How To Book The Best Budget Safari in Tanzania

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support.

Looking for a budget safari in Tanzania that doesn’t completely break the bank but is still an incredible experience? Read on to find out about my safari experience and how I selected it and booked it…

It always shocks me when I see how much a lot of people pay for multi-day safaris when we did a one-week safari visiting four different parks in Northern Tanzania (and a waterfall and coffee farm) for only $1000 per person (I know, it is still a lot of money, but a great deal for a one-week safari).

Granted, we did not do a luxury safari staying in bougie 5-star accommodation – it was definitely more on the budget end – but in saying that, it wasn’t like our actual experience on safari was any different than a luxury safari. We still had the same type of vehicle and spent just as long in the parks doing the same things and seeing the same wildlife. The only differences were the level of accommodations and food, and I don’t care enough about that stuff to pay thousands more.

So if you are traveling on a tighter budget but still want to have an incredible safari experience, I got you!

Deciding on the Best Budget Safari in Tanzania to Book

The first step of the booking process is actually deciding what safari you want to book. We have established that you are interested in booking a budget safari in Tanzania because you are reading this post, but what else?

For the most budget-friendly safari, you will be mostly camping and doing a group safari, but you can cut costs in some ways while still maintaining your level of comfort. Perhaps that looks like a safari that has some tent camping but also some lodges.

How many days you have to do the safari is also important to think about too. The less days you do, the cheaper it is but you want to ensure that you are going to visit everywhere you want to as this will likely be a once in a lifetime experience.

I would recommend doing a tour that visits the Serengeti for at least one full day, a day in Ngorongoro, and a day in Tarangire. We also visited Lake Manyara and Materuni Waterfalls on our seven-day safari but they are not essential stops. I think a five-day/four-night tour that visits these three parks would be ideal.

Lake Manyara hasn’t been a must-see since the massive flooding in the park a few years ago, which has made many of the previous highlights there inaccessible. We were lucky and still saw a fair bit of wildlife when we visited so I am pleased we went, but our guide said it usually isn’t that good these days.

It’s possible and easy to book a day trip to Materuni Waterfall and coffee farm from Moshi so it didn’t really need to be booked as part of our safari. We loved it so I do recommend visiting, although if you are going to be in Moshi, you could just book a day tour independently.

If you don’t have enough time to do a five-day tour, prioritize Serengeti and Ngorongoro and cut the day in Tarangire out. Personally, I think any less time than four days/three nights would probably be too rushed and not worth it.

We enjoyed doing a group safari with other people and this is a way to cut costs as private tours are significantly more so joining a group safari was perfect for us for both budget and social aspects.

A benefit that we enjoyed by joining a group tour was that they put a few of us together who had booked different levels of comfort (and price) so we ended up getting upgraded for free for three of our seven nights accommodation – we ended up only camping two nights out of seven when we were meant to camp five nights. We also met some lovely people and enjoyed their company.

I think we also had better food than we would have had otherwise, as we saw a lot of other tours that were given some pretty bleak-looking packed lunches with sandwiches, while we always had a hearty and delicious cooked lunch.

There is no guarantee that you will end up getting upgraded of course, so if you book a basic budget tour, be prepared to camp in tents with thin mattresses and sleeping bags most of the tour and possibly get quite basic food.

You will see that some safaris include Zanzibar and although it may be tempting to book one of these, I do think you are better traveling there independently rather than as part of a safari, as this is much more affordable and you have more freedom to explore this beautiful island at your own pace.

How To Select the Perfect Budget Safari in Tanzania For You

Knowing how to book your safari is probably the hardest part and there are a couple of different options for getting the best deal on a safari.

1) Booking a Safari on Arrival in Arusha

If you are flexible, the cheapest option is to turn up in Arusha and shop around for the best safari deal. You should do some research in advance into different safari companies, and make sure to choose a few that have great reviews. You should also know how many days you want to do and which parks you want to visit.

You may have to settle for a safari that wouldn’t have been your first choice so this is only a good option if you have time to wait for the perfect safari or if you are flexible and ready to change your original plan. There is also a lot more legwork involved in this choice and you will likely need to spend at least a day visiting or ringing different tour companies.

