Tanzania has 21 national parks, all run by the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA). That is the figure TANAPA's Conservation Commissioner gave in November 2025, and the authority used it again in December 2025. You will still see 16, 22 or 23 in older guides, because parks have been added and reclassified over the years.
The most famous safari area of all, Ngorongoro, is not a national park. It is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, managed by a separate body, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). Maasai pastoralists live inside it alongside the wildlife, which a national park does not allow. That is why Ngorongoro has its own fees and its own rules.
Most travelers have a week, maybe two, and every brochure calls its park unmissable. Many people call all of these places, national parks, game reserves and conservation areas alike, Tanzania's game parks. This guide answers the planning question: which parks to visit, in what order, and what they cost to enter.
Tanzania's main parks at a glance
The table covers the parks our guests ask about most. "Best months" is when game viewing is usually strongest; every park is open all year.
| Park | Circuit | Best for | Best months | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serengeti NP | Northern | Great Migration, big cats | Jan-Feb (calving), Jun-Oct | About 8 hours' drive from Arusha (325 km), or fly from Arusha to park airstrips |
| Ngorongoro Conservation Area (crater) | Northern | High animal density in a short visit, black rhino | Good all year; May-Feb rated best | About 3 hours' drive from Arusha (180 km, tarred) |
| Tarangire NP | Northern | Elephant herds, baobabs | Jul-Nov | About 2 hours' drive from Arusha |
| Lake Manyara NP | Northern | Short stop, forest and lake birds | Jun-Oct | Under 2 hours' drive from Arusha; flights to Lake Manyara airstrip |
| Arusha NP | Northern | Day trip, walking, Mount Meru | Jun-Oct | About 45 minutes' drive from Arusha |
| Kilimanjaro NP | Northern | Climbing Africa's highest peak | Jun-Oct, Jan-early Mar | Drive to the route gates; Kilimanjaro International Airport is the gateway |
| Nyerere NP | Southern | Boat and walking safaris, few vehicles | Jun-Oct | Fly-in (daily flights from Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar); about 5 hours' drive from Dar |
| Ruaha NP | Southern | Lion, wild dog, remote game drives | Jun-Oct | Fly-in from Dar es Salaam or Arusha; 10+ hours by road from Dar |
| Mikumi NP | Southern | Short safari from Dar es Salaam | Late Jun-Oct | About 6 hours' drive from Dar (about 300 km) |
| Katavi NP | Western | True remoteness, big dry-season herds | Jul-Oct | Fly-in, usually on a 3-4 night package from Arusha |
| Mahale Mountains NP | Western | Chimpanzee trekking | Aug-Oct | Fly-in to Kalilani airstrip, then about 90 minutes by boat |
| Gombe NP | Western | Chimpanzees, Jane Goodall's study site | Jul-Oct | Fly to Kigoma, then 1-2 hours by charter boat |
| Saadani NP | Coastal | Bush and beach in one park | Jan-Feb, Jun-Aug | 3-4 hours' drive from Dar (130 km), or scheduled flights from Dar or Zanzibar |
Drive times are rough. Road works, gate queues and wildlife on the road all add time, so treat them as a minimum.
The northern circuit: Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Manyara
Most first-time visitors start in the north, and for good reason. Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Lake Manyara sit close enough together to link by road, with lodges and camps at every budget.
Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti is the anchor: about 14,763 square kilometers of plain and woodland and the stage for the Great Migration, roughly 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra following the rains. Timing matters here more than almost anywhere in Africa. Calving floods the southern plains with newborn wildebeest, and the predators that follow them, from late January through March. The herds push north through the Grumeti region around May and June. The Mara River crossings, the images every brochure uses, happen roughly July through September.
Go in the wrong month expecting the wrong scene and you will still see plenty of wildlife, just not the specific spectacle you had in mind. Build your dates around the migration calendar first and everything else second. Our month-by-month guide sets out where the herds usually are.
Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater works the other way: concentration rather than distance. The crater floor covers about 260 square kilometers and holds one of the densest populations of large mammals in Africa, including black rhino. Because the crater is a closed bowl, sightings come quickly, which makes it an efficient half-day or full-day addition for travelers short on time.
