Ideally, a day of safari begins with an early morning rise at the sounds of the African savannah. After a healthy breakfast you head out in a safari vehicle with your personal guide. This is the best time to see animals, who are most active just after sunrise (and just before sunset). You explore the savannah until it’s time for a packed lunch from the lodge, that you can enjoy at one of the picnic areas in the park. You continue exploring the savannah until just before sunset, when you stop on a beautiful spot or go back to the lodge for the famous safari sundowner. Watch the sunset while you nurse your favourite drink and reminisce about the day. The day ends with a lovely shower, a sumptuous dinner, and an early night. Because at sunrise the next morning it all starts again...

You decide

Of course the definition of ideal is different for everyone. The good thing is, that with Hey Safaris both the car and the driver are at your disposal completely. This means you can adjust the above in any way you like. Do you prefer to go back to the lodge early for a relaxing afternoon with a sundowner and view over the savannah? By all means do so! Chances are you spot some amazing wildlife from the comfort of your own tent. On the other hand, if you don’t like early mornings, you can decide to take it easy and start your game drives a bit later because also during the day there are plenty of animals to see. And if you prefer to have lunch in the lodge, you can just do so.

Park curfew

The same goes once you are in the park. Whether you are fascinated by big cats, birds, photography, or elephants, you can adjust the game drive to your liking. So if you prefer to observe the same animals for hours on end, nobody will push you to drive on. To make the best use of this freedom, we advise you to discuss all your wishes with your guide during the first briefing and at any time during your safari. He is the expert on game drives and might be able to come up with suggestions to make your day even better. Together you can create your personal and perfect safari day! Just know that the only limit is the park curfew. National parks only allow game drives from 6am (sunrise) to 6pm (sunset) and expect guests to be back in the lodge outside of those hours.

Examples: Game drive days can be as packed or relaxed as you wish. Below we made two examples:

The ultimate game drive day

06:00 breakfast in the lodge

07:00 pick up from the lodge

07:00 - 12:00 game drives

12:00 lunch in the park

12:30 - 17:30 game drives

18:00 back in the lodge

19:00 dinner

A relaxing day of game drives

08:00 breakfast in the lodge

09:00 pick up from the lodge

09:00 - 13:00 game drives

13:00 lunch in the park

14:00 - 16:00 game drives

16:30 back in the lodge

19:00 dinner

When booking a safari, the meal plan will always be full board. Once you are on safari, that looks like this:

Breakfast : Mostly buffet and coffee/water/juice/tea

Lunch : The packed lunch usually has a sandwich, pasta salad, potatoes eg., some fruit, a muffin and a drink pack.

Dinner : Buffet or à la carte.

Drinks are not included in the dinner price.

Prices are usually 3 USD for soft drinks, 3 to 5 USD for a beer, and from 25 USD for a bottle of wine.

During the day - Our jeeps always have bottles of water in the fridge. Other drinks and snacks can be booked for a small additional charge per person per day.

Please let your travel agent know of any dietary requirements you may have. They will try their best to accommodate you.

Tanzania is 945,000 square kilometres in size, which is more than 15 times the size of the UK.

Furthermore, 38% of the country’s land consists of national parks, some of which are huge. It’s not without reason Serengeti means ‘endless plains’ in the language of the Maasai - the savannah here truly seems endless!

During your safari, you will most likely cross huge parts of this immense country, and you will be overwhelmed by its natural beauty. The roads in between parks are in good condition, but many unexpected things can happen along the way that cause delays. This means that distances may look relatively small on a map, but driving those distances may take longer than expected. Moreover, in and around the parks the roads are unpaved. When booking a trip to Tanzania, it can be difficult to grasp how big the country is and what sort of distances need to be covered. Even Google Maps sometimes misses the mark completely. To help you a bit, we stipulated the most common distances below:

BY CAR

Northern circuit

Kilimanjaro International Airport - Arusha City (1h 20min, 55 km)

Kilimanjaro International Airport - Moshi City (1h, 50 km)

Arusha - Moshi (Kilimanjaro region) (2h 30min, 100 km)

Arusha - Lake Manyara National Park (2h 15min, 120 km)

Arusha - Tarangire National Park, northern entrance (2h, 109 km)

Southern Tarangire - Ngorongoro Crater (2h 30min, 148 km)

Southern Tarangire (Sangaiwe) - central Serengeti (5h 30min, 293 km)

Tarangire - Lake Manyara National Park (1h 20min, 68 km)

Lake Manyara National Park - Ngorongoro Crater (1h, 56 km)

Ngorongoro Crater - Ndutu (southern Serengeti) (2h 30min, 106 km)

