8 Days — Southern Circuit: Ruaha & Nyerere — Mid-Range

Most people who come to Tanzania go north. The Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire — all extraordinary, all well-trodden. The south is different. Ruaha and Nyerere together cover an area larger than Switzerland, and on most game drives you will not see another vehicle. The wildlife is just as good. The experience is not comparable.

This is Tanzania without the crowds — raw, remote, and completely itself.

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Day 1 – Dar es Salaam → Ruaha National Park

You land at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam and connect directly to your light aircraft flight into Ruaha. The flight takes roughly two hours, crossing the southern highlands before the Ruaha River comes into view below and the baobab-studded savannah opens up.

Afternoon game drive from the airstrip. Ruaha opens its account immediately.

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Day 2, 3 & 4 – Ruaha National Park

Three full days in one of Africa’s least-visited and most rewarding parks. Ruaha has Tanzania’s largest elephant population, exceptional lion and leopard density, and one of the strongest wild dog populations on the continent. The landscape is dramatic — the Great Ruaha River cutting through rocky escarpments, ancient baobabs on every ridge, open grassland giving way to miombo woodland.

Morning drives when the predators are active. Walking safaris with an armed ranger — a completely different way to read the bush. Full days in the field. The camp sees the river from the terrace; sundowners with hippos in the water below are standard.

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Day 5 – Ruaha → Nyerere National Park

A morning game drive before the light aircraft flight east to Nyerere. The park was known as Selous for most of its history — named after the hunter Frederick Selous, renamed in 2019 after Julius Nyerere. Whatever the name, the Rufiji River system that runs through it is one of the great wildlife waterways in Africa.

Afternoon boat safari on the Rufiji. Hippos in every pool, crocodiles on every bank, elephant coming down to drink at the water’s edge, and a birdlife so dense it takes time to process. This is not an optional add-on — it’s a different way of doing safari entirely, and Nyerere is one of the few places in East Africa where it’s done properly.

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Day 6 & 7 – Nyerere National Park

Two full days combining game drives and boat safaris. The lakes and channels of the Rufiji system give you angles on wildlife that a vehicle never can — you drift quietly into a scene rather than driving into it. Wild dog, lion, giraffe, buffalo, and a bird list that will occupy even non-birders.

Walking safaris are available here too. The south specialises in more than one way of being in the bush.

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Day 8 – Nyerere → Dar es Salaam → Departure

A final morning game drive or boat excursion before the flight back to Dar es Salaam for your international connection — or the short hop to Zanzibar if you’re adding time on the coast.

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Key Facts

Feature	Details
Duration	8 days / 7 nights
Starting Price	$615 per person per day (low-season. high season: $731)
Best Season	June – October (dry season)
Parks Visited	Ruaha, Nyerere
Transport	Light aircraft & private 4×4 Land Cruiser
Extensions	Zanzibar, Mafia Island, Mikumi National Park