Tanzania itineraries & self-drive tours
At Roadtrip Africa, we offer a unique and flexible way to experience Tanzania's wonders. Our adventurous self-drive tours include 4x4 car rental, accommodation, park permits and an optional driver - combining flexibility with comfort. You get the freedom to explore at your own pace, with the comfort and ease of a well-organised journey.
Prefer to take matters into your own hands? Then rent a 4x4 and use our routes for inspiration!
At Roadtrip Africa we do not work with intermediaries, so rest assured that we handle all hotel reservations, car rentals, and roadside assistance ourselves, while offering the most competitive rates.
Your self-drive adventure in Tanzania starts with us!
Included in our self-drive tours
- Reliable rental vehicle
- Carefully designed roadtrip
- Hand-picked lodges | best price-quality
- Park entrance permits
- Airport pick up & drop off
- 24/7 roadside assistance
- Driver-guide (optional)
Pick your itinerary in Tanzania
Northern Circuit - Classic
One legendary safari park after the next; the Northern Circuit is Tanzania's classic safari self-drive itinerary.
This is an ideal roadtrip for Tanzania first-timers who primarily come for safari, have limited time, or want to combine their itinerary with a Kilimanjaro or Zanzibar add-on.
We recommend 10 days / 8 car rental days for this Tanzania self-drive tour.
Northern Circuit - Off The Beaten Track
This itinerary includes Tanzania's top safari parks, plus some undiscovered treasures. It involves picturesque self-drives on lesser-known routes, diverse hiking opportunities, and once-in-a-lifetime cultural experiences. Due to its diversity, this is also a great Tanzania self-drive itinerary for families. This route is among our favourites!
You'll explore Tarangire, Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Lake Natron and West Kilimanjaro.
We recommend 14 days / 13 car rental days to follow this Tanzania self-drive itinerary.
Bush to Beach
The bush-to-beach Tanzania safari is the ultimate one-way roadtrip and righteously our most popular one! Start in Arusha and hand over your car in Dar es Salaam (or vice versa). This Tanzania itinerary is ideal for those looking to combine the classic safari experience with mountain scenery, culture, and beach, while staying away from the crowds and high-end resorts. Because of its variety, this is also a great itinerary for family holidays.
We recommend 20+ days to follow this Tanzania self-drive itinerary.
What to expect on a self-drive tour in Tanzania
Tanzania is Africa’s ultimate safari destination and a roadtrip paradise. The Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar are justifiably popular, but there are so many more hidden gems to explore.
At Roadtrip Africa, we design well-paced and varied itineraries for your Tanzania self-drive tour. We take care of all the details, including the park entrance permits, reservations and payment of accommodations. The tours that we show you here are sample routes. Do you prefer a customised itinerary? Let us know and we'll create a tailored route for you.
We handpick outstanding small-scale and eco-conscious lodges and campsites. The lodges we select for our tours fall within the mid-range and luxury price segment, as we find these places offer the best price-quality ratio. Do you feel like splurging for some nights? Just let us know, and we can include high-end properties on request. Our team of experts knows Tanzania inside out, so you can trust us to guide you to the very best spots in the country.
Planning your itinerary in Tanzania
Are you keen on exploring Tanzania in a 4x4? Keep these tips in mind when planning your self-drive:
- When travelling during the peak season (July - Sept, Dec - Feb), you must confirm your car rental and hotels many months in advance. When booking a self-drive tour with us, we will, of course, help you with that.
- Make sure you read through our Practical Information Guide before visiting Tanzania. Here, we try to cover all the essential information and practical tips for independent travel in Tanzania. For example, we share the spec sheets of our safari cars, we tell you about visa and entry requirements, various road conditions, safety, entrance fees of safari parks, and much more.
- If you'd like to read up on things to do in Tanzania before committing to a certain itinerary or tour, then check out our Tanzania travel blog. Here you'll find many destination guides about fun things to do and the best places to visit in Tanzania.
Great road trip in Tanzania
Janet from the UK
We chose to go with a driver which worked very well for us as our driver Stanley was very knowledgeable about birds, wildlife and the local area. He took us to the best places to see animals and birds and we did not have to worry about driving, fi...Read all reviews
Self Driving the Tanzanian Game Parks
Andrew from Spain
The vehicle we hired was very reliable and performed well on some challenging roads. The team was always available if you had questions or decided that you would take a driver-guide for a few days! Self drive with Roadtrip Africa gives you the fre...Read all reviews
My experience with Roadtrip Africa was 5 stars
João from Portugal
Tanzania is incredibly safe and beautiful to self-drive and we loved the experience, being doubtless one of the reasons we enjoyed this trip so much. Can't recommend enough!Read all reviews