fauna and flora, up close and personal, behaving as they naturally do. The beauty of the game drives is that you can cover vast areas of ground to find the animals you want to see from the safety and comfort of a customized safari vehicle. We will take you out in a 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof open for excellent viewing and positioning for your photography, trekking through rugged terrain across various landscape. Game drives happen during the day, early in the morning and evening to catch particular wildlife events. There is no better place to learn about the delicate relationship between biomes, plants, and animals than in the bush, where the animals greatly living in their natural habitat. Uncover the fine balance between animals, their environment and conservation with our highly trained guides who will open your eyes and your mind. Enjoy this quintessential safari experience.
WALKING SAFARIS AND TREKKING
This is your opportunity to get out of the vehicle and experience the African bush on foot with a Naturalist or Armed ranger. Nothing heightens the senses like hiking through an area alive with wild animals. Every sound is amplified, every movement is magnified and the sheer size of large animals is put into perspective when seen up close and on foot. In addition to seeing large mammals, a guided bush walk exposes you to the insects, small mammals, and birds that maintain the ecosystem. Situational awareness is a key as you pay attention to the calls, the sounds, markings and the smells around you. All your senses are heightened and you witness things you will never see from a game drive vehicle. A walking safari is a rich opportunity in which to experience the details of life in the bush – both big and small. Rekindle your human instincts of how to track and read the signs of the bush. With your guide’s help, you will see your surroundings in a completely different and unforgettable light. Set out in the morning or evening light on a walking safari equipped with your survival instincts and the company of professional naturalist. Being on foot grants you access to places that game vehicle can’t reach and affords you the viewing advantages of silence and stealth.
HONEYMOON SAFARIS
You are about to marry the person who stops your heart with a look and makes you happier than you have been. We want to be your travel partner for life! The first trip you make as a married couple is so important. You are beginning your life together, and the romantic time you spend as a new couple will be the memories you cherish all your life. Your honeymoon is a once-in-a- lifetime holiday so it needs to be carefully tailored entirely around your personal interests and requirements. Tanzania Voyages can create a truly bespoke safari experience with an itinerary unique to you, and we thoroughly enjoy adding special touches to your personalized honeymoon safari that will always honor your loving bond. We also recognize that a honeymoon is one of the most important holidays you are ever going to take and it is important to get it right as your life together grows, and so does the desire and opportunity for travel. Combine adventure, romance and relaxation for the perfect holiday. Where to go and when to go are equally critical and our team of experienced and safari experts is definitely dedicated to tailoring your perfect honeymoon safari.
PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARIS
A photographic safari is one of the best ways to preserve your safari memories, improve your art and impress your friends back home. Whether you’re a professional or an amateur photographer, a photographic safari experience in East Africa is unparalleled to anywhere else in the world. With landscapes and wildlife as your subject, there’s something new to capture around every corner. Our dedicated wildlife photography safari will give you an experience, the time you need to enjoy photographing incredible wildlife and outstanding landscapes, looking for specific behavior and action from different angles and in different light and conditions. Wildlife photography requires patience, preparation, dedication and a guide that understands how to get you into the right position for that perfect capture. You also need ample space and equipment to move in your vehicle that can offer wildlife photographers an immersive ‘bucket list’ incredible experience.
CULTURAL TOURS
The aim of going on safari was not limited to seeing animals. It was a journey of discovery; of new lands, new plants, new tribes, foods, languages and traditions. Experience African’s life first hand. Visit local handcraft workshops, cultural performances and volunteer opportunities in the community. We have so much to learn from the vibrant cultures found across the country. Engage, absorb, and fall in love with the people, the customs, and the lifestyles of many of Africa’s indigenous tribes, the wealth of generosity and hospitality that every guest receives on arrival is heartwarming. They welcome you, they engage you, the teach you, and you leave with a whole new perspective on life. Tanzania Voyages embraces this authentic experience by weaving in reach opportunities for cultural engagement with East Africa’s local people.
NIGHT GAME DRIVE
The bush is completely different world at night which makes night game drives so special. As the heavy sun dips below the African horizon, the world takes on a different scent, sound and shape. Armed only with red filter night light – the game is on to spot predators hunting or eating. This activity can be done at Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks, and Ikoma Wildlife Management Area just outside of Serengeti National Park and Grumeti Game Reserve. It is an add-on that is conducted by third-party tour operators in specific area.
After dark predators roam and the night vibrates with rustlings and calls. There is nothing more exhilarating than searching for the animals from your vehicle at night. The advantage of a night game drive is that they provide access to nocturnal animals that are rarely seen during the day, such as aardvarks, bush babies, caracals, serval cat, porcupines, it is the best way to see nocturnal predators and herbivores in their natural habitat.
Big cats such as lions and leopards do much of their hunting after dark, while hippos trade their watery homes for grazing opportunities. A night game drive safari has a unique and exciting atmosphere; different types of animals (nocturnal) are active at night, from the big cats to smaller mammals. With varying behavior nocturnal animals are bolder at night and shy during the day. This increases your chances to witness nocturnal species, and of course enjoy magnificent sightings while on this safari. Take part in discovering the African bush by night.
