The classic
Tarangire, the crater and the Serengeti · Seven to ten nights
Scale, variety and the widest choice of camps, with the migration and the crater among them. Most visitors come here, so the choice of zone, month and camp matters.
Tanzania Safari for Couples
The trip you keep promising each other.
A private safari for two, planned for travellers who know what they like: your own guide and vehicle, a quiet pace, and camps that leave you alone.
- Best time
- June to October is dry. Calving season on the southern plains runs from January to March.
- Length
- Nine to twelve days is comfortable, with extra nights if you add the south or the coast.
- On the road
- A guide and a vehicle of your own. The vehicle seats six, so two of you can spread out and stand through the roof.
- Camps
- Small camps and lodges, chosen for quiet, with tents well apart.
- Shaped by
- Your dates, your pace and the budget you have in mind.
A place to start
The trip you keep postponing
An anniversary, a milestone birthday, a year when the diary finally has room. Couples who have travelled together for years usually know what they do not want: a crowd, a schedule, a guide who talks at them for ten hours a day. What is harder is knowing what they do want, and where in Tanzania it lives.
Four choices do most of the work. Make them in this order, and we will be straight about what each one costs you.
Newly married? Our honeymoon safari page is written for that.
How wild
From a camp with a pool to a night under canvas with a ranger. Say where you sit.
The right month
The country changes with the rain, and so does the safari.
Getting between camps
Flying and driving are both good, for different kinds of day.
How many days
Nine days is a safari. Fourteen can be a safari and a proper rest.
Been before
Been on safari before? Do Tanzania differently
If you have already seen Kenya, Botswana or South Africa, the question is not whether Tanzania is good. It is how to avoid taking the same trip again. Four ways to make it different.
Change the season
The herds are in different places in different months. The southern plains in February and the northern Serengeti in September are two different safaris.
Leave the national park
In private reserves such as Mwiba and the Grumeti you can drive at night, leave the track for a sighting and walk. None of that is allowed inside the national park, apart from guided walking in a few wilderness areas.
Go south
Ruaha and Nyerere are quieter and wilder, with boats, walks and fly-camping at some camps. They are a dry-season choice.
Stay longer in fewer places
Staying three nights in a camp lets a place sink in. Two camps in ten days will feel very different from five.
Why Tanzania
What Tanzania offers two people
A couple’s safari works best when nobody else sets the pace. Tanzania gives you the space for that: the open plains of the Serengeti, private reserves on their edge, the Ngorongoro Crater, the baobabs of Tarangire, the wilder south, and a coast at the end. One team in Arusha plans every part, so the pieces fit together.
On a lake shore, early or late in the day, you will probably hear an African fish eagle before you see one. A pair often calls together, and the duet is part of what keeps them a pair. They are thought to mate for life, and they use the same nest year after year, adding sticks every season until it is more than a metre across. They do not start again. They return, repair and add a little.
It is a good thing to listen for while somebody else is driving.
The shape of it
Three ways to do it as a couple
Most couples settle on one of three shapes, and the lengths change to suit you.
The quiet
Private reserves, Ruaha and Nyerere · Seven to ten nights
Fewer vehicles, with walks, boats and fly-camping at some camps. Wilder and slower, mostly fly-in, and best in the dry months.
Bush and beach
A safari, then the coast · Nine to twelve days
The classic or the quiet, followed by three or four nights on Zanzibar, Pemba or Mnemba. If this is the trip you have been promising each other, the coast is the part that lets you stop.
A day, usually
One day on safari, at your pace
The weather and the animals edit every day. This is the shape that tends to work for two.
Morning
Coffee on the deck, and a late start if you like. We do not leave at first light and stay out all day unless you ask us to.
The drive
A few hours, with stops. Your guide follows what you find interesting, whether that is a leopard or a single bird.
Midday
Back at camp for lunch and a long rest. Read, sleep, talk.
Late afternoon
A second drive, or a walk where the camp allows it, or a drink on the deck.