Ngorongoro Crater - central Serengeti (3h 30min, 135 km)

Central Serengeti - northern Serengeti (via Ikoma gate) (4h game drive en route, 90 km)

Central Serengeti - northern Serengeti (via Lobo) (5h game drive en route, 154 km)

Lake Manyara National Park - Lake Natron (3h, 116 km)

Lake Natron - northern Serengeti (5h, 159 km)

Southern circuit Dar Es Salaam - Mikumi National Park (6h, 320 km)

Dar Es Salaam - Julius Nyerere National Park (4h via Kisarawe, 175 km)

Mikumi National Park - Julius Nyerere National Park (9h, 355 km)

Mikumi National Park - Ruaha National Park (7h, 330 km)

Zanzibar Abeid Amani Karume Airport - beaches (max 1h 30min)

Zanzibar Abeid Amani Karume Airport - Stone Town (20min, 10 km)

BY PLANE (to the respective airports)

Arusha - Zanzibar (1h 20min)

Seronera (central Serengeti) - Zanzibar (2h 30min)

Kogatende (northern Serengeti) - Zanzibar (3h)

Ndutu (southern Serengeti) - Zanzibar (2h 45min)

Dar Es Salaam - Arusha (1h 45min)

Dar Es Salaam - Zanzibar (25min)

Dar Es Salaam - Mafia (30min)

Dar Es Salaam - Julius Nyerere National Park (1h)

Dar Es Salaam - Ruaha National Park (2h 20min)

Zanzibar - Mafia (1h)

Julius Nyerere National Park - Ruaha National Park (1h)

Why is this important to know?

The aim of a safari is to have as many game drives as possible. As travel consultants, we plan your safari in such a way that you can make the most of your time in the parks. This seems obvious, but not all tour operators do this. To cut costs, they sometimes set up routes that seem cheaper but increase the time on the road instead of in the parks.

The classic example :

On day X, you wake up in Serengeti National Park for a game drive. That night, you sleep in Karatu. The next day, you go on a safari in the famous Ngorongoro Crater.

At first glance, this looks like a nice itinerary. But if you take a better look, you realize that on day X, you have to drive from Serengeti to Karatu, which means you have to leave Serengeti at 2 PM and cross the immense Ngorongoro Conservation Area, leaving limited time for a real game drive in Serengeti. What’s more, the next day, you take part of the same road back for your game drive in the crater (that actually doesn’t need a full day). The price of the itinerary is lower because sleeping in Karatu is cheaper than in Serengeti, and you save one night of Serengeti concession fees. It can be tempting to take an offer like this.

We prefer, however, to give you an extra full day in Serengeti, then leave the next morning at 7 AM and arrive in the crater at 11 AM - this leaves more than enough time for your game drive. Afterwards, you drive to Karatu for your overnight, which is relatively close.

Be aware of driving times when booking your flights as tourists are not allowed on the road outside the cities at night, transfers to and from the airport (domestic and/or international) need to be planned properly. If, for example, you go straight on safari upon arrival, your flight needs to arrive BEFORE 1:00 PM to allow for enough driving time to the national park. Similarly, if you sleep in or near a national park the night before departure, your flight needs to depart AFTER 1:00 PM. This goes for flights arriving or departing from Arusha Airport, Kilimanjaro International Airport (for northern circuit safaris) and Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar Es Salaam (for safaris in the south of the country).

Be sure to check this with us before booking your flights, to prevent changes to your program and thus extra costs.

● Deposits (due on confirmation): 20% of the total tour cost

● If departure is within 60 days, full payment is required at time of booking
● Flights and lodges are not confirmed until they are deposited
● Final payment is due 60 days from departure
● Payment of deposit indicates that all parties travelling agree with our booking terms and conditions available in full here

Our cancellation fees are usually as follows:
○ 48 days or more: 20%
○ 15-48 days: 50%
○ Within 14 days: 100%
● No refunds or credit can be given once a safari has departed.
● Domestic flights can be amended up until 72 hours before a flight, after
which they incur a 100% cancellation fee.

Plastic bags: As of 01 June 2019, the sale, production, importation or use of plastic bags (regardless of thickness), is banned in Tanzania. You should ensure that you do not have any of these bags on your person or in your luggage before you arrive in Tanzania as fines may be incurred if discovered. Zip-loc bags will be allowed (e.g., those used for liquids in flights, however the expectation is that these will be kept on your person and taken back to your country of origin once you leave Tanzania, and they should not be disposed of whilst inside of the country. 

