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Talk to just about anyone, and an African safari is likely on their bucket list. And for good reason! With wide open landscapes and incredible wildlife, these safaris are a unique and awe-inspiring experience!

I chose a Tanzania safari tour since I was already set to be there for research in Mnazi Bay. (Side note: that’s a great place to visit for the whale season in August!) I also chose to go with World Adventure Tours after they met my criteria through a Tour Radar search.

By the way, Tour Radar makes it really easy to compare tours across a number of companies! You can, of course, choose where you want to go and when. But they also offer a ton of filters, like the duration, cost, accommodation type, your adventure style, whether it’s a group or private trip, and more.

How adorable are these hyena pups?!

Big 5 Classic Safari in Tanzania

In the end, there were several reasons I chose the Big 5 safari tour through World Travel Adventures. It’s a 7-day Tanzania safari tour that visited four major National Parks – Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara. The tour also starts in Moshi, a common starting point for the Kilimanjaro hike. Even though I didn’t intend to climb Kili, it was certainly nice to be able to see it on the drives. If you do intend to hike, Kili, though, then this is convenient to start or end your travels in the same town as your Kili departure.

Another major reason I chose this particular Tanzania safari tour is the price. I think it’s a commonly held belief that a safari can only be a once-in-a-lifetime trip because it’s so expensive. But it was actually incredibly reasonable! The normal cost of this trip is $3,670, and yes, that’s a chunk when you also have airfare, travel insurance, and incidentals. But you can often find this tour HALF OFF – only $1,835 for the week!

Pro tip: If the tour isn’t showing up on sale when you look, just give it some time before you book it, if possible. It seems to go on sale quite often.

The Tanzania Safari Tour Staff

I have nothing but positive thoughts regarding the personnel for my safari. The woman who helped me book my tour was named Purity, and she was incredibly responsive to my questions and happy to accommodate my requests. Between my time in Mnazi and my tour, I stayed a couple nights at Moyoni Airport Lodge to decompress. Purity was happy to help arrange my transportation from Moyoni to the hotel in Moshi so that I didn’t have to deal with it once I was there.

Purity also connected with me via WhatsApp to ensure all my questions were answered and I was taken care of during the trip. Seriously, she’s the best! I would happily book another tour with this company just for how helpful I found Purity!

My guide for the Tanzania safari tour was Emanuel. When I checked in at the hotel in Moshi and received my tour briefing, I was informed Emanuel was one of the best Tanzania safari guides. And I believe it! He has years of experience leading tours to the National Parks, and is knowledgeable about species identification and where to find the animals. Equally important, he took the initiative to understand what each guest wanted to see, and made an effort to accommodate each interest.

Our Tanzania safari vehicle in front of the Serengeti sign. As these vehicles look pretty much the same, you can identify which vehicle is yours by the company design on the tire covers.

Traveling in the Safari Vehicle

Be prepared for a lot of time in the car. Personally, I’m like a dog – I love car rides – and I really enjoyed getting to see so much of the country and how the locals live. This can also be a great time to ask your guide questions or for stories from their past trips.

Fortunately, the vehicles are pretty spacious, and also really convenient! Unless your vehicle is full, the front passenger seat will likely have some gear your guide needs. Then there are three rows with two seats each. This way every guest gets a window seat! Each seat also has a cup holder and it’s own international and USB outlet so you can charge your phone or camera batteries on the go.

These vehicles seem to be the standard, which means no matter which tour company you go with, it’ll likely have the same vehicle and perks.

In addition to driving between parks, you’ll also be in the vehicle while looking for the wildlife. Yes, it’s a lot of sitting. But once you’re in the park and assuming it’s not raining, your guide will likely raise the top of the vehicle so it’s easier to look out and take pictures. I took breaks from sitting to stand up when the roof was raised. Just make sure you hold on as those dirt roads can be pretty bumpy.

Pro tip: Occasionally you may need the restroom when there is no restroom around. You can drop trow if you like, or you may prefer a female funnel. In this article, I review two popular funnels in case you decide to take one with you. 

