Self Driving Safari Serengeti National Park
Self Driving Safari Serengeti
There is a certain charm in planning a self-driving safari in Serengeti. It is a very personal experience that tests your skills in driving a 4×4 under some difficult conditions. Additionally, it gives you the reward of finding the wildlife on your own. Self-driving in one of Africa’s national parks is also quite a common activity.
The logistics of planning a self-driving safari in Serengeti. Unlike in many other parts of the world, where planning a road safari simply means renting a car, planning a route, and getting on the road, visiting Serengeti by your own vehicle is more complicated than you think. First, you need to take into consideration that prices will go up significantly. Additionally, expect to drive 300-400 km daily if you want to make the most of your time in Serengeti. Furthermore, you need to know how, and when to explore Serengeti with 4×4, finally the camping site in Serengeti.
Game Drive Serengeti
The Serengeti is the most rewarding national park in the world. However, it’s a park one can enjoy when prepared well in advance. With Toyota Land Cruiser, you can drive into Serengeti. Through the main road running from Naabi Hill gate to Seronera, the center of Serengeti, and from there radiating to east or west. Serengeti has challenging roads with rocky surfaces and washboard ribbons. Due to a notorious rough road, driving is limited to the speed of 25 km/h, or else you’ll lose control instantly with a single-vehicle rollover as a result this is NOT covered in the insurance.
Serengeti is part of a cross-border ecosystem including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Masai Mara in Kenya. From Arusha, the most accessible parts of Serengeti are the southern plains comprising Ndutu and Seronera. The western corridor and north of Serengeti comprise Lobo is rewarding to explore, but it is far out. If you want to explore lesser flamingos from Lake Natron.
How To Get To Serengeti
Serengeti is managed by Tanzania National Park (TANAPA). Driving to Serengeti may opt to pass through the Ngorongoro when coming from and returning to Arusha (Transit). Be aware that you may end up paying the fee twice – once on way to the Serengeti and on your return to Arusha. To avoid this, you can exit Serengeti via other gates.
Klein’s gate is located in the northeast of Serengeti. You may exit Klein’s gate to Lake Natron. Taking into consideration from Klein’s to Lake Natron it’s a long drive with the bumping road.
Ndabaka gate, the westernmost gate into the Serengeti, is located along the Musoma – Mwanza highway. It is mostly used by tourists coming from Mwanza.
Fort Ikoma gate is located on the northwestern border of the Serengeti national park, a few kilometers south of the entry point into the Grumeti game reserve and the small village of Robanda. It is also a few kilometers north of the Ikoma historical site.
Accommodation In Serengeti
Depending on what type of accommodation you will prefer, there are public camps, private camps, and lodges which can be budget, medium-range or luxury. Visiting Serengeti on a self-drive trip is expensive, especially in the high season. The most budget option is camping at the public campsites. There’s a cluster of campsites close to Seronera and two public campsites in the north at the Lobo area. During the migration, this is a good place to stay. It’s around a two-hour drive from Seronera to Lobo. You will pay for public campsites at the gate using a credit card only. You don’t need to book a public campsite in advance.
The Great Migration Serengeti
The Serengeti is famous for its annual wildebeest migration. Over 1 million wildebeest accompanied by large numbers of zebra, smaller numbers of Grant’s & Thomson’s gazelle, and impala migrate in seeking fresh grazing and water with predators such as lions following in their footsteps. However, it’s worth planning your trip dates around the migration. In our experience, Serengeti offers superb wildlife viewing year-round. Moreover, expect to pay exorbitant prices for the mobile camps that congregate near the river crossing and to see plenty of other safari vehicles. Watching the herd of the wildebeest migration crossing the Grumeti and the Mara river is truly spectacular and a highlight of any trip.
Our reviews
Georgia Ross
2023-09-01
We hired a Land Cruiser with double roof top tents for 36 days through Khalid at Mili Adventures. We took it through Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Cross border paper work, vehicle and equipment was perfect, no issues! Khalid was great to deal with and also good pricing compared to other rental companies we looked at. Khalid was super accomodating to any requests we had. Thanks for such a seamless rental experience! 100% would recommend.
Hugo Lakin
2023-01-20
We rented the Land Cruiser and it was unreal, awesome car that flew over any terrain.
Václav Velát jr.
