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Tumbili Safaris
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A herd of zebras crossing the plains, seen from the air

Private safaris in Tanzania, booked direct

Tanzania, told by a Maasai.

Your guide was born on the savannah of northern Tanzania and has spent twenty years in its parks. You book directly with him, with no agency or middleman, which is why it costs less. On safari, he is the one telling you the story.

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20

years guiding safaris

5

destinations on the northern circuit

50%

potential saving on booking through an agency

100%

organised on the ground, by us

What we do

We organise all of it from Tanzania

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We also organise

Trips for every occasion

If the trip is a celebration, or if there are a lot of you, tell us from the start: it changes the vehicles, the lodges and the price.

The Maasai guide of Tumbili Safaris beside the safari vehicle, with the brand emblem on the spare wheel
Who guides you

Your guide is Maasai, and this savannah is his land.

The founder of Tumbili grew up in a Maasai community in northern Tanzania and has spent two decades guiding through the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and the baobabs of Tarangire. In the vehicle he does not recite facts: he explains the wildlife, the landscape and his people’s culture from the inside. And there is no agency in between: you book directly with him.

You will not be listening to someone talk about the Maasai. A Maasai will be telling you.

Where

The northern circuit and Zanzibar

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A lateen-sailed dhow off the Zanzibar coast at sunset
The spice island

Zanzibar

White sand, lateen-sailed dhows and a stone city on the World Heritage list.

An acacia under a dramatic late-afternoon sky on the savannah
The endless plain

Serengeti

Lions on the kopjes and the great migration crossing from horizon to horizon.

An elephant walking head-on across the savannah under white cloud
The crater

Ngorongoro

A collapsed volcano twenty kilometres across with the wildlife shut inside.

A pair of elephants crossing the golden grass
The baobabs

Tarangire

Herds of elephants coming down to the river among thousand-year-old trees.

A troop of baboons walking along the red dirt track
The tree-climbing lions

Lake Manyara

Forest, baboons and the famous lions that sleep in the acacias.

The weather in Tanzania

Every month has its safari

Above, today’s forecast in the parks, which updates itself. Below, what each month of the year is like. With that and what you want to see, we suggest the dates.

The live forecast needs JavaScript.

  • Serengeti

    Seronera, in the centre of the park · 1,550 m

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  • Ngorongoro

    The crater rim, where the lodges are · 2,300 m

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  • Tarangire

    The Tarangire River valley · 1,100 m

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  • Lake Manyara

    The forest below the escarpment · 960 m

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  • Arusha

    The town where the safari starts · 1,400 m

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  • Zanzibar

    Stone Town · 10 m

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Month by month

  1. January: green season, average high 27 °C and 79 mm of rain. Calving in the southern Serengeti.
  2. February: green season, average high 28 °C and 72 mm of rain. Peak calving at Ndutu.
  3. March: green season, average high 28 °C and 118 mm of rain. Quiet; rain towards the end.
  4. April: long rains, average high 27 °C and 135 mm of rain. Long rains: green and cheaper.
  5. May: long rains, average high 26 °C and 79 mm of rain. Rains; some camps close.
  6. June: dry season, average high 27 °C and 14 mm of rain. Grumeti River crossings.
  7. July: dry season, average high 27 °C and 6 mm of rain. Mara crossings begin.
  8. August: dry season, average high 27 °C and 10 mm of rain. Mara crossings · high season.
  9. September: dry season, average high 28 °C and 16 mm of rain. Mara River crossings.
  10. October: dry season, average high 29 °C and 27 mm of rain. The herds in the north.
  11. November: green season, average high 28 °C and 80 mm of rain. Short rains; the herds head south.
  12. December: green season, average high 27 °C and 85 mm of rain. The herds back in the south.

Average daily high and monthly rainfall at Seronera, in the centre of the Serengeti (1,550 m), 1981 to 2010, from CHELSA. On the Ngorongoro crater rim, at 2,300 m, it is about 8 °C cooler, and from June to August nights drop to around 7 °C: bring something warm.

  • Dry season

    June to October

    In its favour

    • Wildlife gathers at the rivers and waterholes: you see more, and see it better
    • Mara River crossings, July to October
    • Hardly any rain, and every track is open

    Worth knowing

    • High season: more vehicles, and you need to book months ahead
    • Cold mornings and nights, especially at Ngorongoro

  • Green season

    November to March

    In its favour

    • Wildebeest calving in the southern Serengeti in January and February
    • Green everywhere, with spectacular skies and clouds
    • Fewer people and better prices than in July and August

    Worth knowing

    • Short rains, usually late in the afternoon
    • Christmas is in demand: book early

  • Long rains

    April and May

    In its favour

    • The lowest prices of the year
    • Parks almost to yourself
    • Ngorongoro Crater is just as good all year round

    Worth knowing

    • Heavy rain, and some tracks close
    • Quite a few camps shut
The full guide: when to go on safari in Tanzania →
Filmed there

A whole pride, ten metres away

This is not stock footage or a bought clip. It was filmed from our own vehicle on a real safari: lionesses with their cubs suckling and playing, unbothered, a few metres away. This is what you see when you know where to go.

A pride of lionesses with their cubs on the savannah
Gallery

Photographs from our safaris

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Why us

Four differences you notice from day one

Told by a Maasai
Your guide was born Maasai in northern Tanzania and has spent twenty years working these parks. He does not recite a script: he explains the savannah, its wildlife and his people’s culture from the inside, and knows where to find the animals in every season.
Book direct, not through an agency
We are not an agency: we are the local operator. Agencies at home subcontract companies like ours and add their commission on top. Book with us and that step disappears, so the same safari costs less.
You talk to the person who drives
From the first email to the last day of safari. No call centre, no chain of messages between offices, and nobody relaying your questions to someone else.
Always a private vehicle
The vehicle is yours alone. You leave when you want, stop as often as you need and stay with the leopard until it comes down from the tree.
Your safari in four steps

Tell us how many and when. We call you within 24 hours.

One minute: how many of you, when, anything you would like to add and how to reach you. We call you with a tailor-made proposal, and you book directly with us, with no agency or middleman. That is why it costs less.

Start planning →
  1. 1 Who
  2. 2 When
  3. 3 Your trip
  4. 4 Contact