The inside of our safari vehicle, showing the last two rows of seats and the (small) trunk space. That center console in the back is a cooler — darn handy for your group’s water bottles. You can also see how the roof lifts up and how large the windows are. Near the window you can see the outlet and cup holder.

Regarding Luggage

As I said, the vehicles are actually fairly spacious. But there’s not a ton of room for luggage. Yes, there’s space in the back, but it’s fairly narrow and fills up quickly, especially if your vehicle is at full capacity. For this reason and then some, the staff will highly recommend that you only take with you what you’ll need for the safari. And I absolutely agree!

You will start and stop your tour at the same hotel, giving you the chance to leave a bag in their storage area. You’ll sign your bag in, it will be tagged, and you’ll receive the corresponding tag to identify you as the owner when you go to retrieve it after your tour. In the meantime, it will be safely locked in a room that only hotel staff can access. For peace of mind, you may consider taking a small lock for your luggage.

Because I had snorkel and beach gear from my time in Mnazi, I decided to leave these items behind at the hotel. I hadn’t packed an extra duffel to accommodate splitting up my gear, but I recommend doing so! If you’re only doing the safari and nothing else, and your bag is small, then you’ll be fine. But if you’re spending more time elsewhere and will have extra gear or clothing, pack a small, collapsible duffel to leave at the hotel. (This bag or one like it is really handy!)

The Tanzania Safari Tour Itinerary

You’re about to cover a lot of ground in just a few days, so it’s not surprising that you won’t have much downtime. Though it’s a 7-day tour, the first day is arriving at Kilimanjaro airport and checking into the hotel, and the seventh day is driving back to the hotel and checking out. This gives you five days to drive and explore the four parks.

I would say the itinerary does a good job of allowing a chunk of time in each park without feeling rushed. Yes, of course I would be happy to spend the night at Tarangire (elephants!!) or inside Ngorongoro. But all things considered, I think this particular Tanzania safari tour does a great job of maximizing your time in the parks so you can see as much as possible without causing you to give up your whole annual vacation time.

Because of this, we were busy! I didn’t have time to go through photos or even journal much when on the tour. But I certainly appreciated that I felt we got the best bang for our buck. At $1,835 for a 7-day tour, that’s about $262 per day for the tour, lodging, park entrance fees, and most meals. Given how much we saw each day, that cost could easily go to just the tour, so I would say this itinerary and cost are absolutely worth it!

Most days on the road you’ll receive a boxed lunch that the hotel has packed. These lunches are fairly basic, often including a roll, some fruit, a hard-boiled egg, yogurt, juice, and a few other things. Some accommodations can be made, like if you’re vegetarian. But if you have a strict diet, you may wish to bring a few of your own snacks just in case. Dinners were at the hotels, where you’ll have more options.

The Highview Hotel. This is looking down the outdoor hallway with the typical chairs and view overlooking the fields. It’s a great view!

The Lodgings

I was really impressed with our lodgings on this Tanzania safari tour! I didn’t choose the most luxurious tour by any means, but our accommodations were really nice!

Springlands Hotel

Your first hotel is the Springlands Hotel in Moshi. This is where you’ll start and stop your tour, and where you’ll leave any extra luggage. The room itself I would say is fairly basic, but the hotel overall is lovely! There are gardens and flowers all over the grounds, as well as a bar, coffee bar, and small gift shop. There’s a covered outdoor restaurant area that has large tables where you can meet other groups of travelers. There are also several benches and tables around where you can meet for your tour briefing, journal, or enjoy a beverage.

Highview Hotel

The Highview Hotel is similar in that it also has basic rooms but beautiful grounds. Each room has a table and two chairs by your door so you can overlook the hills, garden, and sunset. The rooms were small and this was the least impressive of the three accommodations. However, it was still lovely, and we didn’t have much time there anyway, so I have no complaints.

Serengenti Safari Lodge

The Serengeti Safari Lodge was absolutely incredible! Again, it’s not luxury, but it’s certainly higher end than I’m used to, especially for this to be included in the basic tour price. The room and bathroom are spacious, and the bathtub even has a large window looking out over the park! You could be having a relaxing soak with a glass of wine while an elephant or lion casually strides past your room. Similarly, the rooms have a large outdoor patio with a chaise, chairs, and table, where you can hang out and look for wildlife.