2) Booking Your Budget Safari Online in Advance Through Safari Bookings

If you don’t have the time to wait or don’t want to spend hours visiting different tour companies, then the best option to find an affordable safari is to book online in advance. I recommend using the Safari Bookings website, which is the largest online marketplace for safaris and is easy to use and to compare safaris.

This is what we used to find our safari and I was really happy with our experience. I knew we wanted to do 5-7 days, visit Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Tarangire National Park, and have a more budget group safari experience with some camping.

Once you put in your country, start date, and how many people, you will be shown literally thousands of tours. Of course this is super overwhelming, and no one has time to sort through this many tours, so luckily you can further customize your search by using the filters on the left side of the website including tour length, whether you want luxury, mid-range or budget, lodging options, private or shared, and tour provider ratings and reviews.

This should take your options down to a much more manageable amount, and you can spend some time looking through and finding a few that you are interested in. I reached out to three different operators for tours I liked and all three of them got back to me within a day or two so I decided to go with my top choice.

They will often contact you through WhatsApp as this is the most common way for tour providers to contact customers in Tanzania, otherwise you will get an email. They will send you the detailed itinerary and quote, and if you are happy with it, you will then pay a deposit.

We found that most activities we booked in Tanzania, including our safari, didn’t take card payments so we had to pay the deposit through a third-party payment option and then we paid the balance in USD cash when they picked us up in Arusha. This may differ depending on what safari tour provider you go with but I think this is pretty common practice.

And that’s it. Not too difficult and you have your dream safari booked and paid for!

Inclusions on a Budget Tanzania Safari

The budget safari I ended up going for was a 7 Day Northern Circuit Budget Tanzania safari with Go Serengeti African Tours. It included visits to Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park (2 days), Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara National Park, and a Materuni Waterfall and Coffee Farm Tour.

We paid a total of USD$1000 per person in February 2025. All of our accommodation, National Park fees, taxes, transport in a comfortable Land Rover with a popup roof and a guide/driver, cooked meals prepared by a cook that traveled with us (three meals a day except only lunch and dinner on the first day and breakfast and lunch on the last day), sodas, waters, and local beer were all included in the price.

Airport pickup in Arusha to our accommodation the day before the tour was also included, as was pick up and drop off at the start and end of the tour at our accommodation. This isn’t always included so make sure to read more about the inclusions or ask the representative if it’s included when they contact you.

We were also able to arrange a drop off in Moshi instead of back in Arusha as we were going to be in that area anyway to visit the Materuni Waterfall and coffee farm. They accommodated this at no extra charge.

Tips and any snacks or extra drinks are generally not included. Every tour is different and the quality of the inclusions and what is included will differ, so make sure you read your quotes carefully and ask all the questions before committing to a tour.

Food and Drinks on Your Budget Safari in Tanzania

For meals, we had pancakes and roti with different spreads, eggs, fruit, and sometimes bread for breakfast with coffee and tea, usually a soup, curry with meat and vegetables, tomato and cucumber salad, and fruit for lunch and then something similar for dinner. Sometimes we had rice and a meat dish for dinner. It wasn’t spectacular but it was tasty and filling.

Sodas, bottles of water, wine, and local beers were included at meal times and we also had a cooler with cold drinks that we could help ourselves to during the safari. When we were in the more far-flung places like the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, we did run out of beer and sodas a couple of days in and weren’t able to restock until we were back in Mto wa Mbu, but we never ran out of water.

They generally cater to different dietary requirements and I requested vegetarian meals and Toby can’t eat onions, and they catered to both of our needs well. If you do have specific dietary requirements, make sure that they are able to accommodate them before choosing a safari.

Additional Things To Know Before Embarking on Your Tanzania Safari

What is the Best Time of Year to do a Safari in Tanzania

The best time to do a budget safari in Tanzania is during the dry season from June to October as this is the easiest time to see wildlife.

We did our budget safari in February and this is a great time to visit if you want to see babies, we saw so many babies of so many different animals! January and February is the best time to see the wildebeest calving in the Serengeti and we saw the wildebeest migration in the southern part of the Serengeti at this time.

