4 day Tanzania safari

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Dubbed the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth, the Wildebeest Migration (Great Migration) is an awe inspiring sight of more than 1.5 million wildebeest moving in an enormous loop every year, a sight not to be missed on any 4 day safari to Tanzania. 

In addition, safari goers can look forward to the other incredible wildlife on show including the Big 5 (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) found traversing the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and plains near Mount Kilimanjaro. 

The best 4 day Tanzania safari Tours 

Price of a 4 day Tanzania safari?

Expect a starting price of about $1,250 per person for a mid-range lodge tour whilst luxury tours are more expensive.

Safari packages to the Tanzania safari span a wide price range, influenced by several variables. The biggest factor determining the price of a safari is the level of accommodation. This will ultimately categorize tours as being budget, mid-range or luxury and of course shared tours are usually cheaper than private tours. 

This is especially the case for single travelers. On a 4 days trip you might want to consider a fly-in safari, but these are considerably more expensive than road safaris. Check out the seasons too; low-season prices can be favorable and while you’ll probably get some rain at this time, it’s when the scenery is at its best.

Tour breakdown for a typical 4 days in the Tanzania safari

Safari tour highlights

  • Discover the incredible Wildebeest Migration moving across the Serengeti
  • See the Ngorongoro Crater, home to the world’s densest population of wildlife
  • The Great Migration & the Big Five: The lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo 
  • Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro
  • Discover the Maasai people and their customs in northern Tanzania
  • World’s largest lion sanctuary
  • Private tour guide in English and other languages
  • Game drives in comfortable, open top safari vehicles
  • World class safari accommodation including lodges and tented camps
  • Optional activity add-ons including walking safaris

Tour inclusions

The following details typical tour inclusions and exclusions on the best 4 day Tanzania safari package:

Tour inclusionsTour exclusions
Game drives per the itinerary as well as pick-up and drop-offVisa fees, laundry services, drinks including mineral water at the hotels
Experienced english-speaking guide and driverInternational/domestic flights
Transport and park entrance feesCultural visits to Maasai villages (15 USD p/p)
Accommodation (full-board safaris)Tips to the driver guides, waiters and porters
Park fees
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and bottled water
Government taxes

Safari essentials and information

Is a 4 day safari in Tanzania safari sufficient?

4 days is plenty of time to see, hear and experience the incredible wildlife and sights of the Tanzania safari. The number of days needed to properly do a Tanzania safari can range from 1-2 days to 1-2 weeks, depending on how much time and budget a visitor has. 

Remember to take into account that quite a bit of your time will be taken up by getting to and from your start and end points thus a longer safari would be better as you’ll have more time in and really immerse yourself in the bush experience. 

This will however depend on your available time and budget and you may have to choose between the northern or southern circuits. Each day consists of an early morning game drive and a late afternoon game drive, certainly sufficient time to view the big 5 and incredible scenery. 

On a safari trip, you can even break up the drive to or from any Tanzania safari park with an overnight stay in a park en route to your destination such as the Serengeti NP, the UNESCO world heritage Ngorongoro Crater or indeed Selous Game Reserve

Or you can simply spend all of your time at one reserve where you’ll have plenty of opportunity to explore the park with full-day dusk-to-dawn game drives that will include lunch at one of the picnic spots. 

Overall, 4 days is a good amount of time for a safari in the Tanzania safari if it is part of a larger Tanzania tour, but if not, allocating a few more days to your safari would be ideal where possible.

Accommodation offered on a 4 day Tanzania safari?

After a long day surveying the incredible Tanzania landscape and wildlife on offer, guests can look forward to the very best safari accommodation the Tanzania safari has to offer. The accommodation here is excellent with numerous options from tented camps, luxury lodges to camping grounds. 

From camping in the bush with amenities to mid-range and luxury lodges located inside park reserves, there’s something for everyone. On a short safari, high-end lodgings are commonly used on fly-in safari packages and excellent wining and dining is very much the norm. 

Many are small designer ecolodges, often made to blend into the environment whilst others such as the Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge are an ideal place to stay near the Grumeti River and have a front-row seat to see the wildebeest and zebras cross the river. 

Animals on a Tanzania safari?

You’ll find just about everything in the Tanzania safari! The country is home to the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and African buffalo) and visitors will also find spotted hyenas and hippos. 

Tanzania contains the highest concentration of lions in the world with over 3,000 of them found in the Serengeti alone and about 1.5 million wildebeests, in addition to wildebeest, gazelle, giraffes, black rhinos. A view of these huge wildebeest crossing the crocodile infested river Mara has been included in the 7 wonders of natural Africa.

If you enjoy driving, it is possible to visit the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater on a 4 day road safari. This combination gives you a reasonable chance of seeing all the Big Five in a short time. Ngorongoro is the only reliable park in Tanzania to see black rhino in the wild. 

The Serengeti and the crater are both good for predators, and lions are particularly easy to find in both. A 4 day trip to Ruaha or Selous in the south can also be very productive where you’ll see lions, wild dogs, antelopes and kudu.

What’s a must do for a 4 day Tanzania safari?

There are many 4 day safaris on offer in Tanzania, so you do have choices on what you can fit into your safari. The most-popular option is the Northern circuit which comprises 4 parks including the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara NP and Tarangire National Park. 

To visit all four parks in three days is not recommended and the best use of your time may be spent visiting the Serengeti and dropping into the Ngorongoro Crater en route. 

In the south of Tanzania, visitors can visit Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous) or Ruaha National Park on its own as a stand-alone fly-in safari from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar. 

FAQs

How much spending money do I need for a 4 day Tanzania safari?

Visitors should budget for approximately $300 for a Tanzania safari per person per day, including food and accommodation. Tanzania safaris can be more expensive than their continental counterparts due to the higher costs of accommodation and food.

What animals will I see on a 4 day Tanzania safari tour?

Visitors on a 4 day Tanzania safari will see the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and African buffalo), hyenas, wildebeest, giraffes, cheetah, zebras, endangered black rhinos, hippos, crocodiles and much more.

What is the best time to go on a 4 day Tanzania safari?

The best time to go on a 4 day Tanzania safari is in the Dry season (from late June to October). This period offers the best wildlife viewing in general – with the wildebeest migration as its absolute highlight.