My 4 Day Tanzania Safari Experience + Trip Report of Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater – Country #104

In this article, I share my experience doing a 4-day Tanzania safari experience. The places I visited include: Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater Conservation area. I also spent one week in Arusha before starting the actual safari as I was waiting for Karen to fly in from Canada. Tanzania is an amazing country with so much to see and do. And of course, most of the locals are friendly.

Read this article to see my Tanzania spending breakdown.

Video – 4-Day Tanzania Safari Adventure – Country #104

Where I stayed and how I booked my safari in Tanzania

I stayed in Waka Waka House during my time in Arusha. The owner’s name is David, if you contact him directly, you can negotiate a price cheaper than booking.com. His WhatsApp number is +255 758 009 600. I also arranged my safari with him. If you need an airport pickup or drop-off or do tours in Tanzania/Arusha, you can contact Eddie. His WhatsApp number is +255 746 797 317 and his email is idrisaramadhani15@gmail.com. He also operates out of the Waka Waka house and he is friends with David. Eddie is also a safari tour guide and driver. I’m not affiliated with either individual but I had a good time hanging out with both individuals during my time in Waka Waka house.

Flying to Kilimanjaro airport from Zurich

My trip to Kilimanjaro started after I finished travelling in Poland. I booked a flight with Swiss Airlines and Edelweiss Air going from Wroclaw to Zurich to Kilimanjaro airport with an overnight stay in Zurich.

It was a daytime flight to Tanzania and I arrived in the evening. I prefer these kinds of flights as I hate the red-eye ones.

Upon landing, airport staff outside will ask you to show them your documents before you can even enter the airport. The lineup in immigration was barely moving. According to the locals I spoke to, they really like “Hakuna matata” seriously here. Basically, they really take their sweet time when processing documents.

When I finally got out, my accommodation arranged for someone to pick me up. The ride was about 1 hour long before I finally reached the Waka Waka House where I would stay. I met the owner, David, who I’ve been messaging on WhatsApp since 2020. I was supposed to do a Tanzania safari until the pandemic hit and I had to cancel my trip.

First day in Arusha

After getting some badly needed sleep, the accommodation prepared a simple but delicious breakfast consisting of toast with peanut butter, fruits, and eggs. I would be eating this type of breakfast for my entire week here and I always look forward to it.

After breakfast, Eddie, who is a friend of David, took me to town to buy a sim card and withdraw money from the ATM. He also showed me places where I can eat where food would be clean for tourists and can avoid food poisoning. After showing me around the area, I went back to the guest house and relaxed on the hammock during the afternoon.

For dinner, I went to one of the restaurants they recommended that’s clean and I ordered some kebab, salad, and fries. The kebab was pretty terrible but I’d come back here again on another day and eat some delicious food.

I also learned that the Muslim mosque likes to jack up its call to prayer early in the morning. This pisses off the locals because it’s so loud and they’re trying to sleep. I also felt the same way. Why can’t their call to prayer be later in the day?

Waiting for 7-days in Arusha

I would be staying in Arusha for 7-days before my Tanzania safari would begin. Karen was finishing up her school program and she’d catch up to me later on. During my week here, I pretty much just got caught up working on my YouTube channel and also trying different foods.

The burger above is delicious as well as the fish. I also enjoyed the ribs but it took forever to cook and I waited a long time so I didn’t order it again. The dish with mashed potatoes is also decent; although, I couldn’t walk after eating such a massive portion of mashed potatoes.

I also befriended this friendly lady working in the guest house named Tracy. We’d chat every morning during breakfast and she even got me to try some local Tanzanian dish.

I tried exploring the clock tower area but annoying touts kept harassing me and following me so I never returned there again until much later in my trip to Tanzania.

5 days later, Karen would be arriving. Eddie and I went to the airport to pick her up. As usual, clearing immigration took forever and Karen was annoyed.

I knew she’d be tired and hungry so we went to the local restaurant right away to get some food to eat. The portion of her meal was huge and she was unable to finish it.

Before long, our Tanzania safari adventure was about to begin.

Entering Tarangire National Park

Our first destination for our Tanzania safari is Tarangire National Park. The tour operator sent their vehicle to pick me and Karen up from our guest house. We would be meeting two sisters from Germany who would be joining our tour.

We drove to Tarangire National Park and waited to get our permit to enter. While waiting, Karen and I were looking at this massive termite hill. All of a sudden, we noticed some commotion happening in another vehicle.

Some crazy monkeys broke into this van and started stealing food from the tourists. Right beside our safari vehicle, another monkey broke in from the sunroof and started stealing chips that the tourist brought. One of the German women in our tour group is pretty uptight and one of those super rule-bound people. She started yelling at the monkeys to get out of the vehicles. I thought it was pretty amusing personally and so did Karen.

