Tanzania Travel Log

January 6, 2026
News

Authored by Christy Adkinson

In September 2025, Dan and I spent almost three weeks in Tanzania and Uganda. The primary goal for the trip was to trek to see the mountain gorillas (in Uganda) so the rest of the itinerary was built around that. I worked with Anne at Gazelle Safaris based in Uganda, who was recommended to me by a local friend. This travel log will be focused on the Tanzania segment of our trip. You can read the Uganda trip log here (TBD).

As I have done with a few of our other wildlife adventures, I have also created a “photo-only” gallery for those who aren’t interested in the details and narrative of our trip. That can be found here.

I have divided this into several topical areas rather than in chronological order:

Itinerary
Key Experiences by Location:
- Arusha
- Tarangire National Park
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Northern Serengeti
Accommodations
Travel Experiences & Recommendations

Itinerary:

Traveled from Seattle to Tanzania, via Doha, Qatar, arriving early in the morning at Kilimanjaro International airport in Arusha.
Day 1: Arusha City Tour, overnight at Mount Meru Hotel
Day 2: Travel to Tarangire National Park with afternoon game drive, overnight at Lake Burunge Baobab Tented Lodge
Day 3: Morning game drive through Tarangire on the way to Ngorongoro Conservation Area; short afternoon game drive in Ngorongoro Crater; two nights at The Retreat at Ngorongoro
Day 4: Full day in Ngorongoro Crater
Day 5: Morning transfer to Manyara Airstrip for flight to the Kogatende airstrip in the Northern Serengeti National Park; afternoon game drive and 3 nights at Mara Mara Tented Lodge
Day 6 & 7: Full day game drives in Serengeti National Park
Day 8: Flight from Kogatende Airstrip to Kilimanjaro Airport, then on to Uganda

Arusha

We landed early in the morning at Kilimanjaro International Airport and were picked up by Amos who would be both our driver and guide for four full days until he dropped us off at the airstrip for our flight from Arusha to Northern Serengeti. Our vehicle is a modified Landcruiser (most common game drive vehicles here). We quickly realized this was a good vehicle to be in because the road from the airport to downtown Arusha was extremely rough and many parts under construction – felt like an old logging road we would see in the mountains here in Washington. We noticed that motorcycles and tuk tuks were more common than cars. It took about an hour to go from the airport to our hotel.

We stayed just one night here at the Mount Meru Hotel. We were greeted at the hotel by a representative from our travel agency (Gazelle Safaris), Amina. Amina reviewed the plans for the Tanzanian part of our trip and provided us with her WhatsApp number so that we would be able to contact her at any time. She also coordinated a video call with Anne who was my primary contact during the planning process and is also owner of the company – was nice to put a “face with the name”.

Amos came back to pick us up in the afternoon for a short city tour. Driving in the city was crazy – seemed like a free-for-all with lots of honking and no clear lanes – I was happy that we had a competent driver.

First stop was the Cultural Heritage Center. The grounds had many interesting metal sculptures of African animals. The main building displayed all different types of art from local artists – sculptures, paintings, and jewelry. There was information on a Jane Goodall project at the site as well – interestingly, she would pass away the next week while we were in Uganda.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire is Tanzania’s third-largest national park, spanning approximately 2,600 square kilometers. The park gets its name from the Tarangire River that winds through it. The park is known for its large elephant population and an abundance of baobab trees.

We did two half-day game drives in Tarangire – one in the afternoon and one the next morning. We saw plenty of wildlife – giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, zebras and impalas. We also caught glimpses of a cheetah and a pair of lions, though they were quite far away and only visible through binoculars or a strong zoom lens. The park was fairly busy that day, so at big sightings like those, there was a traffic jam of safari vehicles jostling for the best view.

Tarangire has several entrances and a few designated picnic areas, each equipped with restrooms — a welcome convenience. We enjoyed lunch at one of the picnic spots overlooking the river, where curious monkeys and birds kept a close eye on our food.

That night, we stayed at Lake Burunge Baobab Tented Lodge, located just outside the park, about a 30-minute drive away along a slow, bumpy dirt road. The lodge had a dramatic baobab tree growing up through the center of the main lodge. It also featured a watering hole which attracted zebra and gazelles in the afternoon and elephants in the morning.