Best Places to visit in Tanzania

1. Serengeti National Park

First up, it goes without saying that you have to travel to the Serengeti during your trip to Tanzania. Just like Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti is one of the biggest tourist attractions of Tanzania, and it is perfect for any animal lover. 

These vast plains are home to millions of wildlife, and animals passing through. It is home to the Big Five, and a very popular location for game drives.

It is also the second-largest national park in Tanzania, and the location of the great wildebeest migration every year. Many people visit Tanzania purely to go on a safari to the Serengeti. 

2. Ngorongoro Conservation Area

If you want to go to an area where you can see both immense natural beauty, and lots of wildlife, then you should head to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This area is home to thousands of animals, including some of the Big Five. 

Ngorongoro Conservation Area literally combines both nature and wildlife. This is because the biggest geographical draw to this area is the Ngorongoro Crater.

However, this crater is also home to all the thousands of wildlife that we mentioned earlier. It really is a tourist attraction in Tanzania you don’t want to miss!

3. Tarangire National Park

Another great national park to visit for wildlife is Tarangire National Park.

This National Park is perfect for people who aren’t overly interested in seeing the big five, and are instead happy to see more-relaxed animals in their natural habitat.

It is world famous for its baobab trees that are enormous with unique shapes that are magnificent to look at.

Tarangire is the national park to go to if you want to spend a significant amount of your vacation bird-watching.

It is also great if you are interested in migratory wildlife, such as buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and elephants as all these animals live in the National Park.

Tarangire actually has the highest concentration of elephants in the world, so if you want to see elephants, this is the place for you! 

4. Lake Manyara National Park

As you have probably noticed, quite a lot of the tourist attractions in this guide are national parks.

Tanzania isn’t a country that you visit to spend your time indoors, instead it is somewhere that you visit to immerse yourself in nature. One of the best places to do this is Lake Manyara National park. 

This national park is incredibly diverse, with areas of grasslands, swamps, woodlands, and forests. A large amount of the national park is composed of water, so it is the place to go if you love birds.

It is also home to the largest concentration of baboons on the planet, so if you want to see these beautiful creatures, consider a trip to Lake Manyara. 

5. Mount Kilimanjaro

Another huge attraction in Tanzania is Mount Kilimanjaro. For many people, Mount Kilimanjaro is the main reason why they visit Tanzania.

If you are somebody who loves climbing and hiking, climbing Kilimanjaro is the ultimate challenge, and it is something that many people spend years training for.

Mount Kilimanjaro definitely isn’t a tourist attraction for the faint-hearted, and it isn’t one that you can do on a whim either.

But with planning and preparation, you should definitely consider fitting this into your Tanzania vacation.

6. Beaches Of Zanzibar

Zanzibar is famous for its crystal clear waters and sparkling white beaches, so we won’t say too much about them.

But what we will say is that you shouldn’t make a trip to Tanzania without fitting in a trip to at least one of these beaches. If you do, you will live to regret it! 

Some of the best beaches in Zanzibar to visit are Paje, Jambiani, Kendwa and Nungwi, so these are excellent areas to explore during your trip. 

7. Stone Town

On the topic of Zanzibar, we have to mention Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is easy to see why. It is totally unique, and very different to all the other attractions in this list. We definitely recommend giving it a visit! 

While you’re there, you might also want to pay Changuu Island (a.k.a. Prison Island) a visit to really immerse yourself in this country’s history. 

8. Julius Nyerere National Park

Julius Nyerere National park was formerly known as Selous Game Reserve and it was the largest game reserve in Africa, and it covers around 5% of Tanzania’s land mass.

It had been a game reserve since the 1920s, and to this day there are still forbidden areas of the reserve where humans cannot go. Of course, it is now a National Park rather than a game reserve.

Julius Nyerere National Park is home to more than 350 recorded species, and it is truly beautiful. It is definitely worth spending a day exploring this area during your vacation. 

9. Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park was the largest national park in Tanzania, until Selous Game Reserve became Julius Nyerere National Park.

It is an area of immense natural beauty, and it has outstanding viewing platforms where you can observe wildlife in their natural habitat. 

Ruaha National Park is one of the most difficult National Parks in Tanzania to access, but this only adds to its beauty.

Tourist visits are possible if you go with a guide that knows the way, and this is often a good idea because Ruaha National Park is in a very remote area.

10. Mikumi

Tanzania really is jam packed with National Parks, and another one that attracts many tourists to Tanzania is Mikumi.

There are lots of different animals that reside in Mikumi, including zebras, buffalo, elephants and more.

Of all the different National Parks in Tanzania, Mikumi is the best place to go for lions. Specifically, tree-climbing lions as the chances of you seeing tree climbing lions in this National Park are the highest in Tanzania.

So it is definitely worth a visit!