We spent two nights here, but we had long days with minimal time to enjoy the patio. Truthfully, I would come back to this lodge even if it weren’t as part of this tour.

And in case you’re wondering about the animals roaming around, there are no fences. You’ll be instructed to call for a staff escort whenever you walk between the main building and your room. I never saw any animals on the grounds during my short stay, but it does happen. And you can hear the animals at night, so they’re certainly not far away.

The Serengeti Safari Lodge. I would have loved to have stayed longer! We arrived at night, when this photo was taken. But just look at that bathroom and tub with the window! The door to the right leads to an outdoor shower area.

Hotel Upgrades

If you prefer, you can purchase hotel upgrades. Our second visit to Highview (on the return to Moshi), there weren’t enough rooms and we were upgraded to the Highview Coffee Lodge. Where the Highview Hotel is basic, the Coffee Lodge is quite lovely! The room and bathroom are large, there’s a private patio overlooking the coffee farm. There’s also a coffee stand in the room so you can make your own cuppa to enjoy on your patio. Yes, it was instant coffee, but it was good, and it was in the room. At the main hotel you’d have to go to the restaurant to order your coffee.

Pro Tip: If you enjoy experiencing local drinks when you travel, ask your guide if he’s willing to stop and get you a bottle of banana beer, or Mbege, before you leave the Kilimanjaro area. It’s a local favorite of the Chagga people in the area and made from fermented bananas. Though it’s called beer, it tastes more like wine. I enjoyed my bottle while out on the patio at the Serengeti Safari Lodge and it was absolute perfection!

Our greeting while experiencing the Maasai Village Tour

Potential Tanzania Safari Add-Ons

There are three potential add-ons for this tour: the Olduvai Gorge, a Masaai village tour, and a hot air balloon excursion over the Serengeti.

The Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world, and listed as a National Historical Site in Tanzania. I didn’t do this tour, so I can’t comment on it, but I would certainly consider this tour if I visited the area again.

The Masaai village tour lasted a few hours and gives you the chance to experience (and partake in) some traditional dances and songs. After that, we were shown how the Masaai would start fires for their village, as well as the inside of a typical home. We were then given the chance to purchase locally made jewelry and goods to support the village.

In my own opinion, I felt this was too touristy as the village you’re shown only exists for tourists, and there’s some expectation of a purchase or donation. They weren’t pushy by any means, but there is some pressure. (Don’t worry, the villagers are paid for their time and energy through WAT, so your visit still contributes to their livelihood.) If you have an interest in the Masaai people, this add-on could certainly be worth your time. But if not, you might prefer to skip this one.

The hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti was pretty darn magical! Yes, it’s an additional $500, so it’s not a cheap excursion. And it does involve getting up really early so you can head to the launch site while it’s still dark so that you can be in the sky as the sun is coming up. This is a good thing, though, as animals are often more active in the early morning and late evening. But getting a bird’s eye view of the land is absolutely worth it! Serengeti literally translates to “endless plains,” and what better way to appreciate this than from the air?

Animal sightings aren’t guaranteed, but can you see the landscape better, and you can view the animal paths through the tall grasses, which looks cooler than it sounds. Not to mention a hot air balloon ride is an experience itself, and doing so at sunrise is just plain beautiful. After the ride is a traditional (non-alcoholic) champagne toast, as well as breakfast. And you won’t leave hungry from there – they keep coming by with more food!

Just a snippet of our hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. Photo provided by and used with permission from Miracle Experience.

Final Thoughts on my Tanzania Safari Tour with World Adventure Travel

Overall, I was incredibly glad I went with this particular Tanzania safari tour! The staff were wonderful, the tour was extensive, the lodgings were great, and the price could not be beat! Honestly, it was the perfect tour for what I wanted in a Tanzania safari tour – a nice, but budget trip visiting the four main National Parks, with plenty of time to enjoy the wildlife. And though the hot air balloon was a bit pricey, I was still happy with my decision and glad I booked it.

All things considered, this Tanzania safari trip was well worth the cost, and I would absolutely book it again!

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