6 Days Solo Tanzania Midrange Safari: Southern Drive-in Drive-Out

Your driver-guide will collect you early in Dar es Salaam and brief you on the journey before setting off towards Mikumi. The drive gives you time to discuss your interests and preferred style of wildlife viewing, with refreshment and lunch stops arranged along the route. After entering the park, begin an afternoon game drive across the open grasslands, looking for giraffes, zebras, elephants and antelope. With your own vehicle, you can take time at sightings that interest you and ask questions as they arise. Continue to your midrange accommodation in the Mikumi area before evening, settle into your single-occupancy room or tent and enjoy dinner before your first overnight stay.

Distance: Approximately 300–320 km, excluding game-drive tracks.
Time: Around 6–7 hours by road; approximately 2–3 hours of afternoon game viewing if arrival permits.
Attractions: Mikumi grasslands, giraffes, zebras, elephants and introductory wildlife observation.

Destination:

Mikumi Natinal Park

Overnight:

Matembezi Safari Lodge

  mid rage 3 star lodge

Meals & Drinks:

Lunch, Dinner

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Head into Mikumi after an early breakfast with a picnic lunch and a flexible wildlife-viewing plan. Your guide will suggest productive areas while taking account of what you most enjoy, from birdwatching around water to patient observation of larger mammals on the plains. Spend longer where animal behaviour is interesting, or explore a wider variety of habitats if you prefer a broader introduction to the park. Visit a suitable hippo viewing area when conditions allow and stop for lunch at a designated picnic site. Continue with afternoon game viewing before returning to the same accommodation. The day offers the independence of a private itinerary with the practical support and local knowledge of your guide.

Distance: Flexible game-drive routes within Mikumi.
Time: Approximately 7–9 hours, including picnic lunch and viewing stops.
Attractions: Mkata Floodplain, hippo pools, buffalo, antelope, birdlife and possible predators.

Destination:

Mikumi Natinal Park

Overnight:

Matembezi Safari Lodge

  mid rage 3 star lodge

Meals & Drinks:

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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After breakfast, leave Mikumi for Ruaha via Iringa. Today is mainly a transfer day, with time to observe the changing countryside and stop for refreshments, lunch and stretching. Your guide can explain the places you pass and help you understand how the highland environment differs from the Mikumi area. Continue towards Ruaha and, if arrival time allows, enjoy a short late-afternoon game drive before checking in. Look for wildlife among the baobabs and woodland while getting a first impression of the park’s scale and character. Dinner and overnight are at your midrange lodge or tented camp, where your room or tent is arranged for single occupancy.

Distance: Approximately 320–350 km.
Time: Around 6–8 hours of road travel; up to 1–2 hours of arrival game viewing if time permits.
Attractions: Highland countryside, baobabs, woodland scenery and possible elephant sightings.

Destination:

Mikumi Natinal Park

Overnight:

Ruaha River Lodge

  mid rage 3 star lodge

Meals & Drinks:

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Spend a full day in Ruaha with your guide, carrying a picnic lunch to make the most of the available viewing time. Depending on recent sightings and track conditions, explore river surroundings, woodland and more open areas in search of elephants, buffalo, giraffes and predators. Travelling alone allows you to give a sighting your full attention without needing to match another traveller’s preferences. You may choose to remain with a herd, work patiently on photographs or ask your guide to focus on birdlife between mammal encounters. After lunch at an approved picnic area, continue exploring through the afternoon before returning to your accommodation for dinner and another night in the Ruaha area.

Distance: Variable game-drive distance within Ruaha.
Time: Approximately 8–9 hours, including lunch and wildlife observation.
Attractions: Great Ruaha River surroundings, elephants, buffalo, baobab woodland and possible lion or leopard sightings.

Destination:

Ruaha

Overnight:

Ruaha River Lodge

  mid rage 3 star lodge

Meals & Drinks:

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Set out for your final morning game drive, using the time to revisit a favourite habitat or follow up on an interest developed during the trip. Your guide will select a route that leaves enough time for breakfast, checkout and the transfer to Iringa. Watch the bush become active as the day warms, taking a final opportunity to photograph wildlife and appreciate Ruaha’s landscapes. Afterwards, travel to your midrange hotel in Iringa, with lunch arranged according to the schedule. The remainder of the afternoon is available for rest, writing travel notes or reviewing photographs before dinner. Your single-occupancy hotel stay provides a comfortable break ahead of the final journey.

Distance: Approximately 130 km from the main Ruaha access area to Iringa, plus lodge access and game-drive distances.
Time: Around 2–3 hours of morning game viewing and 3–4 hours of road travel.
Attractions: Morning wildlife activity, Ruaha scenery and the highlands around Iringa.

Destination:

Iringa Attractions

Overnight:

Sai Villa Hotel

  mid rage 3 star lodge

Meals & Drinks:

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Enjoy an early breakfast before travelling to Isimila Stone Age Site for a guided introduction to its archaeological significance. Explore a suitable section of the site and view the earth pillars where access permits, adding a cultural and landscape experience to your wildlife journey. Afterwards, begin the long drive back to Dar es Salaam, with your guide arranging practical stops for lunch, refreshments and stretching. There is time along the road to reflect on the trip and discuss the wildlife and places you have encountered. Arrive in the evening or late evening and finish at your agreed hotel or city location. An overnight stay in Dar es Salaam allows flexibility before any onward travel.

Distance: Approximately 540–570 km, including the Isimila visit.
Time: Around 1–1.5 hours at Isimila, followed by approximately 9–11 hours of road travel and breaks.
Attractions: Isimila archaeological heritage, earth pillars and countryside on the return journey.