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Flamingos and wildebeest on the Lake Manyara shore
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Day trip · Full day · From Arusha

Lake Manyara National Park in a Day

Groundwater forest at the gate, the wall of the Rift Valley on one side and the lake on the other: a small, varied park about two hours from Arusha, with elephants, baboon troops and birds along the shore.

ArushaLake ManyaraArusha
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LengthFull day · about 9–11 hours
ParkLake Manyara National Park
Pick-upYour hotel in Arusha
ActivityEasy — long day seated
Best monthsJune–October, January–February
OverviewThe routeThe dayRatesIncludedAdd-onsWhen to goGetting thereFAQEnquire
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IOverview

A narrow park between a cliff and a lake.

Lake Manyara National Park is a long, narrow strip of land between the Rift Valley escarpment and a shallow soda lake. You enter through groundwater forest — tall, green and fed by springs from the cliff — and come out onto woodland and open shore. In one day you see more kinds of country than in most larger parks.

It is a small park, which is its strength on a day trip: little of the day is spent getting between places. It is not the Serengeti, and the famous tree-climbing lions are there some days and not others. Come for elephants in the forest, baboon troops on the road, hippo pools and the birds; count anything more as luck.

Major attractions · 4
  1. 01Groundwater forest
  2. 02The Rift Valley escarpment
  3. 03The lake shore and hippo pools
  4. 04Elephants, baboons and birds
Trip detailsPrivate
Length
Full day · about 9–11 hours
Pick-up
Your hotel in Arusha
Start / end
Your hotel in Arusha, both ways
Activity level
Easy — long day seated
Group size
Maximum per vehicle
Meals
Picnic lunch in the park
What to bring
Sun hat, sunscreen, binoculars, a light layer
Best period
Jun–Oct · Jan–Feb
Minimum age
Ask us
Request a free quote →Questions? WhatsApp +255 762 914 714
IIThe route

West on tarmac, up to the Rift, and back.

About 2 hours each way from Arusha on tarmac, via Makuyuni and Mto wa Mbu, to the gate at the foot of the escarpment. The solid line is the way there and back; the dotted lines are other roads nearby.

Route map: Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park via Makuyuni and Mto wa Mbu, and back N Arusha Makuyuni Mto wa Mbu Manyara NP
  1. 01Arusha → Lake Manyara → Arusha~4 h road · ~5 h game
Overnight stopPassing throughSchematic, roughly to scale
IIIThe day

The day, hour by hour.

The whole day as it usually runs, from pick-up to drop-off. Times are approximate and bend around the traffic, the weather and how long you want to stay.

Olive baboons on the track through the groundwater forest, Lake Manyara National Park — 1600×1200
Lake ManyaraADD IMAGE · Olive baboons on the track through the groundwater forest, Lake Manyara National Park
01/ 01

About 2 hours each way on tarmac, and about five hours in the park.

03°22′S 36°41′EDay 1 · Arusha → Lake Manyara → Arusha

Forest, escarpment and shore

Travel
~4 h road
Game viewing
~5 h
Meals
Picnic lunch
Sleep
Homeward
  1. About 07:00

    Your guide collects you from your hotel in Arusha. West on good tarmac through Maasai country to Makuyuni, then north-west towards the Rift.

  2. About 09:00

    Through the small town of Mto wa Mbu, busy with banana stalls, to the park gate at the foot of the escarpment.

  3. Morning

    Straight into the groundwater forest: fig and mahogany, blue monkeys, and baboon troops on and beside the track. Elephants move through here too, often surprisingly close.

  4. Midday

    Picnic lunch at a site inside the park, with the escarpment wall rising above.

  5. Afternoon

    Out onto the woodland and the lake shore: hippo pools, buffalo and zebra on the flats, and waterbirds at the edge of the lake. Your guide will check the acacias for lions, without promising any.

  6. About 17:00

    Out of the park and back down the tarmac to Arusha, arriving in the early evening.

The tree-climbing lions

Manyara is known for lions that rest in the branches of acacias. They are there some days and not others; we never plan the day around them, and neither should you.

IVRates

Priced by group size, because the vehicle is shared.

Park fees, accommodation, vehicle, guide and meals as listed — per person, no booking fees. Rates move with the month and lodge availability; your quote is fixed once you book.

Private · price per person, sharing
Group size1 person2 people3 people4 people5 people6 people
From yearraterateraterateraterate
Single supplementamount
Children

Child policy: ages, sharing discount, lodge minimum ages

What moves the price

What changes itHow much

  • How many share the vehicle

    The vehicle and guide cost the same for one person or a full vehicle, so the per-person price falls as the group grows.

  • Park fees

    Set per person per day by the park authority, the same whoever you book with. We show them as their own line.

  • Where we collect you

    Arusha hotels are the standard pick-up. Moshi or a lodge further out adds driving time.

  • What you add

    A village walk or other activity adds its own fee on top of the drive.

Not sure which level suits you? Tell us your dates, group and budget and we will send an itemised quote with named properties.

Request a free quote →
On request
On request
VThe fine print

What is in the price, and what isn’t.

