Planning guide · Updated 15 October 2026
The true cost of a Tanzania safari (2026)
By Mohammed, a local Arusha guide · Arusha, Tanzania · Last updated 15 October 2026
The short answer
What a 2026 Tanzania safari costs depends mostly on the lodges you choose. The fixed part is the government park and conservation fees, which every honest operator pays through at cost and which are the same whichever lodge you sleep in. Below we publish the actual 2026 TANAPA, NCAA and Wildlife Management Area fees from our live booking database, then show exactly how they add up in two real itineraries. For everything else, our trip builder shows the exact total for the lodges and dates you choose, with every line itemised.
Why trust these numbers?
Savannah & Sands prices every trip as Park Fees + Lodging + Transport + Activities = Total. The government-fee tables on this page are pulled directly from the pricing database that generates our live quotes, not copied from a competitor's blog. We do not print lodging, transport or activity figures here, because they depend on the lodges and dates you choose.
How a Tanzania safari is actually priced
Every legitimate Tanzania safari is built from four cost blocks. Two are set by you and your operator; two are set by the government and cannot be discounted by anyone.
| Cost block | Who sets it | Discountable? |
|---|---|---|
| Government park & conservation fees | TANAPA / NCAA / WMA authorities | No, fixed pass-through at cost |
| Lodging | Lodges & camps | Yes, by tier, season, location |
| Transport & guiding | Operator (4WD, guide, fuel, flights) | Partly, by route and fly vs drive |
| Activities & extras | Operator / suppliers | Yes, optional add-ons |
The single biggest reason quotes differ by thousands of dollars is the lodges, not park fees. Park fees are the same $82.60 whether you sleep in a simple tented camp or the finest lodge next door. Anyone who beats a rival quote by cutting park fees is either declaring your party wrongly or cutting corners you will pay for later.
2026 government park & conservation fees
All figures below are the actual rates in the Savannah & Sands pricing database as of 20 September 2026. TANAPA (national parks) and NCAA (Ngorongoro) headline fees are VAT inclusive; WMA and vehicle fees are noted individually. Children are ages 5 to 15; under-5s are generally exempt. Entry is charged per person per 24-hour day; concession (overnight) is charged per person per night you sleep inside the protected area, so a night inside a park incurs both.
TANAPA, national parks
Tanzania's national parks are tiered. Serengeti sits in the top pricing tier; Tarangire and Lake Manyara sit one tier below.
| Park | Adult entry (pp/day) | Child entry | Adult concession (pp/night) | Child concession | Vehicle (per day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serengeti (all zones) | $70.80 low / $82.60 peak | $23.60 | $59.00 low / $70.80 peak | $11.80 | $16.16 |
| Tarangire | $53.10 low / $59.00 peak | $17.70 | $47.20 | $11.80 | $16.16 |
| Lake Manyara | $53.10 low / $59.00 peak | $17.70 | $47.20 | $11.80 | $16.16 |
- Entry-fee seasons: peak = 16 May to 14 March; low = 15 March to 15 May.
- Serengeti concession seasons: peak = 1 July to 30 September ($70.80); low = 1 October to 30 June ($59.00). The entry and concession peak windows do not line up, so in June you pay peak entry but low concession.
- Tourism Development Levy (TDL): additionally, 1% of the net (pre-VAT) room rate, per room per night, applies at all TANAPA properties (per TRA Taxes and Duties at a Glance, July 2025).
- Vehicle fee reflects the Tanzania-registered 2,001 to 3,500 kg tourist-vehicle band, per the TATO tariff effective 1 April 2024.
NCAA, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
| Area | Adult entry (pp/day) | Child entry | Adult concession (pp/night) | Child concession | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ngorongoro Crater | $70.80 | $23.60 | $59.00 | $11.80 | $295.00 crater descent, per vehicle per visit |
| Ndutu Plains (NCA) | $70.80 | $23.60 | $59.00 | $11.80 | $16.16 per vehicle per day |
- The $295.00 crater descent fee is per vehicle, per descent, the single largest line item on a Northern Circuit safari. It is split across the travellers in your private vehicle: for two travellers it is $147.50 each.
- The 1% TDL also applies to overnight stays inside the NCA.
WMA, Wildlife Management Areas (community conservancies)
WMAs are community-run buffer areas, often offering night drives, walking and off-roading that national parks do not permit. Fee structures vary by conservancy.
| WMA | Adult (pp/night) | Child (5 to 15) | Activity fee | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randilen (Tarangire ecosystem) | Bed $25 + conservancy $30 = $55 | Bed $23 + conservancy $15 = $38 | $34 per person/day | $10/vehicle/day (ex-VAT) |
| Mto wa Mbu | $27 (single per-person rate) | $27 | n/a | n/a |
| Ikoma (Serengeti ecosystem) | Concession $53 | $40 | n/a | $25/vehicle/day |
| Burunge (Tarangire ecosystem)* | Conservation $51 + bed $25 = $76 | $37 + $23 = $60 | $34 per person/day | $9.24/vehicle/day |
* Data-honesty note on Burunge WMA: the Burunge bed-night and activity figures are mirrored from the Randilen schedule pending direct supplier verification, and the conservation and vehicle figures come from a 2026 rate sheet not yet confirmed against a public government record. Treat Burunge as provisional until confirmed with the Honeyguide Foundation. Every other fee on this page is from a government-published or official rate source.
Transit & beach levies
| Location | Fee | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Karatu (Ngorongoro gateway town) | 1% of the room rate | Tourism Development Levy, shown in your trip |
| Zanzibar (North, East Coast, Stone Town & Southwest) | $5.00 per person/night | Government infrastructure (ZIPA) tax |
The Zanzibar infrastructure tax is the only mandatory government fee on a beach "Sands" extension, and we show it as a separate line on every trip price.
