10 Days Southern Circuit Group Safari In Tanzania

You land in Dar es Salaam, the busy port city buzzing with coastal energy. After clearing immigration, you’re met by your safari team — warm smiles, cold water, and a sense of calm.

You’ll be transferred to your hotel or guesthouse where you can rest, refresh, and enjoy your first taste of Tanzanian cuisine. The next morning, the real adventure begins.

Accommodation: Hotel Slipway or similar (standard room, breakfast included)

You rise early, excitement building. Depending on your choice, you either take a scenic bush flight (about 45 minutes) or drive 5–6 hours southwest into Nyerere National Park — formerly the Selous Game Reserve, now one of Africa’s largest protected wilderness areas.

The moment you enter the park, the air changes. It’s quieter here, more primal. After settling into your riverside tented camp, you’ll head out on your first game drive, maybe spotting elephants, wild dogs, giraffes, or even lions in the bush.

At sunset, a cold drink in hand, you sit by the Rufiji River, watching hippos snort and crocs glide — and you realize: you’re not just watching nature. You’re in it.

Accommodation: Selous River Camp – Ensuite Tents or Selous Wilderness Camp

Meal plan: All meals included

Your day starts differently — not in a vehicle, but on foot. With an armed ranger and guide, you step into the bush. This is a walking safari, where every footprint tells a story, every sound makes your heart skip. You feel every breath of Africa.

In the afternoon, you’ll drift down the Rufiji River on a boat safari. It’s slow and peaceful… until a crocodile slides off a sandbank or a pod of hippos snorts in protest. This is a safari with rhythm — not a race.

As the sun sets, golden and huge, you return to camp with dust on your boots and wonder in your heart.

Accommodation: Selous River Camp or similar

Meal plan: Full board meals

Today is all about the thrill of the open plains and hidden bush. Nyerere offers a different kind of safari — raw and unpredictable. You'll spend the day tracking lions, buffalo, kudu, elands, wild dogs, and more.

You’ll have a bush picnic under a lonely tree, sharing your lunch with curious hornbills and the occasional monkey who thinks it’s invited.

By evening, you return dusty and satisfied. Dinner is served under the stars, and maybe there’s a hyena calling from the darkness. It’s both humbling and exhilarating.

Meal plan: Picnic lunch in the bush

Accommodation: Selous River Camp

You say goodbye to Nyerere and head west to Mikumi National Park. This drive (or optional flight) takes you through Tanzania’s interior — past rural villages, open landscapes, and rolling hills.

You arrive at Mikumi, often called the “mini-Serengeti” for its open floodplains and excellent wildlife visibility. It’s quiet here. Lions lie in the grass, elephants graze by the road, and zebras cross lazily in front of your vehicle.

Camp tonight is simple, beautiful, and close to nature.

Accommodation: Tan-Swiss Lodge or Camp Bastian Mikumi

Meal plan: Dinner and overnight

You head out at dawn, when the air is cool and golden. This is the best time to see predators on the move. With fewer vehicles in the south, it feels like the park is yours alone.

Later, visit a nearby village or Maasai boma for a cultural encounter — not as a tourist, but as a guest. Share stories, ask questions, listen. This is real Tanzania.

Return to camp for a slow evening, a good meal, and maybe a traditional dance performance beneath the stars.

Accommodation: Camp Bastian or Tan-Swiss Lodge

Meal plan: Full board

Today you journey to Ruaha National Park, a remote, vast land of baobabs, rocky escarpments, and one of Africa’s most intense predator-prey interactions. It’s a long but scenic drive (or optional flight), passing through Iringa, a charming town in the Southern Highlands.

You arrive in Ruaha, where the silence is thick and powerful. This is Africa unfiltered — lion country, where wild dogs roam, and where elephants are old, big, and bold.

You settle into your tented camp or lodge, surrounded by rock outcrops and ancient trees. Tonight, the bush is alive with sound.

Accommodation: Ruaha Hilltop Lodge or Tungamalenga Lodge

Meal plan: Full board

Ruaha is different. It's quiet — no convoys of vehicles, no rush. Just you, your guide, and the wild.

You set out on a full-day game drive across river valleys, dry plains, and rocky hills. You might follow a lion pride, spot leopards near the Mwagusi River, or encounter a herd of 300 buffalo thundering across the plains.

Every sighting here feels earned. Nothing is staged. And that makes it special.

Accommodation: Ruaha Hilltop Lodge or Ruaha River Lodge (upgrade option)

Meal plan: Full board

Today you dive deeper. Maybe you track African wild dogs, one of Ruaha’s specialties. Or search for greater kudu, sable, or roan antelope — all found here in numbers you won’t see elsewhere.

You’ll take time to sit in silence by a riverbank, watching elephants drink and birds flit across the water. You might even opt for a guided bush walk, where you learn about plants, insects, and survival from people who’ve lived alongside this land for generations.

Your last night in the wild is full of reflection. You’ve seen more than animals — you’ve seen the soul of a continent.

Accommodation: Ruaha Hilltop Lodge

Meal plan: Full board

You take a flight or drive back to Dar es Salaam, your head spinning with images: lions in golden light, elephants on red earth, sunsets that felt too big to capture.

You arrive back where you began — same place, new you.

If you're flying out today, your guide takes you to the airport. If you’re staying another night, a comfortable hotel room and a warm shower await.

You leave the south with a heart full of wild stories, and a dusting of red earth that you’ll never quite wash off — and that’s exactly the point.