✓Included

  • Private 4×4 safari vehiclePop-up roof, a window seat for everyone
  • A professional driver-guideYours for the whole day
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-offAnywhere in Arusha
  • Lake Manyara National Park entry feesCurrent park fee per person — itemised on your quote
  • Picnic lunchEaten at a picnic site inside the park
  • Drinking water in the vehicle

–Not included

  • Tips for your guideWe send guidance with your booking
  • Drinks other than water
  • Optional activitiesSuch as a village walk in Mto wa Mbu; ask us
  • Travel insuranceRecommended for any trip
VIAdd-ons & changes

The plan is a starting point, not a package.

The changes people ask for most, each with what it costs you in days or hours. Not in the standard price — arranged on request, and most can be combined.

Same dayprice

A village walk in Mto wa Mbu

Stop on the way out or back for a walk through the farms and markets of the town at the park gate.

Makes senseYou want to meet people as well as animals
Cultural encounters →
+1 dayprice

Tarangire in a day

The other park south-west of Arusha, on almost the same road: elephants in numbers and baobabs along the river.

Makes senseJune to October especially
Tarangire day trip →
+1 dayprice

Ngorongoro Crater in a day

A longer day on the same road, further up into the highlands and down onto the crater floor.

Makes senseYou have one more day and an early start in you
Ngorongoro day trip →
+2 nightsprice

Make it a three-day safari

Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater and Manyara with two nights in the Karatu highlands — far less driving per park.

Makes senseYou want more than one park
The three-day express →
Same lengthprice

Birding instead of the big animals

Spend the day with a guide who knows the birds, on the forest edge and the lake shore.

Makes senseNovember to March, when the migrants are in
Birding →
VIIWhen to go

Rated for this route, not for the country.

Manyara is open and worth a day in every month. The dry months, June to October, make the animals easier to find in the thinner woodland. In the wetter months the forest and the lake shore are at their greenest and the birdlife is at its fullest; April and May bring the long rains, when some tracks near the lake can be slow.

Jan
Dry spell, green plains
Feb
Calving in the south
Mar
Rains building
Apr
Long rains
May
Rains easing
Jun
Dry season begins
Jul
Dry, busy, cool
Aug
Dry, busy
Sep
Dry, Tarangire at its best
Oct
Dry, dusty
Nov
Short rains
Dec
Green, quieter
Three bars — the route at its bestTwo — good, with trade-offsOne — possible, and quiet
VIIIGetting there

Getting there.

From your hotel

Pick-up anywhere in Arusha

Your guide collects you early from your hotel and brings you back in the early evening. Staying in Moshi? Ask us; it adds more than an hour each way.

From the airport

Kilimanjaro International (JRO)

Too far to fit around a flight. Land the day before and spend a night in Arusha; we can arrange it.

With a safari

Before or after a longer trip

Manyara is on the road to the Ngorongoro highlands, so on a safari it usually takes a morning on the way through rather than a day of its own. Ask us which suits your plans.

What else to budget.

Not part of the safari price, in order of how much they matter.

  • TipsYour guide, for the day
    Guideline
  • Cultural walkIn Mto wa Mbu village, if added
    Current price
  • Personal spendingDrinks, crafts, fruit at Mto wa Mbu
    Varies
IXWhy book with us

Only what we can prove.

01

Arusha, since 2010

A Tanzanian company, locally owned, running safaris and climbs from Arusha for more than fifteen years.

02

Licensed and registered

TALA-licensed through the Tanzania Tourist Board and registered with BRELA. Ask us for the numbers; we will send them.

03

One guide, one vehicle

The same guide drives you from the first day to the last. Nobody else joins your vehicle.

04

Every fee on its own line

Park, conservation and concession fees are shown separately on your quote, so you can see exactly what goes to the authorities.

XQuestions

The ones we are asked most.

Perhaps. Manyara’s lions do rest in trees, but they are there some days and not others, and nobody can promise them. Elephants, baboons, hippos and birds are far more reliable.

For Manyara, yes, but only just. The road is good tarmac and the park is compact, so the time inside is well used. If you have two or three days, a short safari that sleeps in Karatu is better value.

From June to October, Tarangire, for the elephants on the river. In the greener months, or if you want forest and a lake rather than open bush, Manyara. The drive is about the same.

Yes. It is a long day in a vehicle, so bring things to do on the drive. Ask us about ages and car seats.

Yes, a picnic lunch eaten at a picnic site in the park. Tell us about any diets when you book.

Begin here

Send us your dates. We will send you the real version.

Named camps, the right direction of travel for your month, every fee on its own line — and a straight answer if another plan would suit you better.

Rather talk it through?WhatsApp us+255 762 914 714
Safari request Lake Manyara National Park in a Day One day · 9–11 hours · private
01When, and what for?
How fixed are the dates?
What do you want from it? Pick any
02Who’s coming?
Travelling as
03How you like it
Style of camp

Not a commitment. It lets us send something realistic instead of something you have to reject.

04Where to reach you
We need a name to write back to.
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Step 1 of 4
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