A 5-day Family Safari Itinerary You Won’t Want to Miss

Hooray! You’ve finally decided that now’s the time to go on the long-anticipated African family safari. So it’s also time for the big decisions on the best time to go and, importantly, how much time your family should spend in Africa to do an African family safari justice.

The best time for an African safari will depend on your family’s specific requirements and preferences. Are you working around the kids’ school holidays? Or work vacation times? As much as seasonal changes in Africa directly impact what you’ll be able to see and experience, you may need to prioritize those non-negotiable demands on your time.

Of course, so many of us from around the world yearn to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The privilege of seeing the continent’s stunning landscapes and observing the magnificent and abundant wildlife with their own eyes makes this an exceptional experience for anyone fortunate enough to travel to Africa.

With numerous national parks and an infrastructure designed to facilitate travel throughout the continent, an African safari is a tourist favorite among global destinations.

One advantage of taking your family on safari in East Africa is that the entire region, especially Tanzania and Kenya, offers the most flexibility and wide-ranging top-tier opportunities for your family to enjoy.

Peak season in this region is between June and October, with March,April and May being the months of the heaviest rains that most tourists shy away from. There are advantages and disadvantages to almost any time you choose to travel: warm, dry weather versus cold, rainy days with fewer animals on display but then peak season means you’ll be dealing with crowds versus traveling in the low season when you can enjoy lower prices and feel like you have the place to yourself.

So keeping in mind that an experienced tour operator can help walk you through the finer points of scheduling, we have put together a 5-day itinerary to give you an idea of how much you can see and do on your African family safari:

Arrive in Tanzania

On Day 0, Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) in northern Tanzania can be your port of entry. From this airport, you can drive or fly to Arusha–about a 15-minute flight or an hour’s drive, depending on traffic.

There are lots of sightseeing opportunities in Arusha, which sits at the base of Mount Meru, a dormant volcano. From Arusha, you can take a 90-minute drive almost due west to Lake Manyara for an overnight stay. This is the perfect introduction to Africa and a delight for the entire family as you spot lions lounging in trees and get your first glimpses of giraffes and elephants roaming the bush.

Here you and your family can enjoy a delicious meal before getting a good night’s sleep. You’ll all want to be as rested as possible when you start off on your African family safari.

Serengeti National Park

You’re off to visit Africa’s most famous national park, the Serengeti. You can go by road from Lake Manyara, which can take a long 6-7 hours to drive, but it will be faster and easier to fly from the Lake Manyara Airport to either the Seronera or the Grumeti airports, then take a taxi to where you’re staying in the park.

For most visitors to Africa, the Serengeti is usually at the top of their bucket list. Besides its magnificent beauty, the park is famous for the spectacular Great Wildebeest Migration. Over a million animals move in a clockwise migration throughout the park north to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, returning south in a continual search for fresh grass and water. It’s on an epic scale and an experience you can count on as that many animals are hard to miss as long as you’re in the general area.

The Serengeti covers 5700 square miles, so you’ll want at least three days to take in as much as possible. We highly recommend working with an experienced tour operator to help you make the most of those three days. They know the best places to spot lions, elephants, and other animals you and your family want to see. They have a wealth of knowledge of the land and its flora and fauna. They’re there to offer assistance and ensure you thoroughly enjoy your time in the park. 

The Ngorongoro Crater

Driving a little over four hours east of southern Serengeti is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, home to the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact caldera. While you’ll feel like there is still so much to do in the Serengeti National Park, you can rest assured that you’re on your way to as magical a place as any in Africa. So once you finish a good breakfast, it’s time to head out.

This vast conservation area has its own unique variant of a grassland ecosystem. The reserve combines short grass and long grass, patches of desert vegetation, and high open moorland with swampland in the east, resulting in a rich biodiversity.

So if you and your family are fascinated with Africa’s Big Five–its big cats (lions and leopards), elephants, the rare rhino, and buffalo–they are all to be found within the forested rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. And if you’re looking for giraffes–always a favorite–they roam the conservation area outside the crater perimeter. The crater’s steep walls keep the giraffe from migrating down into the crater.

Tour operators will help you and your family enjoy this conservation area’s vast, unspoiled beauty. With the help of their expert eye, they’ll point out the elusive leopard and black rhino and the rare birds and plants found within the crater. Enjoy your day in Ngorongoro Crater. You’ll feel it was well worth your time.

Tarangire National Park

Although the Tarangire National Park is less traveled by tourists than the Serengeti or the Ngorongoro Crater parks, it’s actually a hub of activity for wildlife. Just a few hours’ drive southwest of Arusha and less than that traveling southeast from Lake Manyara, the Tarangire River that crosses the park is the primary source of fresh water for animals arriving from all over the region during the dry season.

The park is almost 1,100square miles and is known for its large population of elephants and over 500 species of birds. Notably, during the dry season, the Tarangire National Park area is a stopping point for the million-animal migration roaming the region, converging on the watering holes along the Tarangire River. You and your family will gawk in amazement at the number of gazelles, elephants, lions, and especially the wildebeests and zebras competing for water in a river clogged with giant hippos.

Your tour operator will ensure you enjoy the beautiful countryside and roaming wildlife in and out of the park. An area of stunning beauty, with lovely acacia woodlands and baobab trees, Tarangire National Park is a fitting safari location to close your 5-day African family safari.

Final Thoughts

Tanzania, East Africa, is one of the most popular African family safari destinations, and deservedly so. Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire national parks are each uniquely spectacular, offering their own set of exciting family activities.

And while the dry season, from June to October, is undisputedly the best time for seeing more wildlife in more natural settings and scenarios, experienced tour operators can guide you in how to make the time your family can go on safari the best time ever.