1 day Nyerere in a Day
Four hours out, a full day of game viewing, four hours back. Long in the vehicle, but it puts you inside Tanzania’s largest park without an overnight.
Wildlife
Nyerere in Two Days — Budget
One night in the largest park in Tanzania: a game drive on arrival, a boat on the Rufiji at first light, and back to Dar by evening.
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At a glance
- Destinations
- Nyerere National Park · Rufiji River
- Best for
- Wildlife safari
- Travel style
- Budget · Drive, Ferry/boat
- Activity level
- Easy — most of the day is spent in a vehicle or on a boat
- Best time to travel
- June to October usually makes the short road trip into Nyerere more reliable and gives easier game viewing. Rain in March to May can affect tracks and camp access; Rufiji boat plans also depend on current river conditions.
- Start and end
- Starts and ends in Dar es Salaam
Why this journey
- A morning boat safari on the Rufiji
- Game drives on the afternoon of arrival and the second morning
- Hippo, crocodile and waterbirds along the channels
- One night, so the cost stays close to a day trip
- A first look at the south for people short on days
Day by day
The shortest trip into Nyerere that still works. You lose the walking safari and the second full day, and you keep the two things that make the park distinct — the drive and the river.
Day 1 — Dar es Salaam to Nyerere National Park
Professional driver-guides pick you up for the roughly 3.5-hour transfer. On arrival, an extensive game drive continues through sunset, with chances to see elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, and many more species across wetlands, grasslands and woodlands.
Stay Nyerere Green Lodge Meals Lunch & Dinner
Day 2 — Morning boat safari and return via Dar es Salaam
After early breakfast, a boat safari along the Rufiji River to spot hippos, crocodiles, and a variety of bird species in their natural habitat. After an early lunch and time at the lodge, the return to Dar es Salaam begins, with afternoon ferry or flight connections to Zanzibar available.
Meals Breakfast & Lunch
Stay and travel
Camping and simple lodges or park bandas, with a cook travelling with the group.
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
- Boat safari and transfers
- TANAPA armed ranger where the park requires one
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
1 day 
2 days Nyerere from Zanzibar — Fly-In
Off the island by light aircraft, a game drive and a boat safari on the Rufiji, one night in the bush, and back to the beach by the second afternoon.
Wildlife
3 days Nyerere in Three Days — Budget
The cheapest way to get onto the Rufiji. Boat on the first afternoon, a full day driving, and a walking safari before the road back to Dar.
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.