The tradeoff is crowding. Vehicles go down by fixed descent roads and numbers swell by mid-morning, so a lodge on the crater rim that lets you descend early is worth the extra cost.
Tarangire and Lake Manyara
These two are often treated as add-ons to a Serengeti-Ngorongoro trip, which undersells them. Tarangire holds some of the largest elephant herds in Tanzania. They move between old baobabs along the Tarangire River, which becomes the area's dry-season water supply and draws animals in from outside the park between June and October.
Lake Manyara packs groundwater forest, a soda lake and the Rift Valley escarpment into a small park, and it is known for tree-climbing lions and flamingos on the lake. Both parks work best as one- or two-night stops that break up the drive between Arusha and the Serengeti. Our 9-day northern Tanzania journey links all four.
Arusha and Kilimanjaro National Parks
Arusha National Park sits about 45 minutes from Arusha town. It suits a first afternoon or last morning, with walking safaris and views of Mount Meru. December to February usually gives the clearest views of Meru and Kilimanjaro.
Kilimanjaro National Park is the outlier on any parks list because it is about the mountain, not game viewing. It protects Africa's highest peak and a vertical run of habitats from montane rainforest through heath and moorland to alpine desert near the summit. Travelers who are not climbing still come for forest walks and visits to Chagga communities on the lower slopes. Kilimanjaro International Airport serves both the mountain and the northern circuit, so a climb and a safari pair easily.
The southern circuit: Nyerere, Ruaha and Mikumi
South of the northern circuit, and reached mostly by light aircraft, Ruaha and Nyerere offer the safari that seasoned travelers tend to pick for a second or third trip.
Ruaha covers about 20,226 square kilometers of baobab country along the Great Ruaha River, with strong numbers of lion, leopard and African wild dog, and more than 571 recorded bird species. Nyerere National Park was carved out of the northern part of the old Selous Game Reserve in 2019 and covers 30,893 square kilometers. It offers what the northern parks cannot: boat trips and walks along the Rufiji River, with far fewer vehicles than the Serengeti.
Both usually mean a flight and a higher daily budget, though their entry fees differ a lot (see the fee table below). Mikumi is the exception in the south: it is a road trip of about six hours from Dar es Salaam, which suits travelers with only two or three days.
The western parks: Katavi, Mahale and Gombe
Far to the west, Katavi, Mahale Mountains and Gombe see very few visitors because they are hard to reach. Katavi is usually sold as a three- or four-night fly-in package from Arusha, and flights often continue to Mahale, so the two are commonly combined.
Mahale and Gombe, both on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, are about chimpanzees. You walk through forest to find habituated wild chimps. Gombe is where Jane Goodall began her study after she first came to Tanzania in 1960, and it can only be reached by boat from Kigoma. Chimps are usually easiest to find from July or August to October, when they stay on the lower slopes and the trails are drier.
For travelers who have already done a classic game-drive safari, a few days here is a very different trip: primate tracking, forest hiking and freshwater beaches. Our guide to Tanzania's lesser-known national parks covers these in more depth.
Tanzania national park entry fees (2026)
Every visitor pays a conservation fee for each 24 hours inside a park. The figures below come from TANAPA's 2023/2024 tariff, the most recent schedule published on tanzaniaparks.go.tz, and 2026 operator fee guides still quote the same VAT-inclusive amounts. TANAPA lists its fees before VAT and states that all charges are subject to 18% VAT, so we show both.
TANAPA's peak season for the five higher-priced parks runs from 16 May to 14 March, and low season from 15 March to 15 May. Other parks charge one rate all year.
| Park | Non-resident adult (16+), per 24 hours, before VAT | With 18% VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Serengeti NP | US$70 peak / US$60 low | US$82.60 / US$70.80 |
| Nyerere NP | US$70 peak / US$60 low | US$82.60 / US$70.80 |
| Tarangire NP | US$50 peak / US$45 low | US$59.00 / US$53.10 |
| Lake Manyara NP | US$50 peak / US$45 low | US$59.00 / US$53.10 |
| Arusha NP | US$50 peak / US$45 low | US$59.00 / US$53.10 |
| Kilimanjaro NP | US$70 | US$82.60 |
| Gombe NP | US$100 | US$118.00 |
| Mahale Mountains NP | US$80 | US$94.40 |
| Ruaha, Mikumi, Katavi, Saadani NPs | US$30 | US$35.40 |
Children aged 5 to 15 pay a reduced rate, and under-5s enter free.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area fees
Ngorongoro sets its own tariff. The NCAA lists:
- Entry permit: US$70.80 per non-East African adult (16+), valid for one entry within 24 hours.
