2 days Two Days in Mkomazi
The day trip with a night added, which turns the drive into a proper visit and gives you the early morning when the animals are moving.
Wildlife
Mkomazi in a Day
Dry nyika bush under the Pare mountains, with Kilimanjaro behind you. Almost nobody comes here, which is most of the appeal.
Opens your browser’s print dialog. Choose “Save as PDF” to keep a copy.
At a glance
- Destinations
- Mkomazi National Park
- Best for
- Wildlife safari
- Travel style
- Budget · Drive
- Activity level
- Easy — most of the day is spent in a vehicle or on a boat
- Best time to travel
- June to October usually suits a short visit to Mkomazi, with drier tracks and more open views through the bush. The green months favour birdwatching; confirm sanctuary visits separately when planning your day.
- Start and end
- Moshi or Arusha, there and back
Why this journey
- A park most visitors to the north never reach
- Views to Kilimanjaro and up into the Pare and Usambara ranges
- Rhino and wild dog conservation programmes inside the park
- Close enough to Moshi to do in a day
- Dry-country species you will not see on the crater floor — gerenuk, oryx, lesser kudu
Day by day
Mkomazi sits against the Kenyan border and shares its ecosystem with Tsavo, so the wildlife moves across. It is dry country — grey-green bush, old baobabs, rocky hills — and it holds sanctuaries for black rhino and African wild dog.
Early morning departure
— Pickup from your Moshi hotel and travel to Mkomazi National Park in a private 4×4, taking in views of local villages and savannah landscapes.
Arrival & game drive
— Begin a game drive through the park's diverse habitats.
Wildlife viewing
— Elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, antelopes and bird species, with the guide explaining the park's ecosystem.
Picnic lunch
— Lunch in a designated park area surrounded by wilderness.
Afternoon game drive
— A short afternoon drive for more wildlife viewing and photography.
Return to Moshi
— Depart late afternoon, arriving early evening.
Stay and travel
A day trip, so there is no overnight stay. You start and finish at the agreed pick-up point.
A 4×4 with a roof hatch and a window seat for everyone, driven by your guide throughout.
Camps fill, and roads change with the rains. Where something has to change we substitute at the same level and tell you before you travel, not after.
Included and excluded
What is included
- Every activity named in the day-by-day
- Accommodation as listed, or a similar alternative if a camp is full
- Meals as noted against each day
- Transfers between the agreed pick-up and drop-off points
- Park, reserve and conservation area fees
- An English-speaking Tanzanian driver-guide
- A 4×4 with a roof hatch, or the vehicle the route calls for
- Drinking water through the day
- Government taxes
Not included
- International flights, airport taxes and visa fees
- Travel, medical and baggage insurance
- Personal spending — drinks, laundry, telephone
- Tips for your guide and crew
- Anything not listed as included
Practical information
- Visas, insurance and tipping
- A visa is arranged before travel or on arrival. Travel and medical insurance is a condition of booking. Tipping is customary and we will suggest a range rather than set one.
Related journeys
2 days 
2 days The Crater & Lake Manyara
Two parks, one night, no wasted driving. The crater on the first day while the light is good, Manyara on the way back to Arusha.
Wildlife & Culture
1 day Mikumi in a Day, by Train
The six o’clock train to Morogoro, a full day of game drives on the Mkata floodplain, and the evening train home. No overnight, no long drive.
Wildlife
Every route here can be changed
Tell us what you would keep, what you would drop and how long you have. We will send back a version that is yours.