Evening
A fire, dinner for two, and the plains going quiet.
Between camps
How far do you want to be driven?
Between camps you can fly or drive, and neither is the wrong answer. It comes down to your days and your backs.
| Factor | Fly in, by light aircraft | Overland, in a private vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Roughly an hour in the air from Arusha to the Serengeti, so your days stay yours. | The better part of a day on the road to the central Serengeti, often eight hours or more. |
| The ride | A small plane, a few bumps in warm air, and a landing close to camp. | Dusty, rough tracks. The road to Tarangire and the crater is short and often enjoyable. |
| Luggage | Light aircraft usually allow 15 kg each, in soft bags only, hand luggage included, though some airlines are more generous. | A soft bag each and a day bag is the easiest way. |
| Price of the move | Flights add cost, and a private charter adds more. | No flight costs: the vehicle and guide are already in the trip. |
| Suits | The Serengeti, the south, the coast, a shorter trip. | The first leg, Tarangire and the crater, and the country between the parks. |
If either of you tires easily or has a bad back, tell us. We choose short drives and fewer moves, and we fly where the road would be hard.
Where you sleep
Choosing a camp: what matters to you
Two couples can pick the same camp for opposite reasons. We ask what matters to you first, then choose by neighbours, vehicles, view or water.
Fewest neighbours
TAASA Lodge, Roho ya Selous and Mnemba.
TAASA Lodge has twelve tents near Loliondo. Roho ya Selous has eight tents above Lake Nzerakera. Andbeyond Mnemba Island has twelve bandas on coral sand.
Where we stay
Fewest vehicles
Mwiba and the Grumeti.
Private reserves usually have fewer vehicles at a sighting, and allow night drives and off-road driving, which the national park does not permit.
Where we stay
A view worth waking up to
Jabali Ridge, the crater rim and the north.
Jabali Ridge sits on a granite kopje above the Mwagusi River. The Highlands is on the crater rim. Lamai looks over the northern Serengeti.
Where we stay
Water
Boats, a lagoon and a room under the sea.
Boat safaris on the lakes at Nyerere, a lagoon on Pemba, and a room beneath the surface at The Manta.
Where we stay
Your days
What fills the days
Some extras worth adding, and one that comes with every route.
A dawn balloon flight
The balloons rise at first light from sites that include Seronera, drift for about an hour and land to a breakfast in the bush. If the wind is wrong, they stay on the ground.
A walk with a ranger
Walks with an armed ranger, wherever the camp or reserve permits them. They are routine in the south and limited to a few wilderness areas inside the Serengeti.
By boat
Boats on the lakes and the Rufiji River at Nyerere, with hippo, crocodile and elephant along the banks.
Out at night
They take place in private reserves only. The national park does not permit them.
A night away
Some camps in the south offer a night or two out in the bush, with a guide, a fire and little else.
Slow mornings
Every route has a morning with nothing booked. Stay where you are, and let the animals get on without you.
No one can order a leopard. We plan for the right place at the right hour and leave space for whatever turns up.
Couples safari questions, answered
Is a safari too tiring for us?
It does not have to be. The pace is yours: leaving at first light and staying out all day is not our standard, and short drives, long lunches and fewer camps are easy to arrange. Tell us about steps, walking distances and anything that tires you, and we will choose the camps and the moves accordingly. We fly where the road would be hard.
We have been on safari before. What should we do differently in Tanzania?
Change the season, because the herds are in different places in different months. Leave the national park for a private reserve, where you can walk, drive at night and leave the track for a sighting. Go south to Ruaha or Nyerere for a wilder, quieter trip. And stay longer in fewer places, three nights in each camp where you can.
Can we mark an anniversary or a milestone birthday?
Yes. Tell us the occasion and we will plan around it, from the camp to the evening. We would rather hear about it early.
Will it feel busy?
We aim for the opposite. The camps we suggest are the less crowded ones, with tents set well apart, and we warn you if a camp or a month tends to be busy.
Do two people need a private vehicle?
