Tanzania Family Holidays

The largest country in East Africa, Tanzania boasts a constellation of natural draws. Just some of its evocative names say it all – the mighty Serengeti, majestic Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain on the continent), fabled Zanzibar, the inimitable Ngorongoro Crater – and of course, the Great Migration – the world’s most enthralling game viewing spectacle.

The Serengeti wildebeest migration (which includes thousands of zebra and gazelles too) is a spectacle at any time of year. Always exciting, but rarely predictable, the precise timing and pattern of the movement is entirely dependent upon the rains. If your family’s dream is to witness this great natural wonder, then we highly recommend staying under canvas in one of the Serengeti’s traditional mobile camps which move seasonally to keep up with the herds. The first such camp of this kind, and the original, is Nomad Tanzania’s Serengeti Safari Camp, which was specifically set up to offer a migration-chasing adventure, with the lightest of footprints. For intrepid families with children of 8 years and above, this is safari as it was meant to be, with the added luxury of your own private guide and vehicle to take you into the midst of the action! The camp is small but effortlessly comfortable, with a main dining and library tent and six large traditional meru tents, each with an eco-flush toilet and safari-style bucket shower. This is a million miles from camping as most children know it!

A Serengeti safari is easily combined with a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater. Avoid the crowds at the crater rim, and instead, stay in the Ngorongoro Highlands, surrounded by coffee plantations and Hemingway’s famous green hills. Plantation Lodge is our favourite.

Quite conversely, in southern Tanzania, the pace of the safari experience is much slower. It is here that you will find the vast Selous Game Reserve, one of Africa’s least known yet wildest conservation areas. At an unbelievable 21,000 square miles, it is four times larger than the Serengeti and almost twice the size of Belgium. The contrast with the north couldn’t be greater. The wild and raw Selous wilderness boasts floodplains, rivers, lakes and woodland and it is home to half of Tanzania’s elephant population. Safari here is gentle and allows time to walk, game drive, take a river safari and doze off to the sound of a fish eagle!

Then once your safari dust has settled, it seems only natural that you should head to the soft white sands and fringing coral reefs of the spice island of Zanzibar. The very name evokes intrigue. Steeped in sea-faring history and a melting pot where Africa meets Arabia, Zanzibar offers post-safari luxury at its barefoot best!