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Private safari journey · Tanzania

6-Day Safari in Tanzania’s Nyerere and Ruaha National Parks

Watch for hippos on a Rufiji River boat safari in Nyerere, then take a night drive in Ruaha to look for nocturnal wildlife.

Plan this journey View route
Duration
6 days
4 stops
Stays
2 stays
Guide price
From US$3,398
per person
Best for
Mid-range tour
Private tour

The journey

Journey overview

Southern Tanzania sees a fraction of the visitors the northern circuit attracts. Nyerere National Park (Selous) and Ruaha between them cover some of the least-visited wilderness in East Africa, and this itinerary moves through both in small groups, in open vehicles. In Nyerere, a walking safari and a boat trip along the Rufiji River – hippos, crocodiles, and birds. Ruaha brings game drives and a night safari. A bush flight connects the two parks.

  • Activities: game drives, evening/night game drives, nature hikes/walks & boat trip
  • Game drives: open-sided 4x4 vehicle
  • Getting around: open-sided 4x4 vehicle & air transfer We can help select your international flights, but you'll have to book them yourself A transfer from and back to the airport can be arranged for an extra cost
  • Mid-range tour
  • Private tour
  • Can start any day
  • Can be customized
  • Suitable for solo travelers
  • Minimum age of 12 years

Availability

Check availability

Check the listed stays for your travel dates. We’ll confirm the final arrangements before booking.

Listing last checked on 28 Aug 2026

Journey route

Route

The source map is unavailable; the complete stop order remains below.

Day by day

Your itinerary

01Day 1

Day 1

Arrival in Nyerere National Park (Selous)

Nyerere National Park forms the core of what was the Selous Game Reserve – at around 54,600 square kilometres, one of the largest protected areas on the continent and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The scale of it shapes the experience: low visitor numbers, vast stretches of savannah, river and forest, and wildlife that moves largely undisturbed. Elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo are all present, alongside large populations of hippo, giraffe, zebra and impala. The park also holds one of the more viable remaining populations of black rhino in Tanzania. What distinguishes Nyerere from the northern parks is the range of ways to move through it. A morning game drive, a walking safari with an armed ranger, and a boat excursion along the Rufiji River can each cover different ground – and each gives the landscape a different character.
  • Mid-range tented bush camp located inside Nyerere NP
  • Lunch & dinner (Breakfast not included)
  • Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
02Day 2

Day 2

Walking & Boat Safaris in Nyerere (Selous)

A second day in Nyerere covers different ground. The boat safari along the Rufiji – Tanzania's largest river – puts you at water level, where hippos, crocodiles and birds of prey are seen differently than from a vehicle. Elephant, waterbuck and buffalo come to the banks to drink, often close enough to watch at length. The walking safari moves at a different pace again. The focus shifts from large game to the detail of the bush – tracks in the soil, birds, plants, mongoose, guinea fowl and vervet monkey. Fresh elephant or buffalo tracks can be followed with the guide, which changes the dynamic of the search entirely. If any of the Big Five proved elusive yesterday, a full day on the ground and water gives the search more time.
  • Mid-range tented bush camp located inside Nyerere NP
  • All meals included
  • Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
03Day 3

Day 3

Bush Flight to Ruaha National Park

The morning begins with a bush flight from Nyerere – around an hour and a half in the air, crossing the southern wilderness before landing in Ruaha. The flight itself gives a sense of the scale of what lies below. Ruaha is the second-largest national park in Tanzania – large enough that its remoteness from the northern circuit feels earned rather than incidental. Visitor numbers stay low even in high season, and the effect on the wildlife is noticeable. Lion here are famously unbothered: sprawled across roads, indifferent to vehicles that pull up quietly alongside them. It is one of the better parks in Africa to watch them at length. Elephant, hippo, giraffe and antelope are reliable from the first day. The park also holds striped hyena and sable antelope – species rare enough in Tanzania that a sighting here carries some weight.
  • Mid-range lodge located inside Ruaha NP
  • All meals included
  • Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
04Day 4

Day 4

Day & Night Safari in Ruaha National Park

The Great Ruaha River runs through the park and rewards a full morning along its banks. Hippos gather in the backwaters; crocodiles rest on the river islands; the birdlife along the water is dense and varied. Lunch is at a riverside spot chosen by your guide. The evening brings a night drive – genet, civet, bushbaby and the occasional lion or leopard move through the darkness in ways the daytime doesn't reveal. The park is quiet at night, with few other vehicles, and the sky out here is worth looking up at even when nothing is moving below it.
  • Mid-range lodge located inside Ruaha NP
  • All meals included
  • Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
05Day 5

Day 5

Ruaha National Park

Ruaha is home to so many antelope species that counting and memorizing their distinguishing features is entertainment of its own. The greater and lesser kudu have as-if chalk-drawn thin stripes across their bodies, and males boast beautiful screw horns. The sable antelopes come in glistening coal-black coats and horns like two curved sabers. The roan antelopes wear black masks with white spots around their eyes. Grant's gazelles with their beige coats, white bellies and lyre-shaped horns are one of the most graceful ungulates you will find in the savanna. Antelopes come in many other exciting varieties. If you're lucky, you might even come across a fawn-colored Liechtenstein's hartebeest that has distinctive back-curved S-shaped horns.
  • Mid-range lodge located inside Ruaha NP
  • All meals included
  • Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
06Day 6

Day 6

Departure from Ruaha

After breakfast, your driver will transfer you to the airstrip for your bush flight out of Ruaha. The flight is not included in the package – your manager can arrange it if needed.
  • Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
  • Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Stays

Where you will stay

Accommodation is subject to confirmation for your dates.

Rufiji River Camp Days 1 to 2 · 2 nights

Rufiji River Camp

Nyerere National Park

Mid-range tented bush camp inside Nyerere NP

2 nights Room confirmed with quote
View lodge
Ruaha River Lodge Days 3 to 5 · 3 nights

Ruaha River Lodge

Ruaha National Park

Mid-range lodge inside Ruaha NP

3 nights Room confirmed with quote
View lodge

What’s included

The exact inclusion list is confirmed for your dates before you commit.

Included in this journey

  1. Park fees (For non-residents)
  2. All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
  3. All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
  4. A professional driver/guide
  5. All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
  6. All flights during the tour
  7. All Taxes/VAT
  8. Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
  9. Drinking water (On all days)

Not included

  • International flights (From/to home)
  • Roundtrip airport transfer
  • Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
  • Tips (Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
  • Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
  • Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
  • Some meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)

Rates and dates

Choose your dates and party

Use the published options below as a guide. We reconfirm the exact rate and availability before booking.

From

US$3,398

per person

Guide price

US$4,444 per person

Plan this journey

From prices use the lowest listed rate. Your dates and party size may change the price. Prices are a guide and will be confirmed for your dates and party before booking.

Before you plan

Journey details

Best for

Mid-range tour

Private tour

Journey pace

2 stays

5 nights across 6 days.

Rooms

Confirmed with the quote

Your quote will specify the room category.

Listing updated

28 Aug 2026

Rates, timing and lodge availability are checked again for your dates.

Experiences on this journey

Birding Adventure

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Share your dates and party. We will verify the complete stay sequence, then plan it directly or with the tour operator, keeping the published journey intact unless availability requires a change.

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