- Crater service fee: US$295 per vehicle, per trip down into the crater. This is charged per vehicle, not per person, so it is cheaper per head in a full vehicle.
The NCAA tariff page does not say whether VAT is included, and it notes that tariffs can change without notice.
What the fees don't cover
Conservation fees are only one line on the bill. Lodges and camps inside parks charge a separate concession fee per night, and vehicle, guide, camping and activity fees are extra. TANAPA fees are non-refundable once paid, and they are paid electronically: through TANAPA's online reservation system, by card or by mobile money.
Fees change. TANAPA and the NCAA can revise tariffs at any time, and TANAPA's schedules run from July to June. Confirm current rates on tanzaniaparks.go.tz and ncaa.go.tz, or ask us, before you budget. Any quote from us lists park fees line by line.
How to combine the parks
The real question is how to link these regions without losing days in transit. Northern circuit parks connect by road and suit a first safari of five to eight days. Southern and western parks are reached by scheduled or charter flights from Dar es Salaam or Arusha, so they suit travelers with more time, a bigger budget, or a specific interest in walking, boats or primates.
Mixing north and south in one trip is possible but adds flying time and cost, so we usually build around one region with a short extension. Our 8-day fly safari is one way to cover more ground without long drives. Book well ahead for June to October and Christmas to New Year, when the best-placed camps in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro fill months in advance.
Frequently asked questions
How many national parks are in Tanzania?
21, according to TANAPA statements in November and December 2025. Ngorongoro is not one of them; it is a conservation area run by the NCAA.
Which national park is best for a first safari in Tanzania?
The Serengeti, paired with Ngorongoro Crater. Together they give you the migration or resident big cats, plus a short, dense game drive in the crater. Add Tarangire if you travel between June and October, when its elephant herds are at their biggest.
How many days do I need for a Tanzania safari?
Five to eight days covers the northern circuit without rushing: a night or two each in Tarangire or Manyara, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Southern and western parks work better with three or four nights in each, because of the flights.
Serengeti or Ngorongoro: which should I choose?
If you can, do both. The Serengeti is about scale and the migration; it needs at least two nights. Ngorongoro is about density in a short visit, usually one game drive in the crater. If you must pick one, choose the Serengeti for a longer trip and the crater for a short one.
What are the cheapest national parks in Tanzania?
On entry fees, Ruaha, Mikumi, Katavi and Saadani are in TANAPA's lowest adult tier, US$30 a day before VAT. Ruaha and Katavi usually need flights, though, so the total trip is not cheap. Mikumi and Saadani, reachable by road from Dar es Salaam, and Arusha National Park, close to Arusha, are the lowest-cost parks to actually reach.
Is the Ngorongoro crater fee charged per person?
No. The US$295 crater service fee is per vehicle, per descent. Each person also pays the NCAA entry permit.
Can I see chimpanzees in Tanzania?
Yes, in Mahale Mountains and Gombe, both on Lake Tanganyika. They are reached by flight plus boat, and July to October is usually the easiest time to find the chimps.
Choosing your parks
It comes down to matching the landscape to what you want from the trip. For the most famous wildlife event on the planet, plan the Serengeti around where the migration will be. For lots of animals in little time, add Ngorongoro. For elephants and baobabs at lower fees, Tarangire and Manyara deliver. For quiet, wild dogs and boat trips, Ruaha and Nyerere are worth the flight. And if wildlife means chimpanzees rather than lions, Mahale and Gombe are the place.
Tell us your dates, budget and what you most want to see, and we will match them to the right parks. Start a tailor-made safari request and we will send a day-by-day plan with every park fee itemized.
