The safari and beach trip in four lines
- Safari first, beach second. Fourteen hours in a game vehicle after a week of doing nothing is the wrong way round, and everybody who has done it says so.
- Nyerere is the natural pairing. A forty five minute flight from Zanzibar, two or three nights, and no long road transfer at either end.
- The Serengeti is a separate holiday. Four to six nights and a flight to Arusha or Kilimanjaro. Worth it, and not a bolt-on.
- Budget from $350 for a day to $6,000 for the north. Per person, excluding the international flights. The gap is real.
Which safari to combine with Zanzibar
Five options, ordered by how far you have to go. All prices are per person and exclude the international flights.
| Where | How to get there | Time needed | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyerere, formerly Selous | 45 min flight from Zanzibar | 2 to 3 nights | $900 to $2,500 |
| Mikumi | Fly to Dar, then 4 h by road | 2 nights | $500 to $1,200 |
| Serengeti and Ngorongoro | Fly to Arusha or Kilimanjaro | 4 to 6 nights | $1,800 to $6,000 |
| Saadani | 2 h boat or short flight | 1 to 2 nights | $400 to $900 |
| Mikumi, as a single day | Fly to Dar at dawn, back at dusk | One very long day | $350 to $500 |
Do the safari first and the beach second. Fourteen hours in a vehicle after a week of doing nothing is a poor sequence, and everybody who has done it in the other order says so.
Safari first. The order is the whole thing.
A safari day begins at five in the morning, spends six hours in a vehicle on corrugated tracks and finishes at dusk. It is extraordinary and it is exhausting, and after four or five of them consecutively most people are running on adrenaline.
Zanzibar is the correct thing to do next. It asks nothing of you, the sea is warm and the days have no schedule. Arriving on the coast with the hard part behind you is what makes the whole itinerary land.
Reversed, it is a much worse trip. A week of doing nothing followed by a four in the morning alarm and a Land Cruiser is an unkind thing to do to yourself, and every operator who has watched clients do it will tell you the same.
The day trip, for when the beach is already booked
Flying to the mainland and back inside a day is a genuine option rather than a gimmick. You leave Zanzibar before dawn in a small aircraft, spend the day on a game drive in Mikumi or Nyerere, and are back for dinner. It costs what two nights in a lodge would and saves you the two nights.
Day safaris from Zanzibar
Flights both ways, a shared vehicle on the ground and lunch in the bush. A long day, and the only way to see big game without moving hotels.
Mikumi: day safari with flights and lunch
Flown there and back in a day, shared vehicle on the ground.
From$470per person
Check availability
Selous, now Nyerere: day safari
Game drive and boat safari, bush lunch included.
From$450per person
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Selous: two days and one night with flights
One night in a lodge, which is how you see animals at dawn.
From$795per person
Check availabilityPrices, ratings and review counts read from GetYourGuide on 10 September 2026, and indicative. These are partner links: the price is the same for you.
Four shapes, by how long you have
The length of the trip decides which parks are realistic, and trying to force the northern circuit into a short holiday is the most common mistake here.
Ten days
Four on safari, five on the beachThe northern circuit, from Arusha
Tarangire, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro crater, then fly Arusha to Zanzibar. It is the classic and it works, but four days of driving between parks is genuinely tiring and the beach half is what makes it survivable.
Two weeks
Six on safari, seven on the beachThe northern circuit, unhurried
The same parks with room to breathe, an extra night in the Serengeti rather than a transit day, and a week on the coast that is a holiday rather than a recovery. This is the version people wish they had booked.
One week
Two on safari, five on the beachNyerere or Mikumi, from the south
The northern circuit does not fit into a week without ruining it. Nyerere, formerly Selous, and Mikumi are closer to Dar and reachable in a short flight. Fewer animals in the guidebook sense, far fewer vehicles at each sighting.
One day
A day trip from ZanzibarMikumi or Nyerere, flying both ways
Fly out at dawn, game drive, fly back for dinner. It is expensive per hour and it is a long day, and it is the only way to see big game if the beach half is already booked and immovable.
Practicalities that catch people out
Baggage on light aircraft is the first one. Fifteen kilos in a soft bag is the usual rule, and hard suitcases are refused outright. Most lodges and hotels will store the rest for you, but you have to ask before you arrive with it.
The compulsory Zanzibar insurance is the second. It covers the island half of the trip only, and it is separate from whatever cover your safari operator arranges. Both are needed.
And the malaria question changes between the two halves. The mainland parks carry a higher risk than Zanzibar does, so the conversation with a travel clinic should be about the whole itinerary rather than the beach part of it.
Questions people ask
Should I do safari before or after Zanzibar?
Safari first, every time. Safari days start before dawn, involve hours in a vehicle on rough tracks and end early. Zanzibar is where you recover from that. Doing it the other way round means leaving a beach at four in the morning to sit in a Land Cruiser, and nobody enjoys that order.
How do you get from the Serengeti to Zanzibar?
By air. Scheduled light aircraft link the Serengeti airstrips and Arusha to Zanzibar, usually with a stop or two, taking two to three hours. Driving is theoretically possible and takes the better part of two days, which is why nobody does it.
Can you do a safari day trip from Zanzibar?
Yes, to Mikumi or Nyerere on the mainland, flying both ways in a small aircraft. It costs several hundred dollars per person and makes for a fourteen hour day. It is a real safari rather than a token one, but it is not the northern circuit and should not be sold to you as such.
When is the best time for a safari and beach trip?
June to October covers both. The mainland dry season concentrates animals around water, which is when game viewing is easiest, and it happens to be Zanzibar's most reliable weather too. It is also the most expensive window for both halves.