Activities in Tanzania beyond the game drive

In short

The game drive in a 4x4 is the core of every safari in Tanzania. In addition, there are activities on foot, from the air, on the water and in the villages. For many of them the parks charge their own fees in addition to the entry fee. This article shows what is worthwhile alongside the game drive and what the park authorities charge for it.

The fees mentioned come from the official tariffs of the park authorities, apply to non-East African guests and may change.

On foot: walking safari

On a walking safari you walk through the bush with a guide. You read tracks and see plants and small animals that go unnoticed from the vehicle. The park entry fee is unaffected; the fee for the walk is added on top.

According to the tariff, valid since 1 July 2023, the park authority TANAPA charges a separate fee per person plus a guide fee. All TANAPA fees in this article exclude 18% VAT. The tariff names walking safaris as a park-wide item, without excluding individual parks.

In the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, walking is officially permitted, for example to Empakaai Crater and Olmoti Crater. According to the NCAA, walks must be accompanied by an armed ranger, with prior booking and coordination. The walking fee is charged in addition to the normal entry fee. The NCAA tariff list states no validity period and points out that the tariffs may change without notice.

A walking safari in Arusha National Park is one of Wildfinder’s sample itineraries. On request, the team in Arusha will build it into your route.

Balloon flight over the savannah

On a hot-air balloon flight you see the savannah and the herds from above. There is an official park fee for this as well, payable in addition to the entry fee. According to the TANAPA tariff, the fee per person and trip is:

• Serengeti and Nyerere National Park: USD 50
• Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro National Park: USD 40
• Ruaha, Mahale Mountains, Rubondo Island, Saanane Island, Burigi-Chato, Ibanda-Kyerwa and Rumanyika-Karagwe National Park: USD 30

This fee only covers use of the park. You book the flight itself separately with the balloon operator, whose ticket price is not included in the amounts mentioned.

Canoeing, night game drives and the treetop walkway

According to the TANAPA tariff, canoeing is possible in Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and Nyerere National Park. The fee is USD 20 per person aged 16 and over for 2 hours, and children aged 5 to 15 pay USD 10. In the national parks Mahale Mountains, Burigi-Chato, Rumanyika-Karagwe and Rubondo Island, the tariff lists canoeing at USD 10 per person for up to 3 hours.

The night game drive costs USD 50 per person from age 16; children aged 5 to 15 pay USD 25. The tariff lists it for Katavi, Ruaha, Mikumi, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Nyerere, Burigi-Chato and Ibanda-Kyerwa as well as other applicable national parks. Serengeti and Arusha are not mentioned by name. On a night game drive you search for nocturnal animals after dark.

The treetop walkway in Lake Manyara National Park leads through the treetops and takes about 1 hour. The fee is USD 20 per person from age 5, excluding the entry and game-viewing fees. According to the TANAPA park page, it is one of the longest treetop walkways in Africa.

Ngorongoro: Olduvai and Maasai bomas

The Olduvai Gorge Museum stands in the Olduvai Gorge. The museum was founded by the researcher Mary Leakey; since 2017 an old and a new museum have existed side by side. The NCAA tariff list gives a fee of USD 35.40 per adult and USD 11.80 per child for Olduvai Gorge and Shifting Sand. The NCAA does not expressly confirm whether the museum visit is automatically included. The Laetoli footprints are listed separately, at USD 23.60.

A visit to a Maasai boma, a traditional kraal, costs USD 20 per vehicle in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, not per person. The photography rule is important: photographing local people is generally prohibited and is only allowed in the designated cultural bomas.

Culture and coffee around Arusha

Around Arusha there are destinations without an official fee structure; the visit is arranged through trip planning, not via a park ticket.

In its sample itineraries, the team in Arusha combines the walk to Materuni Waterfall with a coffee tour and tasting. You see how coffee is grown, roasted and prepared. Also part of the sample itineraries are a tour of Arusha and the coffee plantations and a village visit at Lake Manyara.

At Lake Eyasi you visit the Hadzabe, a community of hunter-gatherers. An ethnological study describes tourism there as informally organised since the 1990s, without a central controlling body. Here, too, there is no official visiting fee; the encounter is arranged through trip planning.

In Zanzibar

After the safari, the activities in Zanzibar are on the water and in the old town. Stone Town, the historic old town of the island’s capital, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as ‘Stone Town of Zanzibar’. The old-town lanes and markets are best explored on foot.

There is no official ticket structure for spice tours to the island’s spice gardens. According to the tourism law, every guide in Zanzibar must be licensed; there is no official entrance price.

Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park in Zanzibar is home to the red colobus monkeys. According to the official park page, entry costs USD 12 for foreign guests. Whether the guided walk to the monkeys and the mangrove boardwalk are included is not clearly stated there.

The reef around the island of Mnemba lies in the Mnemba Island Marine Conservation Area, a Zanzibar government protected area. According to press reports, a conservation fee of USD 25 per adult has applied to the Mnemba Special Area since 1 September 2025. The island itself is private and closed to non-guests; the reef is part of the state protected area either way. Along the coast you sail on a dhow, the traditional sailing boat of the region.

Stone Town, spice tours, snorkelling or diving around Mnemba and dhow sailing are among the Zanzibar experiences that Wildfinder includes in its trip ideas.

Planning activities into your trip

Three things decide which activities suit your trip. First, time: every activity needs its set time slot, and a night game drive takes place after dark; both change the daily routine. Second, age: for canoeing and night game drives, the TANAPA tariff lists child rates for ages 5 to 15, the treetop walkway is open from age 5. The national parks allow children from age 5 on night game drives and canoeing trips. Some lodges have their own rules and do not take children under 12 on these activities. Third, cost: the parks’ fees come on top of the entry fee and mount up when you combine several activities. The article on the costs of a Tanzania safari gives an overview of the total costs.

On request, the team in Arusha will plan activities into the route. Walking safari in Arusha National Park, Materuni Waterfall with coffee tour, village visit at Lake Manyara, Hadzabe at Lake Eyasi and the Zanzibar programmes are in the sample itineraries. If you would like a balloon flight, canoe trip, night game drive or treetop walkway, simply mention it in the enquiry. The reply comes within 24 hours, with route, accommodation and price per person.

Correct as of October 2026

Frequently asked questions about activities in Tanzania