Tanzania National Parks: 5 most beautiful parks in Tanzania

National Parks

In this section, you'll find all the practical information you need, to visit the National Parks and Wildlife Management Areas of Tanzania on an independent self-drive safari.

Check our Travel Guide, for inspiration and tips on what to do and where to stay in the must-visit parks of Tanzania.

Covered in this Guide:

How much are the park fees in Tanzania?
How do I arrange my park entrance fees?
Wildlife Management Areas in Tanzania

How much are the park fees in Tanzania?

TANAPA manages the Tanzanian National Parks. Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Lake Natron are managed by separate organizations and dealt with below.

TANAPA conservation entry fees

Gombe Stream- $118
Mahale- $ 94.40
Serengeti, Kilimanjaro, Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous Game Reserve) - $82.60
Arusha, Tarangire and Lake Manyara - $ 59
Mikumi, Ruaha, Rubondo Island, Saadani, Mkomazi, Udzungwa Mountains, Katavi - $35.40

Children up to 5 years are free of charge

Children between 5 and 15 years pay $15- 20 conservation entry fee.

Fees are quoted per person including VAT, multiple entry (except for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area), up to 12 hours with a day pass, or 24 hours when sleeping inside the park.

TANAPA hotel concession fees

If you are staying in a lodge inside the TANAPA national parks, you also need to pay a hotel concession fee. Enquire with your lodge if the concession fee has been included in their price, or if you need to pay for this yourself. Most hotels will arrange this for you, and add the concession fee to your hotel bill.

Serengeti and Nyerere- $ 70.80 per person / night
Arusha, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Kilimanjaro - $ 47 pp / night
Mahale , Ruaha, Katavi, Gombe - $ 35.40 pp /night
Mkomazi , Saadani, Mikumi, Udzungwa Mountains - $29.50 pp / night

Children up to 5 years are free of charge

Children between 5 and 15 years pay $11.80 concession fee.

Further TANAPA fees

Vehicle entry fee for your locally registered Roadtrip Tanzania rental car is 23,600 TSH ($10) for the RAV4 and 41,300 TSH ($20) per day for the Landcruiser, valid for multiple entry.
Camping fees: Public campsites managed by TANAPA cost $ 35.40 per person/night. Special campsites costs $59 per person/night. For children between 5-15 years, the camping fee is $ 11,80. Children below 5 years are free of charge.

Tanapa fees for optional activities and services

Ranger fee - $ 23.60
Walking safaris - $ 23.60 per person
Night game drives ( Katavi, Ruaha, Mikumi, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Nyerere only) - $59 pp

Ngorongoro fees

The fee to visit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is $70.80 per person per 24 hours, plus the vehicle fee as mentioned above.

If you're planning to visit the Serengeti and are only in transit through the NCA, you still have to pay the NCA fee twice: on your way going to the Serengeti and on your way returning from the Serengeti. The only way to avoid paying the NCA fee twice is by exiting/entering the Serengeti via Klein's gate in the North East, on your way to/ from Lake Natron. However, if you visit Lake Natron, you''l have to pay a Wildlife Management Fee instead, so don't choose this route only because you want to avoid paying the NCA fee twice. Check our Travel Guide on Lake Natron for a route description from Serengeti to Lake Natron.

If you want to go down Ngorongoro Crater, you have to pay the additional Crater Service Fee of $295 per vehicle each time you go down the crater. Read more about how much to budget for your Ngorongoro Safari drive in our Destination Guide, here.

The entrance permits for the NCA and Crater can't be arranged and paid for on arrival at the gate. The Tour Operator has to issue your NCA reservation quote, and the actual permit can be paid for by credit card at our office in Arusha. Roadtrip Africa can organize your NCA reservation. This is an option you can select in our bookings form. For this, we charge a handling fee of € 25 in total.

Lake Natron fees

Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) are countrywide conservation areas, established to benefit and help local communities throughout Tanzania. You can read more about these areas and their benefits here. Lake Natron is the most visited Wildlife Management Area. When entering Lake Natron, you can expect the following entry and vehicle fees:

Entrance fee (''wildlife activity fee''): adults $11.80 / 24h, children (5-17 years): $5.90 /24h.
Kids below 5 years free of charge
Vehicle entrance fee: 17.700 TSH per 24 hours.
Camping fee $ 23.60 / per night, children (5-17) $11.80 / night
If you are staying at a lodge, there is a bed night levy also called ''concession fee''. Hotels inside a WMA need to pay this concession fee to the government and shall add this to your hotel bill. The rate is $17.70 / night for all above 5 years old.

Some lodges are also located in other WMA areas. Then only the bed night levy fee or concession fee applies of $17,70 / night. This shall be taken care of by the lodge, and added to your hotel bill. We have listed the most common Wildlife Management Areas and their lodges at the bottom of this page.

Gombe National Park fees

Gombe Stream National Park, located on the western border of Tanzania on the tropical Lake Tanganyika, is the best park in Tanzania to spot chimps. Also, hiking through the lush forest and swimming in the crystal clear lake are popular activities here. It's a real off-the-beaten-track experience, but comes at a price. Apart from the above-mentioned entrance and concession fees, you'll have to budget for the boat ride. You can't take your Tanzania rental car into Gombe Stream National Park. You park your vehicle at Kigoma and take a boat. This costs $ 354 per boat, taking up to 11 people. Tanzania is probably the only country in the world where also a ''waiting fee'' is charged of $ 23,60 pp. One might think if a discount for waiting wouldn't be more appropriate..?

NOTICE - always get an exit stamp!

When entering a National Park, you have to mention which date you shall exit and pay accordingly. When you exit a park, always make sure you get an exit stamp. This is your own responsibility. If you don't see a ranger at the gate, walk to the ranger post to make sure you'll get the exit stamp. If you forget to check out, rangers start looking for you in the park, and our company is fined for the overstay. These costs will be forwarded to you.

How do I arrange my park entrance fees?

TANAPA Parks

Permits are paid at the entrance gate by credit card (Visa or Mastercard). Cash is NOT accepted; neither are debit cards.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The entrance permits for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Crater can't be arranged and paid for on arrival at the park gate. The Tour Operator has to issue your NCA reservation quote, we can assist you with this process when you visit our office in Arusha. The actual costs for the permit can be paid there by credit card. This option is included in the online reservation form when you book a car with us. For this, we charge a handling fee of € 25.

Lake Natron Wildlife Management Areas

There's a small office in Engaresero, the gateway town to Lake Natron, where you can obtain the WMA entrance permits, payable by credit card or cash. As the GPS system is weak in Lake Natron, we advise bringing some cash in case their payment terminal is down.