What To Pack For Your Tanzania Budget Safari

I am not going to give you a super detailed breakdown of what to pack for your Tanzania safari but here are a few must-pack items and other packing tips.

Good quality camera with zoom lens. You will definitely need this to get good photos of the animals.
Mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Very important, you do not want to get bitten by mosquitos as there are numerous mosquito-borne diseases in Tanzania. The sun here is harsh so I definitely recommend sunscreen too.
Motion sickness tablets. Everyone but me got sick traveling in the Land Rover on the incredibly bumpy and muddy roads in Serengeti. It’s best to be prepared, even if you don’t normally get sick as the motion is more up and down and jarring.
Sunglasses and a hat. Again, the sun is harsh so be prepared.
Swimsuit. Some accommodation options, even budget ones, have a pool.
Hiking boots/trainers. You need to wear proper covered shoes as there are thorny plants, snakes, etc.
Slides/sandals for inside the safari vehicle. As you will be spending most of your time inside the Land Rover, have some slides you can wear for inside the vehicle and for when you are in your accommodation.
Sleeping bag liner for camping trips. This is a must if you are doing any camping as one of our nights camping we had gross and musty-smelling sleeping bags.
Light colored, lightweight clothing – no blue or black as apparently tsetse flies are drawn to it. It can get really hot depending on what time of year you are visiting so breathable clothing that doesn’t cling is best. Don’t feel like you have to go out and get a whole safari wardrobe though, I think that’s silly.
Snacks. A lot of safaris don’t include snacks, so bring a few of your own for between meals.
Fleece or jumper for cool mornings/evenings. You may not need it depending on what time of year you are doing your budget safari in Tanzania but it’s a good idea to have.
Malaria pills. Malaria is present in any areas lower than 1800 metres in Tanzania so I do recommend speaking to your doctor about getting malaria pills. I took Malarone, which, although more expensive, is meant to have less side effects and you don’t need to take it for as long before and after traveling in a malaria zone. The only side effects I had was some light sensitivity and I seemed to burn more easily in the sun.
Tanzania eVisa. You will need a Tanzania visa. If you are traveling on a U.S. passport, you will need to get a multi-entry eVisa for $100. I entered on my New Zealand passport and was allowed to apply for a single-entry eVisa for $50. Check your country’s visa requirements as they differ. Although you can get the visa on arrival, I recommend applying for it online in advance to save time on arrival. You will need online passport photos, proof of a flight leaving Tanzania, and a picture of your passport.
Cash. Make sure to carry some Tanzanian Shilling for souvenirs, tips, or anything else not included in your tour. You will be tipping in small amounts throughout your safari for entertainment, to lodging and restaurant staff, etc., so take as many small bills as you can. You will also need US cash to tip your cook and tour guide at the end of the trip. $10 – $15 per person per day for your guide is pretty standard for a group safari. For the cook, $8 – $10 per per person day is the norm.

Where To Stay Before and After Your Budget Safari in Tanzania

You are most likely going to be staying in Arusha before and after your safari as most Northern Circuit safaris pick up and drop off from there.

For an excellent budget option, we stayed at Banana Farm Eco Hostel on the outskirts of town on a beautiful banana farm. There is a pool, an on-site restaurant, and you can book various tours through them. Before booking, make sure your safari tour company is willing to pick you up from here, as it isn’t central.

Other highly-rated budget and mid-range options in town include Shoki Shoki Lodge, Medan Hotel, and Wademac Arusha Inn Hotel. For luxury, stay at Under the Shade Safari Lodge, or Gran Meliá Arusha.

The Best Insurance For Your Tanzania Trip

Make sure you get travel and health insurance before your trip. Safety Wing is my go-to and they are cheap and easy to claim with – it auto-renews every month unless you turn it off so you don’t have to think about it on longer trips.

Safety Wing also allows you to sign up when you are already traveling, unlike a lot of other travel insurance providers.

If you liked this post, check out some more of my Africa content:

PIN IT!

April 10, 2026 by theworldonmynecklace | 0 comments

The World on my Necklace

Everything You Need to Know About Booking the Best Value Budget Safari in Tanzania