Mikumi National Park: 3-Day Safari from Dar es Salaam

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/21

Duration3d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · DE +1

PickupAt your hotel

Three days, two nights, and lions you'll actually see

You get picked up at the airport and driven straight into Mikumi National Park with a game drive on arrival day. The next full day is spent inside the park with a guide, covering the plains where lions and leopards roam. Breakfast and lunch are included both days, plus two nights at the lodge. On day three, you visit the snake park before returning to Dar es Salaam by late morning.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Transfer to Mikumi and afternoon game drive

Pick up from airport
Drive 5 hours to Mikumi National Park
Breakfast at Chalinze Msolwa highway restaurant
Afternoon game drive en route
See birds, giraffe, buffalo, elephants
Overnight at Mikumi Resort and Campsite
Dinner at accommodation

Day 2 — Full day game drive in Mikumi Park

Breakfast at accommodation
Full day game drive inside Mikumi Park
Spot lions, leopards, wild dogs
See zebras, hippos, wildebeest, others
Lunch at Mikumi Cottages
Evening drive back to hotel
Overnight at Mikumi Resort and Campsite
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included

Day 3 — Visit Snake Park and return to Dar es Salaam

Breakfast at accommodation
Visit Snake Park to see snakes, crocodiles, tortoise
Take pictures at Snake Park
Drive back to Dar es Salaam
Drop off at ferry or airport

The Experience

The paved road from Dar es Salaam to Mikumi National Park changed everything — what used to be a full-day trek is now a five-hour drive, which means you can leave the city in the morning and be spotting giraffe and buffalo by afternoon. That's not something you'd expect from a park so close to Tanzania's largest city, but Mikumi sits between the Uluguru and Lumango mountains in a way that keeps it wild. The first day starts with airport pickup, a breakfast stop at Chalinze Msolwa on the highway, and then you're straight into an evening game drive as you arrive. The animals here are used to vehicles — they don't bolt — so you see them doing what they do instead of watching them disappear into the bush.

Day two is the full day inside Mikumi National Park, which is when the real work happens. After breakfast at your lodge, you're out from early morning through lunch (taken at Mikumi Cottages) and into the late afternoon, covering the park's wide open plains where lions, leopards, and African wild dogs actually live. The itinerary mentions zebras, hippos, wildebeest, impala, and crocodiles — and yeah, you see most of them because the park is small enough that a good guide knows where they congregate. Two nights at Mikumi Resort and Campsite means you're not rushing; you're settling in and letting the rhythm of the place work on you.

The third morning brings something unexpected: a stop at the snake park before the drive back to Dar es Salaam. It's not what you came for, but it breaks up the return journey and gives you a different kind of wildlife — snakes, crocodiles, tortoises — all in one place, with time to photograph them without the vehicle moving. Late morning you head back to the city, dropped at the ferry or airport depending on where you need to be. The whole thing is built around people who don't have weeks to spend on safari but don't want to skip it either.

What’s included

Your three days include airport pickup from Dar es Salaam, a five-hour drive to Mikumi with a breakfast stop en route, two nights at Mikumi Resort and Campsite, breakfast and lunch on both days inside the park, a full-day game drive on day two, an evening game drive on arrival day, and a snake park visit on the morning of day three before the return drive to Dar es Salaam.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Bohobe Travels

Is this one for you?Right for travelers based in Dar es Salaam with a long weekend or those arriving on business who want a real safari without taking a week off. The three-day format fits between a Friday arrival and Monday return, and the five-hour drive means you're not spending half your time in transit.