2023-01-17
Mili nás zachránili, když auto z jiné půjčovny bylo havarováno po cestě k nám. Nakonec to bylo to nejlepší se nám mohlo přihodit. Domluva proběhla bleskově. Suzuki Escudo je za tu cenu jednoznačně nejlepší auto na safari a v terénu se mu vyrovná pouze Land Cruiser. Kluci z půjčovny nám nedoporučovali jet v našem období do Serengeti, ale nakonec to byla nejpohodovější část našeho výletu. Jen po cestě ze Serengeti do Ngorongor musíte jet pomalu, protože malé auto nezvládá cestu tak dobře jako kolem projíždějíci Land Cruisery. Byli jsme i u Lake Natron kde to je krásné, ale poplatky jsou nesmyslné a v Tarangire, kde se nám vůbec nelíbilo a raději bychom zůstali den navíc v Serengeti, protože cena je podobná, ale Serengeti je podstatně velkolepější. Vrácení auta po 1500km v Dar Es Salaam taky proběhlo v pohodě a bylo nám odpuštěno i pár drobných a pochopitelných škrábanců na autě. Moc děkujeme, Mili Car Rental a Suzuki Escudo jsou rozhodně nejlepší kombinací na Safari. Jsme tak spokojeni, že jsem napsal první recenzi v životě 🙂
Daniel Stüssi
2022-01-09
We rented the Suzuki Escudo for 10 days and had an amazing time in the nationalparks Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Natron. The car is very well equipt and has everything you need.
Khalid did an amazing job. He helped wherever he could and was very responsive.
I truely recommend Mili Adventure of you want to discover Tanzania by yourself!
Isabelle Wolfensberger
2022-01-09
Khalid hat uns super beraten, das Auto ist gut ausgestattet und bei Fragen wurde einem schnell geholfen. Wir haben den Ngorongoro und Serengetti Nationalpark besucht und alles hat ohne Zwischenfälle geklappt. Um die Fahrten etwas angenehmer zu gestalten, könnte man sich überlegen ein grösseres Fahrzeug als unseres (Suzuki) zu wählen.
Bettina Wenzel
2021-10-19
Rented a car for a self-drive safari. The car was in a good state and the camping equipment included was comfortable and sufficient.
Carlos del Arco Romanos
2021-07-19
Estafadores, me dieron un coche que ya había tenido un golpe y de los baches se fueron cayendo las piezas delanteras, el faro, etc. incluso me dejó tirado en medio del serengeti. Vino un mecánico y me cobró una cantidad demasiado alta (100$), antes de pagarle se lo comenté a ellos y me dijeron no te preocupes nosotros te lo pagamos sin problema. Cuando les entregué el coche me dijeron que sólo me daban 40$ que era lo que creían que costaba el arreglo incluso me dijeron que si que me habían dicho que me daban los 100$ por el momento pero que lamentablemente sólo me iban a dar 40$ porque era lo que costaba el arreglo. Les enseño el recibo en el que me cobraron 100$ y ni lo quieren ver que son 40$. Fatal el coche, mal servicio, empresa poco seria, sin palabra y sin honor.
RP DG
2021-01-22
Excellent rapport qualité/prix pour ces 4 jours de safari à Serengeti, Ngorongoro et Lake Manyara!!!
Merci à Halifa pour son sérieux, sa conscience professionnelle et pour sa disponibilité à répondre à toutes nos questions par mails, alors que nous étions encore en France...
Et quel plaisir de découvrir après réception de plusieurs devis de différentes agences, que Mili Adventure était le moins cher et que la Suzuki Escudo était de qualité.
Un bravo à Khalid le chauffeur/guide expérimenté et sérieux!!!
Grzegorz Zięba
2021-01-11
Great company. Khalid - the general manager - is a very helpful, flexible and communicative guy and helped us a lot. We had a great 10days safari with Toyota Landcruiser with 2 tents on the roof.
Peter “Antonio” Kuhlmann
2020-12-05
Absolutely top. He brought the car to the airport and the communication with WhatsApp was perfect. I really appreciate this rental car agency. Btw you can go by a rental car to any natural park in Arusha, lake manyara or serengeti. We had rhe car for 3 days and everything was great, no damages.. thanks again for this great service.. greatings Peter
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