What lodging, transport and activities add
Government fees barely move between comfort, premium and luxury. Lodging, transport and activities are where the level is decided, and they vary by lodge, season and route, so we do not print typical ranges here. Our trip builder shows the exact total for the lodges and dates you choose, with every line itemised. Costs fall in the green season (15 March to 15 May), when park entry rates drop.
Two worked examples (every government fee)
Both examples are two adults sharing one private 4WD and one room, priced per person. They show the government fees only, calculated from the real 2026 database rates. Lodging, the private vehicle and guide depend on the lodges and dates you choose, and our trip builder shows that total with every line itemised. Flights between parks are booked with the airline and are not part of the total.
Example 1: 7-day Northern Circuit Classic (Comfort), mid-June
Arusha to Tarangire to Karatu/Ngorongoro Crater to Central Serengeti. Mid-June means peak park entry but low concession, a good example of the seasonal mismatch.
| Line item | Detail | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| Tarangire | 1 entry day ($59 peak) + 1 concession night ($47.20) + ½ vehicle ($8.08) | $114.28 |
| Ngorongoro Crater | 1 entry day ($70.80) + ½ crater descent ($147.50) + ½ vehicle permit ($8.08) | $226.38 |
| Central Serengeti | 2 entry days ($82.60 peak) + 2 concession nights ($59 low) + ½ vehicle (2 × $8.08) | $299.36 |
| Tourism Development Levy | 1% of the room rate, including Karatu | Shown in your trip |
| Government fees per person | Entry, concession and vehicle fees, before the 1% levy | $640.02 |
A green season (April) departure would cut park entry to $70.80 (Serengeti) and $53.10 (Tarangire).
Example 2: 6-day Premium Fly-in Serengeti & Ngorongoro, mid-July (peak)
Arusha, fly to Central Serengeti (2 nights), fly to Ngorongoro crater rim (1 night), crater descent, then Karatu (1 night). Peak season throughout.
| Line item | Detail | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| Serengeti | 2 entry days ($82.60) + 2 concession nights ($70.80 peak) + ½ vehicle (2 × $8.08) | $322.96 |
| Ngorongoro | 1 entry day ($70.80) + 1 rim concession night ($59) + ½ crater descent ($147.50) + ½ vehicle permit ($8.08) | $285.38 |
| Tourism Development Levy | 1% of the room rate, including Karatu | Shown in your trip |
| Government fees per person | Entry, concession and vehicle fees, before the 1% levy | $608.34 |
Government fees are the same whichever lodges you choose. The lodges are what change the total, and our trip builder shows it for your dates, with every line itemised. Flights are booked with the airline.
Sources & method
Every government fee on this page is the actual rate held in the Savannah & Sands pricing database that generates our live quotes, re-verified against the live database on 15 October 2026. We do not print modelled lodging, transport or flight figures. The trip builder prices lodges and the private vehicle live; flights are booked with the airline.
- TANAPA national-park entry, concession and vehicle tariffs (Serengeti, Tarangire, Lake Manyara).
- NCAA tariff for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, including the $295 per-vehicle crater-descent fee and the Ndutu Plains rates.
- TATO tourist-vehicle tariff for the entry vehicle fee, effective 1 April 2024.
- Tanzania Revenue Authority, Taxes and Duties at a Glance (July 2025), for the 1% Tourism Development Levy on room rates.
- Zanzibar government infrastructure (ZIPA) tax for the $5 per person per night beach levy.
Fees change. If a figure here ever differs from your final quote, the quote is the authority, because it is generated live from the same database at the moment you build your trip.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Tanzania safari cost per day in 2026?
It depends on the lodges, route and season you choose, so we do not publish a per day range. The fixed part is the government park and conservation fees, which are the same at every level of lodge: Serengeti adult entry, for example, is $82.60 a day in peak season. Our trip builder shows the exact total for the lodges and dates you choose, with every line itemised.
What are the current Serengeti and Ngorongoro park fees?
In 2026, Serengeti adult entry is $70.80 (low season) or $82.60 (peak), plus a $59 to $70.80 overnight concession fee per night inside the park. Ngorongoro Crater is $70.80 adult entry plus a $295 per-vehicle crater descent fee. All are VAT inclusive.
Why do safari quotes vary so much?
Almost entirely because of the lodges you choose and whether you fly or drive. Government park fees are identical for everyone: a simple camp and the finest lodge pay the same $82.60 park fee. That is why we itemise every trip price as Park Fees + Lodging + Transport + Activities.
When is a Tanzania safari cheapest?
The green season, 15 March to 15 May, has the lowest park entry rates and the lowest lodging prices. It is wetter, but game viewing is still excellent and the parks are quiet.
Are park fees included in your prices?
Yes. We show government park and conservation fees as a separate, at cost line on every trip price. We do not mark them up or hide them inside a single 'from' price.
Do children pay park fees?
Children aged 5 to 15 pay reduced entry and concession fees (for example, $23.60 Serengeti child entry against $82.60 adult). Under-5s are generally exempt. The ages are set by the authorities, not by us.
What extra fees apply in Zanzibar?
A $5 per-person-per-night government infrastructure (ZIPA) tax applies across Zanzibar. We show it as its own line on any beach extension.
What is the difference between a national park and a WMA?
National parks (TANAPA) and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCAA) are government run. Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) like Randilen are community conservancies, often cheaper per night and permitting night drives, walking and off-roading that national parks do not allow.
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