In the South, there are really 2 main parks (Selous and Ruaha) with a third park that is often omitted in a Southern Parks itinerary: Mikumi.

There are far fewer guests in any of these parks on any particular day. The animals tend to be more skittish and thus it can be difficult to get close to them.

The southern parks present a real opportunity to get away from the main tourist circuit. Most people are on the game package in the Southern parks.  This means that they will fly in and out of the parks, using the guiding and activity services offered by the camps. 

There are really very few lodges. There are luxury tented camps instead. Pretty much all of them are relatively expensive. There is one relatively low-cost camp in Selous but we had a few bad experiences with them and stopped using them. Game drives and other activities are typically shared with other guests.

On occasion we have driven our vehicles from Arusha to the Southern Parks, but it really is quite a distance and so we rarely find that it’s worth it for us to do that. The unique feature in the south is the ability to do river boat rides. Some people have really loved these.

There is also the opportunity to go fly camping.  What is fly camping? Basically it means that even though you are staying with a particular camp, you can opt to go on a hike and then pitch tents off in the bush.  Of course, crew will accompany you and they know where to go and how to camp so it’s still fully catered.  It’s a great way to really get away from it all and experience the bush. This should be pre-booked and it’s not necessarily cheaper than staying the luxury camp. In fact, it often costs more.

You can get flights to the South from the North or from Dar. We often find that people will do a northern circuit safari, fly down to the South from Arusha and then continue on to Dar es Salaam for an international departure or on to Zanzibar for some time on the beach.

Visit Southern Tanzania below!

Mikumi National Park 

Mikumi, transected by the surfaced road from Dar es Salaam to Iringa is the most accessible park in the Southern circuit. The centerpiece of Mikumi is the abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplains that draw frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains.

Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park is the second largest National Park in Tanzania. The Great Ruaha River fascinates with its variety of mammals and birds coming to drink. This is one of Tanzania's least accessible parks and as a result it is relatively untouched.

Selous Game Reserve

This untouched uninhabited area is home to the biggest herds of elephant and other wildlife to be found anywhere in the world.

Udzungwa National Park

Udzungwa is the largest and most biodiverse of a chain of a dozen large forest-swathed mountains that rise majestically in Eastern Tanzania.

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