Serengeti National Park Tanzania – Self Drive East Africa
Serengeti National Park in Northern Tanzania is an eminent game reserve with astounding wildlife. It is both a crucial wildlife conservation park and a haven of implosive nature art. It is quite a large park, recording over 14,700 square kilometers to its area. It was established in 1951 and its activities are governed by the Tanzania National Parks Authority.
Serengeti National Park is famously acknowledged for its open grasslands and vast ecosystems, attributes that have made it a popular touring objective for wildlife enthusiasts. This Tanzania national park is highly significant in an array of specifications. It is a natural habitat to vast animal species and green life. The park happens to have the biggest population of lions in Africa according to the recent researches.
Serengeti is also renowned for the largest yearly expatriation of herbivores, wildebeests and zebras. This migration notably records high numbers of relocating animals to over 1.7 million. This park highly contributes to the nations’ GDP as it records handsome funds from the visitors it attracts from various destinations of the world. This has significantly fuelled the development of Tanzania’s economy.
Attractions in Serengeti National Park:
At Serengeti, await wildlife at its natural authenticity. This iconic African game reserve has a lot of tourist attractions that lure the eyesight of travelers. Here are a few attractions to look forward to.
- The great migration of wildebeests, zebras and other herbivores
- Diverse wildcats, rhinos, elephants and the African buffalo
- Hot Air balloon flights
- Expansive savannah plains
- The Retina Hippo pool
The Serengeti national park has a pretty much extensive array of interesting activities prepared for tourists to engage through. These activities offer these visitors a memorable experience that generally revolves around encountering the stunning landscapes and varying wildlife Serengeti National Park is rich with.
Activities in Serengeti National Park;
Game drives.
Safari game drives are notably among the most engaged in activities in this national park. Visitors are toured around this enormous park in pop up roof vehicles in the best driving conditions. These cars have clear vision windows to allow tourists observe the astounding wildlife in this park and its diverse landscapes in the comfort of the car seats with unobstructed views.
These safari drives are conducted by experienced safari guides well conversant with the terrain of the park and the navigable paths. They keep educating tourists on these drives on each wildlife encounter with detailed insights.
Game drives in Serengeti national park provide wildlife enthusiasts the grand exposure to eye close wildlife under maximum protection. Expect to observe lions, leopards, elephants and various mammals at close proximity.
These drives are organized in the early mornings and late afternoons. At these times of the day, animals are very present in the wild as they are the best times for hunting and grazing. Game drives at Serengeti National Park costs 75 USD each foreign nonresident, 60 USD for foreign residents and 10,000 TSH for East African residents.
Hot Air Balloon Safaris.
This exhilarating activity is very memorable and breathtaking. It presents tourists a breathtaking adventure around Serengeti National Park floating above it in a hot air balloon.
This safari is conducted by experienced safari guides. They captain these astounding flights just before sunrise and in the afternoons a few hours past midday. The supremacy of this activity is that irrespective of what time of the day, the scenes of wildlife in this park from above are always magnificent. The flight portrays panoramic scenes especially in the early mornings and towards sunset.
Hot air balloon safaris are charged 599 USD per person. This price tag covers all the accommodation on the flight straight from your camping site to the balloon hanger.
Hiking and nature walks.
This very well secured activity is an adventurous one in this park. Coordinated by experienced guides, nature walks give tourists detailed insights about the wildlife in Serengeti national park.
These nature walks are limited to quite a specific number and in specific regions of the park. The fact that Serengeti national Park is a haven for many large and dangerous animals sees the addition of armed rangers on these walks.
The designated trails for navigation through this park showcase each detail of the ecological settings in this park. Expeditions of plants and unique insects make this trek colourful.
Bird enthusiasts get acquainted with uncensored views of the abundant species that this park harbors. Rare species like the rufous tailed weaver and the Schalow’s Turaco highlight this on foot adventure.
On these walks, tourists are also toured to the neighboring Masai villages. This grants more perception on the traditional lifestyles plus the way of life of these natives around the Serengeti.
Guided nature walks through the Serengeti on foot cost 75 USD for foreign nonresidents, 50 USD for foreign residents and 10,000 TSH.
Other exciting activities to engage in at Serengeti National park is the great migration.
This experience showcases millions of herbivores, wildebeests, zebras and other species traversing through the Serengeti foraging for food and water. This event marks the largest in animal migrations across the world.
Other interesting activities in this park are cultural interactions, photography safaris, camping under the stars and gazing at the stars in the clear night skies in the Serengeti.
