Drive or fly on a Tanzania safari?
Driving shows you the country and keeps the price down. Flying buys back whole days. Most people are happiest with a mix: here is how to choose.
The short answer: drive if you want to see the country and keep the cost down, fly if your time is short or you are going far north, and drive in then fly out if you want both. The longer answer depends on three things: how many days you have, the month, and how you feel about a long day in a vehicle.
What driving gives you
A road safari is one vehicle and one driver-guide from the first morning to the last. The drives between parks are part of the trip: the Rift Valley wall above Lake Manyara, Maasai herders on the crater highlands, the moment the trees stop and the Serengeti plain begins. It is also the cheaper way, because the vehicle is already yours.
The cost is time. Arusha to the central Serengeti is a full day with the crater rim in the middle. Nobody should do that twice in a five day trip.
What flying gives you
Light aircraft link Arusha, Lake Manyara, every corner of the Serengeti and Zanzibar. A flight turns an eight hour drive into about an hour, and from Zanzibar it puts you on a game drive before lunch. In July to October, when the herds are in the far north, flying is what makes a short trip possible at all.
Flights add to the price, and the luggage limit is strict: usually 15 kg per person in a soft bag, hand luggage included.
The mix most people choose
Drive in, fly out. You take the road north through Tarangire and the crater, arrive in the Serengeti having seen the country change, and when the safari ends you fly straight to Arusha or to the beach instead of repeating the road. One long drive, no backtracking.
If you are starting on the island, do it the other way round: fly in from Zanzibar, spend your nights in the Serengeti, and fly back to the sand.
How to decide in one minute
Five days or fewer and you want the Serengeti: fly at least one way. A week or more on the northern circuit: drive, and consider flying out. Travelling in the rains of April and May: flying saves the slowest roads. Travelling with small children or a bad back: fly the long legs. Tell us which of these is you and we will price both versions side by side.
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