1 day Saadani from Zanzibar, in a Day
Across the channel by boat at six, a game drive and a river safari, and back on the island by evening. The mainland in a single day.
Wildlife & Coast
Saadani from Zanzibar — Two Days
The day trip with a night in the park, which adds the walking safari and the early morning drive the single day has no room for.
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At a glance
- Destinations
- Saadani National Park · Wami River
- Best for
- Wildlife safari, Beach & marine
- Travel style
- Mid-range · Ferry/boat, Drive
- Activity level
- Easy — most of the day is spent in a vehicle or on a boat
- Best time to travel
- June to September or January to February usually suits the Saadani safari and overnight stay. Allow for weather on the Zanzibar sea crossing as well as conditions on the Wami River; dry park tracks do not guarantee calm water.
- Start and end
- Starts and ends in Zanzibar, by boat
Why this journey
- A boat crossing from the island in both directions
- A river boat safari and an afternoon game drive on day one
- A guided walking safari on the second morning
- One night in a park on the ocean
- No mainland transfers to arrange
Day by day
Crossing by boat from Zanzibar and staying over turns Saadani from a long day into a short safari. The morning walk in coastal forest is the part the day trip cannot fit.
Day 1 — Zanzibar to Saadani National Park
Depart Zanzibar at 07:00 by boat for the 1.5-hour crossing, arriving at Saadani around 08:30. After lodge check-in, a Wami River boat safari featuring hippos, crocodiles, and a variety of birdlife, with lunch provided on the river. An afternoon 4×4 game drive follows, seeking elephants, giraffes, buffalo, and predators, depending on seasonal wildlife movements.
Stay Tanapa Cottages / Bandas Meals Lunch & Dinner
Day 2 — Walking safari and return to Zanzibar
The morning includes a guided walking safari accompanied by an armed ranger, focusing on animal tracks, smaller wildlife, plants, and the ecosystem, then breakfast at camp. Departure at 09:00 by fast boat, arriving in Zanzibar by 11:00 with a hotel transfer.
Meals Breakfast & Lunch
Stay and travel
Comfortable mid-range lodges and tented camps, inside the parks wherever the route allows.
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 
1 day Saadani in a Day
A fifteen-hour day: out at five, a game drive, a boat up the Wami, and back to Dar by eight. The only national park on this coast, in one push.
Wildlife
2 days Saadani in Two Days
One night on a coast that is also a game park. A drive on arrival, a boat up the Wami the next morning, and back to Dar by evening.
Wildlife & Coast
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.