After a bit of excitement, we entered Tarangire National Park to begin our first Tanzania safari.

Tarangire National Park Safari

In a very pleasant turn of events, the first wildlife we saw was none other than the elusive leopard perched up a tree. Leopards are the hardest to find of the big 5 animals and it’s cool to see one hanging out on a tree. I’ve seen a leopard before during a safari in Rwanda. But I’ll never say no to seeing them again and again as leopards are very cool.

We also saw a bunch of lame herbivore animals like impala, zebra, waterbuck, random birds, and elephants. Technically, we saw a lion also but it was so far away we could barely see it.

After the game drive, we went to grab lunch at this picnic area. The packed meal was decent and before long, we were on our way again.

The last stop of the Tarangire safari is the Poacher’s hide. This tree has been carved out by poachers and they used it to hide at night while trying to poach wildlife in the past.

Tanzanite Museum

After doing our safari in Tarangire National Park, our next stop is the Tanzanite Museum. I didn’t care about it at first, I only went inside because of the air conditioner. I thought it was probably a tourist trap for souvenirs.

However, we did join a very brief tour of the mine and it was quite fascinating.

I thought it was worth it to learn more about Tanzanites.

Overnight in a lodge

After stopping by the Tanzanite museum, we were now on our way to our accommodation. One final stop along the way is a view point of the surrounding area which is a good place to capture some photos.

Before long, we made it to our lodge. Our initial room had some sort of ant infestation so we were moved to a different room. After getting settled, it was dinner time.

We met up with the German sisters and shared a delicious meal. The pumpkin soup in particular was amazingly good. And the rest of the dinner was delicious cooked by this young boy who would end up being our chef for the next few days.

Drive to Serengeti National Park

We never saw the German sisters again as their tour itinerary was different from ours. Instead, we were joined by two Korean girls who are friends doing volunteer work in Tanzania. Two Israeli friends (or a couple I’m not sure what they were) also joined us for breakfast.

Soon, we were on our were to Serengeti National Park. To reach that place, we would cross through the Ngorongoro Conservation area. Our tour guide had to validate our permits before we could proceed.

As we were driving through this area, we were shocked by the most pleasant surprise. A leopard showed up in the bushes and the Israelis managed to get a quick picture of them. What an amazing turn of events!

We also stopped by a beautiful viewpoint of the Ngorongoro Crater where we took a group picture of our tour group.

Along the way, we also came across the Maasai villages.

We also had a stop point along the way to use the washroom and to take photos at their small museum.

Before reaching our lunch stop, our driver was informed of lion sightings nearby. We quickly went there and saw some zebras, birds, and of course, lions.

It’s pretty cool to see the lions up close and later on, we would actually return to this area once again.

After that exciting turn of events, we went to grab lunch. This meal is the best meal we had on the tour. The vegetables were so good as well as the chicken and rice.

Serengeti National Park Day 1

After the most delicious lunch ever in Africa, we continued our Tanzania safari with one of the main destinations which is the Serengeti National Park.

Immediately, the Israelis spotted a lion and we managed to get up close to the majestic creature. He just finished eating a baby zebra and is taking a rest after a tiresome hunt.

As we continued the game drive, we some birds and finally, one of the wildlife I wanted to see: hyenas!

The hyenas weren’t doing much so we moved on and stumbled upon something incredible. We saw a rare zebra with backward stripes.

As well, we came across large vultures perched on trees.

We also took a washroom break in the wild and we took some photos while waiting for everyone to complete their business.

On our way to the campsite, we came across this beautiful cheetah running along the tire tracks.

We also came across jackals.

Before long, we made it to camp.

Overnight camping in Serengeti National Park

Me and Karen forgot our towels so we didn’t take a bath during our two camping nights during the safari. Our first campsite’s shower area is fairly decent. However, the campsite is not very good. It was raining so everything became wet and mud followed us inside our tent.

It was also fairly cold and dinner was not served until very late at 9 pm.

The dinner was worth the wait as our young chef never let us down with his amazing cooking.

Surprisingly, we slept decent enough despite the uncomfortable setup.

The next day, while waiting for breakfast, some mischievous baboons came to our camp trying to steal food.

They were scared away by the individuals working in the camp but they always kept a keen eye trying to be an opportunist to steal food from the humans.

Serengeti National Park Day 2

After breakfast, we began our second Tanzania safari day. We got so lucky as we came across a big pack of cute little lion cubs hanging out in the shade. Eventually, they came out and they started walking away in a straight line. It was very cool to see.

