When you organize a safari and you choose to visit the parks, it is important to take into consideration the transfers from one park to another. Some operators could offer safaris where you run from one park to another without having enough time to enjoy the photo-safari, or the roads conditions could make the transfer times longer for different reasons. This is one of the reasons why it is always better contact and rely on a local, expert and serious operator.
We take into consideation that we are in Tanzania, not all roads are paved or in good condition. In Tanzania there are speed limits, bumps, police check points, and especially it is more safe if we drive slowly. Another good idea is to avoid driving long distances in the dark, in the parks is not allowed to move from 6 pm to 6 am.
The smartest way to measure the distance in Tanzania is in driving hours rather than Kilometers, because as I said the same distance in kilometers can be covered in different times depending on the road conditions. Below we provide a guideline that may change according to the road conditions, for example during a storm or just after, but they are certainly a good approximation.
The distances of the safari in northern Tanzania
The Northern parks of Tanzania have the great advantage of being quite closed each other and therefore the transfer time is around 2-3 hours from one park to another.
The main tamac road is in good condition, it starts from Dar Es Salaam and arrivse to Ngorongoro Conservation Area entrance gate, crossing near the parks of Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro International Airport, Arusha, The Arusha Airport, Arusha National Park , Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara National Park.We proceed to Serengeti National Park on a rough road and we can return to Arusha driving back on the same road, or driving to Lake Natron where we overnight for one night and then proceed to Arusha driving first on the rough road and later joining again the paved road between Karatu and Mto wa Mbu.
- Kilimanjaro Airport – Arusha, 50 Km – 1 hour transfer
- Arusha – Tarangire, 130 Km – 2 hours of transfer
- Arusha – Manyara, 120 Km – 2 hours of transfer
- Tarangire – Manyara, 60 km – 1 hour transfer
- Tarangire – Karatu, 90 Km – 1.5 hour transfer
- Arusha – Karatu , 160 km – 2.5 hours of transfer
- Arusha – Serengeti, 335 Km – 6 hours of transfer
- Dar Es Salaam – Arusha , 635 Km – 12 hours of transfer
- Arusha – Marangu, 120 Km – 2 hours of transfer
The distances reported here are the distance to the park entrance gate. For more information or a safari program you can contact me at Savannah Explorers .
