Why are Tanzania Safari Holidays Expensive?

Being one of the world’s most desired safari destinations in Africa mainly due to the magnificent landscape and the abundant wildlife incomparable to any other country in the world, Tanzania attracts many tourists from all over the world throughout the year. However, the main hindering factor for most travelers to visit this destination is how expensive these Tanzanian safaris are in comparison to other destinations. This brings up the question of as to why!

Here are a number of factors that attribute to the high costs of a Tanzania safari.

Choice of the park to visit

Just like every other African national park, Tanzania national parks also charge a fee for park entrance per individual though these fees are a bit higher compared to other destinations. Since this price is dictated initially by the Tanzanian government, it cannot be bargained to a lower cost, therefore it’s a cost a tourist should incur while visiting these protected areas, for example, as of 2024, adults of the age 16 and above pay a park entrance fee of 70.8 USD per person for non-East African residents and 23.60 USD for children between 5 to 16 years when entering the Ngorongoro conservation area whereas Serengeti national park entrance is 83 USD per adult for foreign non-residents and 24 USD for children.

Park entrance fees are paid for each 24 hours spent in the park and these costs go towards the protection and conservation of the national parks. These costs can be reduced by spending a few nights outside the park, though a couple of the safari lodges and camps in Tanzania are built within the national parks.

Accessibility of the national park

In some regions such as Europe, traveling is relatively cheaper due to the well-developed roads, railways and airports while in Tanzania, as soon as one drives past the capital cities the roads are not at their best therefore are a bit challenging to maneuver. Other alternative means of transport such as trains linking to the national parks are also not available therefore tourists have to rely on private operators to assist them go about the destination and this can be pricey.

Tanzania also has limited airlines leading to high costs of charter flights as well as inter-county flights.

Season factor

The time of year one chooses to go on a safari makes a huge impact on how costly the safari will be, especially if it involves visiting popular parks such as Ngorongoro conservation area and Serengeti national park, both of which are known for the Great wildebeest migration and abundant wildlife. Safari prices in Tanzania are a bit cheaper during the low seasons and higher during the peak season. The low season runs from March to May and November to December and the peak season runs from June to October.

The lower safari costs in the low/green season are attributed to the scarcity of visitors in these national parks during this time of year making it possible to get discounted accommodation rates and the higher costs in the peak season are mainly due to the crowds in the national parks.

Choice of to-do activities

Another factor that highly determines the cost of a Tanzania safari are the activities a traveler chooses to take part in. While some of the activities are offered as supplements by the accommodation at which a tourist is residing, some require to be paid for before taking part in them such as hot air balloon safaris.

Activities such as game drives, guided nature walks, and cultural experiences are much cheaper compared to other activities like Hot air balloon safaris and horseback safaris causing a difference in the overall cost of the safari.

Number of people on the safari

Traveling to any destination around the world is more expensive for a solo traveler than for a group and this is not an exception for Tanzania. This is because a solo traveler single handedly incurs the safari cost starting from the cost of the room, to the transfers and it gets even higher when there is a private driver guide involved.

Therefore, if a tourist would like to minimize the cost of a trip to Tanzania, then it’s highly recommended that they either visit this destination with friends and family or simply join a group of other solo travelers.

Number of national parks one intends to visit

To visit any of the national parks in Tanzania a fee is charged for park entrance for every 24 hours spent in the park and this varies from one park to another. If a traveler is visiting parks such as Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara, they will pay cheaper park entrances compared to travelers visiting parks like Gombe Stream National Park and Serengeti National Park. However, since each of the national parks in Tanzania charge a park entrance, the more national parks one visits the more costly the safari becomes.

Length of the safari

The length of the safari is one of the biggest factor that add to the cost of a safari in Tanzania. Spending a long time on a safari automatically increases the cost of the safari however this varies in 2 ways; spending a long period of time in one destination and spending a lot of time on a safari moving from one destination to another both lead to different costs. When a traveler visits a single destination for a longer period of time, it is possible to obtain a discount on the accommodation especially during the low season which is not possible when they are spending a short time in different destinations. Also, moving from place to place for a longer period of time causes a buildup in transport costs hence a more expensive safari.

Choice of safari vehicle

A traveller who chooses to hire a budget or mid-range priced 4×4 safari vehicle incurs a lesser cost on car hire compared to one who hires a luxury safari vehicle. Also, some vehicles consume a lot more fuel compared to others, therefore determining the overall cost of a particular Tanzanian safari.

Choice of Accommodation

As a result of the remoteness of most of the camps and lodging services in Tanzania, accommodation is a bit costly depending on the location of the facility and most certainly takes up a large portion of the budget. Despite the nature of the accommodation, the price a visitor pays depends on the package they opt for that is; Visitors on a full-board package pay higher costs since the fee paid includes the rooms, meals and a number of the activities while visitors on an all-inclusive pay even more since it includes the rooms, meals, all the activities and services the lodge offers. Despite being generally expensive, the accommodation rates also differ based on the nature of accommodation for example mid-range lodges are cheaper than luxury lodges.

Tourists can reduce the cost of accommodation by spending a couple of nights at one property so that it’s possible to obtain a discount, hence reducing the safari cost.

Choice of the tour company

Booking a Tanzania safari with a well experienced tour operator is essential for reducing the cost of a safari as they are able to get negotiated prices on accommodation and since an experienced tour operator has knowledge of the local destination, tourists get guaranteed prices of the entire trip since they know the state of the roads, the travel time required and which routes to use when accessing a particular destination.

Other than these, there are some other factors that contribute to how costly a Tanzania safari turns out such as the means of transportation one chooses to use, either air transfers or road transfers.

However costly a safari to Tanzania is, it’s an exciting once in a lifetime adventure and this experience is worth every penny paid.

Top Recommended Tanzania Safari Packages