We also saw a congregation of many hippos. These guys were violent and were constantly fighting one another.

There are also interesting-looking birds in the area.

Before long, the highlight of the entire safari came to place. We saw three Cheetah brothers attempting to hunt zebras. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. The zebras became organized soldiers at this point and made a defensive line to protect the young. The cheetahs couldn’t find an opening and gave up. Regardless, the tense standoff between the cheetahs and zebras was quite the spectacle.

As we left the area, we came across two more cheetahs. I was thinking, those three cheetah brothers should’ve recruited these two to help them during the hunt.

Sadly, we also came across a bunch of hyenas and one of them looked hurt as he was limping when walking.

We ended the game drive in Serengeti and we went to the picnic area to grab lunch.

Driving to Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area

After lunch, we went to the area from the day before where we saw lions. Some friends of our tour guide told him there were a bunch of new lions in the area. We went there right away and we were treated to the most majestic sight of two male lion brothers.

It was so freaking amazing and I was in awe witnessing these wild lions so up close.

After this amazing sight, we drove towards our camp in the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation area.

Overnight camping in Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area

Upon arrival, we noticed this camp was so much better. We can charge our electronics here and the campsite wasn’t gross and muddy. The only funny thing is there wild buffalos on our campsite and we were told to be careful as they could charge people out of nowhere.

The washrooms here were surprisingly a lot worse than the camp in Serengeti. I guess you can’t have a perfect camp!

Dinner was great as usual as this young chef can’t do no wrong when he cooks.

We went to bed not too long after. Sadly, it was difficult to get a good night’s sleep as the campsite was extremely cold.

Before the sun rose, we all had to get up and grab breakfast as we were starting the tour before sunrise.

Ngorongoro Crater Safari

We started the game drive by taking pictures of clouds at the top of the Ngorongoro Crater.

Shortly after, we descended down and took pictures at the crossroads as it was a picturesque place to do so.

We are so lucky during this safari. Not too long after, we saw lions lounging and I was able to take some of the best pictures I’ve taken during the safari.

We also had two lions hanging out and playing.

Not too far from the lions, we also saw a herd of hyenas. I got excited at the thought of them hunting. Zebras were watching them intently to see what they were up to. Unfortunately, the hyenas gave up the hunt when they thought it wasn’t worth the effort.

During the game drive, we saw wildebeest headbutting each other to try to impress a mate.

Of course, we also came across jackals and birds along the way.

Our poor tour guide and driver were suffering from major stomach problems. We stopped by this food stand in Ngorongoro Crater and he got some milk which seemed to have helped his condition. At least enough to get us back to Arusha.

Driving back to Arusha

After driving out of Ngorongoro, we stopped by this market area to eat our final lunch with the tour. The market area is also a place to buy souvenirs but none of the tourists in my group were interested in buying anything.

They dropped off the Korean girls in their accommodation first. Shortly after, Karen and I were dropped off at the Waka Waka guest house. We gave the tour guide and chef an appropriate tip that was advised to us by the manager of the tour company before us started the game drives.

Final days in Arusha

Our last few days in Arusha were spent doing mundane stuff. First, we got our laundry done which was badly needed as we were filthy after the safari game drives.

We also took a badly needed shower after not taking a bath for two days. It felt glorious.

Our friend in the guest house Tracy and another lady named Nema who worked there have never eaten KFC before. So, Karen and I ventured into town and bought KFC for them to eat. They savoured every bite and said it tasted so good.

We also ate at the local restaurant a few more times and tried out other meals such as their fish and chips.

Before long, we had a sad goodbye with Tracy with hopes of returning one day to Tanzania.

Flying from Kilimanjaro airport to Doha, Qatar

Eddie drove us to the airport. It was funny because we arrived at the airport 1.5 hours before our flight. We thought it was a bit close but apparently, it’s okay in the Kilimanjaro airport.

While checking in for our flight, we saw this European girl fighting with the airport staff as they denied her to board her plane. That was interesting.

After she was turned away, Karen and I went through security and before long, we boarded our plane going to Doha, Qatar.

The flight to Qatar was not bad and we leave Tanzania with fond memories.

Conclusion

My trip to do a Tanzania safari was fantastic. It’s easily one of my favourite countries in Africa. I can see myself returning in the distant future one day to potentially trek up Mount Kilimanjaro. I never wanted to do that trek but being in Tanzania, I felt it calling my name so I’ll put it on the list for a future adventure.

I also want to go to Nyerere National Park to see the endangered wild dogs. Who knows what the future holds but my gut tells me I’ll be back one day. Hopefully, by then, I will be rich as I’d love to try doing a luxury safari in Tanzania instead of our uncomfortable camping experience.

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