Tanzania’s safari circuit covers huge distances, and fly-in connections are common, particularly for linking the northern Serengeti-Ngorongoro circuit with the remote southern parks such as Ruaha and Nyerere (Selous), which are impractical to combine by road on a single itinerary.
Main airstrips
- Kilimanjaro International Airport and Arusha Airport: the main gateways for the northern safari circuit, near Arusha.
- Seronera Airstrip: serves the central Serengeti, the busiest airstrip in the park.
- Kogatende Airstrip: serves the northern Serengeti near the Mara River, used heavily during the migration’s river-crossing season.
- Lake Manyara Airstrip: serves Lake Manyara National Park and the gateway town of Karatu for Ngorongoro.
- Ruaha Airstrip (Msembe): serves Ruaha National Park in the southern circuit.
- Nyerere (Selous) airstrips: several airstrips serve different camps across Nyerere National Park, Tanzania’s largest protected area.
- Zanzibar (Abeid Amani Karume International Airport): the main gateway for the coastal extension most safari visitors add after the mainland circuit.
Planning a fly-in route
A typical fly-in itinerary combines road transfers within the northern circuit (Arusha to Ngorongoro and the southern Serengeti) with short flights to reach the northern Serengeti, the southern parks, or Zanzibar. This keeps each day’s travel time short even across a country as large as Tanzania.
Flying into Tanzania
Fly-in safaris cut hours of driving into a short scheduled or chartered flight between parks. Talk to us about adding fly-in connections to your route, or browse our safari packages for itineraries built around them.
