6 Tanzania Safari Destinations You Can Get to from Dar es salaam
Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania, and also a perfect gateway to many great safari destinations in the country. Located on the Indian Ocean coast, Dar es Salaam derives its name from an Arabic word meaning “Abode of Peace”.
Most common Tanzania safaris near Dar es salaam go to some of the most dramatic wilderness in Tanzania’s southern safari circuit – Mikumi, Ruaha, Nyerere national park – former Selous, Udzungwa, and the nearby Saadani National parks
However, with the continuous increase on scheduled flights from Dar es salaam connecting with other safari towns such as Arusha, one can also start safaris from Dar es salaam to Serengeti and other national parks.
Why you Should Start Your Tanzania Safaris from Dar es Salaam?
Dar es salaam is probably the best city in Tanzania to start a safari to the country’s southern safari circuit due to its proximity to some of the best-kept secret safari destinations in the country.
The city itself is full of life with Dar es Salaam International Airport (DIA) being a convenient point from which to start a safari holiday to the south Tanzania national parks or to transfer from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar.
Easy access to rewarding wildlife encounters in Tanzania makes Dar es Salaam the perfect gateway for safaris to southern Tanzania safari circuit; this circuit epitomises Tanzania in her most pristine form, off the beaten track, away from the crowds of tourists and the sound of other safari vehicles.
Safaris close to Dar es salaam: Here you will find prolific wildlife unscathed by human interaction, where the night sky dazzles with millions of stars and a part of the continent which is untouched by time. Visit the impressive Selous game reserve, Mikumi, Udzungwa Mountains, Saadani, and Ruaha National Parks via unforgettable Tanzania southern safari circuit packages.
Is Dar es Salaam worth visiting?
- Within Dar es Salaam city, there is so much that you can do. One could take a guided Dar es Salaam city day tour, visiting the National Museum, Nyumba ya Sanaa, Uhuru, the National Library, local markets and get to know the history behind this vibrant city.
- There’re also plenty of beaches to explore: Whitesands, Sunrise & South Beach being the most popular ones. There’s also “Sea Cliff” and “Slipway” – good spots to sit and chill while enjoying the sea breeze and a nice view. Then, there’re a few resorts like Golden Tulips or the Fun city water park to enjoy a day out. Activities such as island hopping, scuba diving, and snorkelling can also be arranged from most hotels in Dar es Salaam.
- Moving away from the city of Dar es salaam, one can also go for a wildlife safari tour from Dar es Salaam to the national parks of southern Tanzania; it is also easy to combine a southern Tanzania safari holiday with a beach getaway to Zanzibar or along the Swahili coast. The southern safari circuit national parks also have good connections with the northern circuit national parks.
Planning to go on a safari from Dar es Salaam?
Here, we break down 6 Tanzania safari destinations you can get to from Dar es salaam, with summaries of the kind of safari holiday you can expect to enjoy, what to see and do, the best time to visit the national parks and game reserves, as well as the wildlife watching opportunities to expect.
|
|
Safaris to Mikumi National Park from Dar es Salaam
Mikumi National Park is the fourth-largest national park in Tanzania, and part of a much larger ecosystem centred on the vast Selous Game Reserve, Africa’s biggest game reserve. The park is also bordered by the Uluguru Mountains in the north and Rubeho Mountains to the south-east.
Open grasslands dominate the flood plain, eventually merging with the Miombo woodland covering the lower hills. The woodland is the favourite haunt of the lions, sometimes perching high in the trees to keep their feet dry from the sticky black mud of the wet season.
Mikumi National Park Wildlife
During a safari in Mikumi national park, the main feature is the Mkata River Flood Plain, the most reliable place in Tanzania for sightings of the powerful eland, the world’s largest antelope.
The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain draw frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains. Elephants, Lions, zebra, wildebeest, Giraffes, impala and buffalo herds, the greater kudu, sable antelope can be seen and more than 400 bird species have been recorded here.
Best time for Mikumi Safaris
Mikumi national park can easily be visited throughout the year; however, the dry season (June to October) is the best time for wildlife viewing. The wildlife concentrates around waterholes and rivers – making it easier to spot them.
Things to do in Mikumi
Mikumi national park is well known for standard game drives with a possibility of spotting 4 of the “Big 5” animals, however, guided nature walks, bird watching safaris, camping & picnicking trips can also be arranged.
Safaris from Dar es Salaam to Ruaha National Park
Ruaha national park is an ancient place; its hilly distances are punctuated with distended elephant-battered girths of massive baobabs that live for a thousand years, and the combination of ochre-red earth, pale russet grasses and parched paths of wide sand rivers fulfil images of ancient African landscapes.
Ruaha National Park is the only protected area in Tanzania where the flora and fauna of eastern Africa and the Miombo woodland belt of Southern Africa overlap, leading to fascinating combinations and unusually high diversity of wildlife. Game viewings can begin the moment you arrive in the park.
Ruaha National Park Wildlife
The wildlife in this quiet national park includes an impressive array of large predators such as lions, cheetahs, both striped and spotted hyena, the highly endangered African wild dog, and sightings are impressive.
Grant’s gazelle and lesser kudu also occur here, alongside elephant, giraffe, buffalo, crocodiles, zebra, sable and roan antelope, impala, waterbuck, and other antelopes as well as more than 450 bird species.