Visas: It is advisable to obtain your visa before arrival. Although visas are available on arrival (for some nationalities), it is your own duty to ensure you have the correct visa and make the appropriate arrangements before your travel. You can visit the Tanzanian immigration portal for the latest rules and advice: https://visa.immigration.go.tz/

Arrivals: For airport pick-ups arranged by Hey Safaris, clients should make their way to the arrivals and look out for drivers wearing Hey Safaris t-shirts, unless and otherwise organised. Drivers will hold placards with Hey Safaris logo at the top and group name at the bottom unless and otherwise organised. If in case clients are not able to spot the driver, the client may enquire with other drivers to be directed to the correct person or thereafter call our emergency number. 

Delayed / lost luggage: Luggage maybe lost or delayed by the airline or transportation which can cause major problems for planned tours. We advise clients to travel with all essential items required in their hand luggage e.g., walking boots (if trekking), valuables, medication etc. Furthermore, we strongly advise clients to arrive at least one / two days prior to the start date of the actual tour. If luggage is delayed / lost client must fill in the luggage claim form at the airport itself and carry a copy with them. Hey Safaris will do everything possible to help during this situation, however any additional costs that may occur, e.g., extra equipment hires, transport to the airport, transportation of luggage etc. will have to be paid locally (and claimed from the company of transportation or insurance). The nature of most tours means that there can be no changes made to the itinerary due to such incidences. 

Drones: Use of drones inside National parks in Tanzania requires a special permission from government institutions. Please contact your tour consultant for more information.

Finances: Cash - currency widely accepted in Tanzania is US Dollars ($) and Tanzanian Shillings. US Dollar ($) bank notes issued / printed only in or after 2006 are accepted, notes printed before this year are not accepted anywhere in Tanzania. 

Finances: Card payments - surcharges for payments made by debit / credit cards in Tanzania may be applicable that can range from 3-5% at various accommodation or service providers. This payment method may not always be available due to the network connection. Please note that Hey Safaris are not responsible for card machines to operate at all times. If in case the machine is not operating, payment in cash may be required instead as per above guidelines.  

Traveler’s cheques: are not accepted in Tanzania.

What other costs to expect? You can expect to incur additional charges such as items mentioned in your ‘excludes’ section, costs incurred due to delayed / lost luggage (e.g., rental equipment, clothing, transportation for luggage, airport transfers), costs incurred due to itinerary changes (e.g., extra transfers, accommodation, services) and personal extras (e.g., drinks, alcohol, snacks, souvenirs, add-ons not listed in your ‘includes’.

Tipping Guidelines : It is as per your wish although the guides in Tanzania do expect to be tipped. We are mentioning an indicator below:

Safari driver-guides : USD $20 per guide, per day of safari

Lodge and other local staff : At your own discretion

Transfer drivers : At your own discretion

Hey Safaris is known for thoughtful service, transparent pricing, and deep, first-hand knowledge of Tanzania. From the moment you start planning to the day you return home, we take care of every detail—so you can travel with complete peace of mind. We believe the best journeys begin with listening, which is why we encourage open conversations to understand your wishes and design a safari that truly reflects you.

A Century of Tanzanian Heritage & Local Expertise
Our roots in Tanzania run deep. The family behind Hey Safaris has lived in Tanzania for over 100 years, building an intimate understanding of the land, wildlife, and cultures that can only come from generations spent on the ground. Today, we operate with our own dedicated team in Tanzania—people who live and work there year-round. With no intermediaries involved, we maintain full control over quality, logistics, and service. Our exclusive focus on Tanzania allows us to offer up-to-date insights, carefully curated routes, and exceptional value without compromise. We truly know the country inside out.

Exceptional Guides & Vehicles
Our safaris are led by our own handpicked guides, selected through a rigorous process where only a small percentage meet our standards of knowledge, professionalism, and passion for wildlife. Paired with our private safari vehicles, this ensures deeply immersive game drives and access to moments and places others often miss. Guest feedback consistently highlights our guides as one of the most memorable parts of their journey.

Personal, Boutique Service
As a small, dedicated team, we pride ourselves on personal attention and genuine care. Every traveler has direct support both before and during their safari, with contacts both internationally and in Tanzania, ensuring assistance is always close at hand. From start to finish, you’ll feel supported, understood, and completely at ease.

Fully Private, Tailor-Made Safaris
All Hey Safaris journeys are entirely private. You’ll have your own vehicle and guide, giving you complete freedom to shape each day. Whether you wish to linger longer with a lion pride, spend hours tracking rhinos in the Ngorongoro Crater, or adjust plans spontaneously, everything is possible. Every itinerary is custom-designed around your interests—parks, lodges, guides, activities, flights, and transfers—crafted into one seamless, unforgettable experience.