In our view, yes. The vehicle seats six, which leaves two of you plenty of room and a clear view from the roof, and the two of you decide when to stay and when to move on.
Which month suits a couple best?
Every month has a right place. In July to October the country is dry and the herds are in the northern Serengeti. January to March brings calving to the southern plains. April and May are green and hushed, and some camps shut. Give us your dates and we will pick the place.
Is Tanzania better than Kenya or Botswana for couples?
Each is very good, and our aim is for you to choose well, not to choose us. Kenya’s Masai Mara conservancies are known for low vehicle numbers. Botswana’s Okavango Delta offers water and small camps. Tanzania has the widest range in one country, including the south for a wilder, quieter trip.
Is it better to fly or to drive between camps?
A popular pattern is to drive the short first leg to Tarangire and the crater, then fly into the Serengeti and on to the coast. Light aircraft usually limit you to 15 kg each in soft bags, hand luggage included, so pack light if you fly.
How early should we book, and what if we are late?
The best small camps fill first for July to October, so nine to twelve months ahead gives you the most choice. Booking later is still possible, with fewer camps to pick from, so send us your dates and we will tell you what is open.
Do we need insurance, and what about malaria?
Every guest has to hold premium travel insurance before travelling. For malaria and vaccinations, speak to your doctor or a travel clinic well before you go.
From first message
From first message to final plan
You need not know the camps or the roads. A rough month and the occasion are enough. Booking late? That is possible too.
Say what the trip is for
Your dates or the month in mind, how wild or how comfortable you want it, and what you are happy to spend. No need to have it worked out.
A route, and why each camp is on it
We send the route with the reasoning, including what we would change if your budget were different.
Shape it together
Swap a camp, add a night on the coast, drop a day. It is your trip.
We take it from there
Camps, the flights between them, the transfers and a day-by-day plan.
The people behind it
The people behind the plan
East Africa Safari Guides is Tanzanian owned and run from Arusha. The team lives here, and the person who replies to you knows these places and these seasons well.
Rooted here
Tanzanian owned and run from Arusha since December 2021.
The workforce
Ninety per cent of our workforce is local.
School places
Each year we pay for ten girls to go to school.
5.0 on Tripadvisor · 30 reviewsRead our reviews →
What it costs
How much a safari for two costs
No two couples pay the same, even at the same camp. What changes the figure: the time of year (the dry months and the calving weeks are dearest), which camps you choose, how you travel between them, how many nights you stay, and whether you prefer a private reserve to the national park.
Why we plan routes, not couples packages
We do not sell fixed packages or publish a price list. Give us a figure you are comfortable with, and we will show you the trip it pays for, the compromises in it, and the one upgrade worth making if you can stretch. Spending more does not always mean a better trip, and when it does not, we will say so.
Our quotes name what is included and what is not, which makes them easy to compare with anyone else’s.
When to go
Choosing the month
The animals follow the rain, so treat these months as ranges that can slide by a few weeks.
| Months | On safari | On the coast | For two |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to March | Calving on the southern plains, usually at its peak in February. Green and warm, with showers. | Hot and mostly dry, with a north-east wind that can bring seaweed to some east-coast beaches. | Young animals everywhere, then a warm sea. |
| April and May | Heavy rains turn the country green and quiet, and some camps close. | The wettest months, April most of all, and many east-coast hotels close. | Best if you can stay flexible. |
| June to October | Dry weather, with the herds reaching the northern Serengeti from July. This is the busiest time. | Dry, settled weather, though a steady south-east wind blows on the east coast. | For July to October, book nine to twelve months ahead for the widest choice. Late bookings are still worth a try. |
| November and December | The short rains, with the herds starting to move south. | Warm and humid, with the coast busy over the festive weeks. | Less company on safari, but the coast fills up for Christmas. |
Want the detail? Here is where the herds are month by month →.
Tell us what the trip is for, and when.
An occasion, a month and a sense of how wild you want it is all we need to start.
Begin the conversation+255 753 744 283 · hello@easguides.travel