Best time for Safaris in Ruaha
Ruaha is a classic dry season park. For predators and large mammals, dry season (mid – May – December). The male greater kudu is most visible in June, the breeding season. Bird-watching, lush scenery and wildflowers, wet season (January – April).
Things to do in Ruaha National Park
In addition to conventional game drives, there is also the opportunity for night game drives, guided walking safaris, bush camping safaris, boat safaris, fly-camping, and hot air balloon safaris. Some of these trips need to be prebooked.
Safaris from Dar es Salaam to Selous Game Reserve
The Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania is the world’s largest game reserve – 4 times the size of the Serengeti as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site covering more than 5% of Tanzania’s total land area, still an uninhabited, untamed slice of “Old Africa” and offers unforgettable game viewing in almost isolated surroundings.
The topography of the park varies from rolling savannah woodland and grassland plains to rocky outcrops cut by the wide meandering Rufiji River and its tributaries, the Kilombero and Luwegu, which together cover the greatest water catchment area in East Africa creating a very unique and unusual safari environment, the latter being home to the ferocious tiger fish and vandu catfish.
Selous Game Reserve Wildlife
Selous game reserve is well known for Tanzania’s largest population of elephants as well as enormous numbers of wild animals such as lions, leopards, buffalos, hippos, and even black rhinos alongside one of the healthiest populations of the endangered African Wild dogs; Selous game reserve is equally celebrated for its abundant and prolific bird-life with more than 380 species recorded.
Best Time to visit the Selous
The Selous is accessible year-round, however, the best time for safaris in Selous is during the dry season; from June to October, when wildlife gathers around the waterholes and temperatures are less searing.
Things to do in Selous Game Reserve
The Selous game reserve has the widest diversity of safari activities in the country, offering the boating safaris as well as standard game drives, walking safaris, fishing safaris, and legendary fly camping trips.
Safaris from Dar es Salaam to Udzungwa Mountains
The Udzungwa Mountains National Park rises up from the western edge of the Selous Game Reserve. The Mountains are the largest and most biodiverse of a chain of a dozen large forest-swathed mountains that rise majestically from the flat coastal scrub of eastern Tanzania.
Known collectively as the Eastern Arc Mountains, this archipelago of isolated massifs has also been dubbed the African Galapagos for its treasure-trove of endemic plants and animals, most familiarly the delicate African violet. The Udzungwa Mountains is not a conventional game viewing destination, but, it is a magnet for hikers.
Udzungwa Mountains Wildlife
Although not an ideal destination for a conventional wildlife safari, the Udzungwa Mountains offer visitors the opportunity to view several species of primates and endangered birds in a beautiful African rain forest. Vervet monkeys play high in the forest canopy, and small forest antelope can be viewed at the right time of day.
Botanical diversity is exceptional, and the park is host to a large number of endangered bird species, Ornithologists are attracted to Udzungwa for an avian wealth embracing more than 400 species. Undoubtedly, this great forest has yet to reveal all its treasures: ongoing scientific exploration will surely add to its diverse catalogue of endemics.
Best time to visit Udzungwa
Possible year-round although slippery in the rains. The dry season is June-October before the short rains but be prepared for rain anytime.
Things to do in UdzungwaThis is not a typical safari destination, however, the park is well known for excellent hiking, camping trips, mountain climbing, birding, and forest walks. |
Safaris from Dar es Salaam to Saadani National Park
Saadani national park is the perfect union of beach and bush, the only wildlife sanctuary in East Africa to boast an Indian Ocean beachfront; it possesses all the attributes that make Tanzania’s tropical coastline and islands so popular with foreign sun-worshippers.
The park is a good choice for visitors based in Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, who don’t have time for longer safari vacations to the more remote parks around the country. Saadani national park can easily be visited on a day trip or short weekend holiday from Dar es Salaam. Its elephant population frolics in the sands and sometimes ventures into the crashing surf, which alone makes Saadani safaris more special and unique. It is also the one place where those idle hours of sunbathing might be interrupted by an elephant strolling past, or a lion coming to drink at the nearby waterhole!
Saadani National Park Wildlife
Surprisingly, a wide range of grazers and primates are seen on Saadani safaris or walks, among them giraffe, buffalo, warthog, common waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeest, wildebeest, red duiker, greater kudu, eland, sable antelope, yellow baboon and vervet monkey. Herds of up to 30 elephants are encountered with increasing frequency, and several lion prides are resident, together with leopard, spotted hyena and black-backed jackal.
Boat trips on the mangrove-lined Wami River come with a high chance of sighting hippos, crocodiles, and a selection of marine and riverine birds, including the mangrove kingfisher and lesser flamingo, while the beaches form one of the last major green turtle breeding sites on mainland Tanzania.
Best time to visit Saadani Park
Generally accessible all-year-round, but the access roads are sometimes impassable during the rainy months of April and May. The best Saadani safari game-viewing is in January and February and from June to August.
Things to do in Saadani Park
Activities in Saadani National Park include game drives (4 of the ‘Big 5’ are present), walking safaris, swimming in the Indian ocean, and boat safaris. Historical tours to the old Saadani fishing village can also be organised.
Browse our best Tanzania safaris from Dar es salaam below for inspiration. If something appeals, simply contact one of our Tanzania Safari Experts and they’ll take it from there.