FAMILY SAFARI HOLIDAYS
If you’ve always dreamed of giving your family the invaluable gifts of personal growth and cultural expansion, then an African safari vacation is calling you. It is the best gift you can ever give to your kids where they will have so much to learn, from the wildlife, the cultures, natural wonders e.t.c
Travelling with your children or as an extended family can be one of the most rewarding of lifetime experiences, both in terms of sharing the sense of wonder and adventure of being in a beautiful and fascinating part of the world, as well as for the simple attraction of spending quality time with your loved ones.
From the Big Five and diverse wildlife to spectacular scenery and hospitable people and cultures, the life-altering experiences in Africa cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Sit poolside as you overlook the wildlife-rich Serengeti plains, or find solitude in a spa treatment while the children are exploring the plant life of Africa on a kid-friendly African safari tour.
Tanzania is known as one of the Africa’s safest and friendliest countries, mainly due to its warm hearted and generous people. It is one of the few countries in Africa that can easily combine a safari with beach holiday. There is a great range of family friendly accommodation and safari activities for all ages. This family safari is an ideal blend of activities, culture and wildlife.
Whether you are looking for a family Holidays safari or relaxing half term break on stunning tropical beaches of Zanzibar, then we are here to offer you impartial advice and help you arrange a holiday that you will remember forever.
HOT AIR BALLOON SAFARI
Enjoy an unusual early morning wake-up call with the heat from the burners warming you up as you rise 1,500 feet into the air synchronized with the rising sun. Enjoy an incredible balloon safari flying over the Serengeti National Park dotted with the wildebeest migration and 360 degree views as far as the eye can see, boosting enchanting scenery and uninterrupted views on an unforgettable, extraordinary adventure. Allowing you to absorb the magnitude size of the park with amazing opportunities, for stunning photographic moments on this miraculous glide over the Serengeti Ecosystem. Followed by champagne breakfast. It is the perfect end to a transcendental experience…and yet your day will have only just started.
BIRD WATCHING SAFARIS
Bird lovers are spoilt for choice when it comes to bird watching in Tanzania. The region’s wealth of varied habitats – including watering holes, forests, flood plains, mud pans, and wetlands attract a vast range resident and migratory species. Apart from Arusha and Lake Manyara National Parks which are famous for water birds and other forest species and savannah, all the national parks and game areas in Tanzania have an amazing array of birdlife including Eurasian migrants.
The most interesting part is that the birdlife may vary from park to park depending on habitats providing a superb viewing experience to the birders. The National Parks have open savannah grassland, bush and scrub with rivers running through them.
More than 1100 species of birds have been recorded in Tanzania, varying in each location due to the nation’s geographic diversity. From mountain forest to tropical coast, every conceivable altitude range: deserts, open savannah grassland, lowland forest, bush and scrub, lakes and mudflats, making the premier birding destination in East Africa.
Below is a list of few national parks and the number of bird species that have been recorded:
- Arusha National Park: Over 350 bird species including water birds in Momella lakes.
- Tarangire National Park: Over 500 bird species. Lake Manyara National Park: Over 400 bird species including water birds and forest birds.
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area: 500 bird species including water birds and forest birds.
- Serengeti National Park: Over 450 bird species Usambara Mountains: Over 350 recorded bird species including the tropical forest birds.
Below is a list of few national parks and the number of bird species that have been recorded:
- Arusha National Park: Over 350 bird species including water birds in Momella lakes.
- Tarangire National Park: Over 500 bird species.
- Lake Manyara National Park: Over 400 bird species including water birds and forest birds.
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area: 500 bird species including water birds and forest birds.
- Serengeti National Park: Over 450 bird species
- Usambara Mountains: Over 350 recorded bird species including the tropical forest birds.
HORSE RIDING
If you are a rider going on safari in Africa, among a few better ways to experience Africa’s bush and scenic places is on a galloping horse out into the wilderness or through the lush vegetation of Africa. Horse ride safaris are specialized products aimed to animal ride lovers depending on visitor’s interest and time. Horse ride is available from a few camps and centers in Tanzania, for all standards of riders the experience is rewarding as it allows visitors to approach the wildlife much more closely than usual.
There are a few superb areas for horse riding in Tanzania. In the Northern circuit Manyara Ranch Conservancy is a private concession that lies between Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks where horse rides is professionally organized. Everything about Manyara ranch is a treat for the senses bordering on magical setting from the huge wildlife families of elephant, wildebeest, zebra, lesser kudu, eland, giraffe, impala, grant and Thomson gazelles, ostriches, jackals, hyenas, lion, cheetah, leopard and unbelievable collection of bird species wandering in the 44,000-acre piece of land.
Horse riding is also conducted in Arusha National Park. Visitors can explore the slopes of Mount Meru with tropical mountain forest and sweeping views of the surrounding scenic places on a horse back.
Creating tailor-made tours for over 10 years
Due to Tanzania’s close proximity to the equator, we generally only have two seasons; a rainy season and dry season. Short rainy season is from November to January and long rainy season is March through May. Dry season usually starts from July to October.
Majority of people will suggest that the best time to visit Tanzania is between July to October. This is the dry season, means that animals wandering searching for water, which makes them relatively easy to spot. You will probably see them in large concentrations as the watering points and rivers are getting limited. Most of the water’s sources dry up or get smaller during the dry season. However because most people believe that July to October is the best time to come, it is also the busiest time in the national parks. This means that majority of people miss the hidden treasures that can be found at other times of the year.
Here is a short overview of what the year looks like in our National Parks.