Accommodation at Serengeti National Park;
Serengeti National Park has a good array of hotels and lodges to choose for accommodation. The available options to choose from range from luxurious lodges to mid-range options to budget options and also camps. This provides tourists the chance to experience the immense nature of this park at the comfort of your budget.
The best luxury lodges around Serengeti National Park that offers world class accommodation among the many luxurious options is Lemala Nanyukie Lodge. It is found within the park.
This lodge merges true nature with sophistication and elegance for an exceptional safari experience for its guests.
Lemala Nanyukie Lodge provides the best luxury rooms modeled in a wildlife theme. Its innumerable facilities and amenities are astounding, outclassing its counter parts in the luxury accommodation class. Its facilities and amenities include private Expensive balconies, multi cuisine restaurant, bar and lounge, complimentary high speed Wi-Fi, an accomplished health club, plus many other world-class accommodations.
The lodges’ accommodations cost 1,500 USD each night. Online bookings and reservations can be done via Nanyukie lodge website or through your travel operator for your wildlife experience at Serengeti National Park.
Other top luxury accommodation options include Asilia Sayari camp, Lemala Kuria Hills and Singita Serengeti house.
The best midrange accommodation options within and around this National Park is Serengeti Serena lodge. This charming property has panoramic uninterrupted views of the Park. It is within a walkable distance, a few minutes from Serengeti National park headquarters.
Expect an exquisite accommodation packed with a delightful lounge, bar and dining area. Serengeti Serena lodge offers a cozy cheerful atmosphere to its guests. Its plentiful facilities and amenities are worthy their costs topping your excitement throughout your stay.
Serena Safari lodge charges 135 USD for each day spent at their premises. You can access its website for bookings and any other inquiries on reservations, or reach out to your travel plans operators for your Serengeti National Park adventure for more detailed information about this lodge.
Other midrange accommodation options for lodging while exploring Serengeti National park include Serengeti Kati Kati camp, Serengeti Sopa lodge and Serengeti Bush camp. Serengeti national park also has Budget friendly stays to cater for native and international travelers with a tight budget.
At 49 USD each night, experience a simple sumptuous meal, perfect night views, and comfortable rooms at Serengeti sound of silence. You can always Serengeti sound of silence via its website or through your trusted tour operator for more detailed information about the lodge.
Other top options you could consider under budget friendly lodges are Africa safari Masai Boma, Nyitika lodge and Serengeti Mawe camp.
Best Times to Visit the Serengeti National Park;
Tanzanian national parks are impacted greatly by the two seasons in this country. There is the wet season which starts in November and runs till May and the dry season that runs from June to October.
In Tanzania’s dry seasons, vegetation is quite easy to trail through and the paths through the park are dry and easily navigable. This makes observing the congregations of wildlife and bird species slick and exciting.
Meanwhile in the wet season, park activities are mostly inconvenienced by morning and evening rains plus muddy terrains. This makes exploration of the rich biodiversity of this park quite challenging. The advantage in the wet seasons is that the landscapes are lush green and there is less congestion in the parks. Many herbivores the likes of wildebeests and zebras reproduce in the wet season. This gives tourists an adventure on the calving process.
We highly recommend you to visit this park in the dry season because the experience in this park is best memorable over clear terrains and unobstructed views.
How to get to Serengeti National Park?
This park can be accessed directly by only road and air transport. Routes to this park are clear enough and also recognizable on maps and GPS. Travelling via domestic planes is the quickest way to arrive at this park in the eastern Mara region of the country.
These flights usually set off from Kilimanjaro International Airport which is the nearest hanger to the Serengeti. Expect to last about an hour on this flight to reach the park. This cozy mode of transport is more costly than road transport.
Road transport is the cheapest mode of getting to Serengeti National Park. The road network to the park is excellent giving travelers from anywhere around the country a comfortable journey to the park.
Road journeys from the capital last about 8 hours and the most popular way to get around this 482 km journey is by booking a road safari from your trusted tour operators.
In conclusion, Serengeti National Park is a crown jewel in wildlife conservation. Characterized by vast landscapes, renowned wildlife species and rich biodiversity, Serengeti National Park is really an implosive experience.
This park encompasses all the African wilderness in its landscapes. This signals tourists across the globe to come witness the diverse wildlife and exhilarating wild activities this national park has to offer. For all wildlife enthusiasts, Serengeti national park is notably a must visit to quench your wildlife thirst.