Serengeti to Zanzibar: flights and the transfer day

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Serengeti to Zanzibar is the transfer day that turns a northern-circuit safari into a beach finish. The last morning is a short game drive with your bags in the back, and by the afternoon you can be on the coast. The day turns on three details: which airstrip your camp uses, whether your flight stops at Arusha, and how much luggage the aircraft will carry. Get those right and the day looks after itself.

Most itineraries of this kind run three or four safari nights, then five to seven nights on the island; see the journeys below for how that shape is built.

The detail

Which airstrip you leave from. The Serengeti has many airstrips, and your camp decides which one you use. Seronera (central Serengeti) is the main hub: most Zanzibar services start there or route through it. Kogatende serves the north, where the herds and the river crossings are from roughly July to October. Ndutu serves the south, where calving happens in late January and February. Some smaller airstrips, such as Grumeti, are served directly by certain operators; others connect through Seronera. Camps are typically 20 minutes to an hour from their airstrip, so the morning begins with a drive that is half game drive and half commute.

Who flies it. Two operators matter most on this route, and their routings differ.

Timetables shift by season and by year, so none of this is a promise that a given flight runs on a given day. Expect departures from the park in the late morning and arrival on the island around midday to early afternoon, depending on the routing. Seronera is busy, with scheduled and charter flights sharing it, so allow time at the airstrip and keep to the staff's boarding instructions.

Our recommendation. Choose a non-stop routing when you want the beach by lunch; accept an Arusha stop when the timing or an onward connection suits it.

Via Arusha or non-stop. This is the question that decides your afternoon. A non-stop flight puts you on the beach for a late lunch. The Arusha routing adds a landing, a wait on the ground, and possibly a change of aircraft. Coastal's late-morning rotation usually reaches Zanzibar in the early afternoon, though sources disagree on the exact time, so check the timetable on your own booking. Both routings arrive at Zanzibar's domestic terminal (Terminal 2), because you are already inside Tanzania. Zanzibar may still check documents on arrival, so the entry and insurance rules below matter.

The luggage limit. Light aircraft have narrow holds and a strict weight limit. If you are arriving from Europe or the US with a 23 kg suitcase, there are three answers: pack for the whole trip in a duffel, leave a bag in Arusha with your safari operator and collect it on the way home, or use Coastal's storage at Dar es Salaam Terminal 1, which only helps if you fly out of Dar. Hard-shell cases must fit the aircraft's baggage space, and Auric's published size limit is 90 × 65 × 35 cm per bag, with the 20 kg weight allowance still applying to everything you carry. Check both limits before you pack. The luggage plan is set when the journey is designed, not at the airstrip.

What the day feels like. Expect an early start, a last game drive and a small scheduled aircraft; on the Auric route it is usually a Dash 8. East Africa Time applies throughout, so there is no time difference to absorb.

When to add an Arusha night. Light-aircraft schedules are most likely to slip in the long rains (March to May) and around the short rains (November), and that is when a night on the mainland protects a same-day connection. Add one if you have an international flight the same evening, or if your camp is far from the airstrips the island flights use. The trade-off is plain: an Arusha night costs a night of beach time. In the dry season the direct flight usually makes the better day.

Key facts

From: Seronera (central), Kogatende (north, about Jul–Oct), Ndutu (south, late Jan–Feb); other airstrips connect via Seronera. Operators: Auric Air (listed as non-stop); Coastal Aviation (via Arusha). Flight time: about 1 h 40 min non-stop (Auric); longer on the Coastal rotation via Arusha. Departs: late morning. Lands: around midday to early afternoon, depending on routing; Zanzibar Terminal 2 (domestic). Luggage: 15 kg per person including hand luggage on Coastal; 20 kg on Auric; soft bags. Time zone: none to lose.

Planning it with Nobu

The transfer day is planned as part of the journey, not as a gap in it. A travel designer agrees the camp's airstrip, the flight type and the luggage plan before you leave home. See how it fits together in → Southern Safari and Spice, and tell us your dates at → Plan your journey.

Is it right for you?

You are ending a northern-circuit safari and want the sea the same afternoon; you can pack for a fortnight in a soft bag; you are comfortable in a small aircraft and happy with a schedule that can move a little. It is less ideal if you dislike light aircraft. For those travellers, a route that flies Serengeti to Arusha and then continues on a larger aircraft from Kilimanjaro, with a night in between, can be explored with a travel designer. If you are coming from the Kenyan side, → Nairobi to Zanzibar is the page you need. Not sure how many island nights to add after the plains? → How many days in Zanzibar.

Journeys to consider

• Southern Safari and Spice — the Tanzania safari with the island as its last chapter. → Southern Safari and Spice journey
• The Great Migration Circuit — time the Serengeti to the herds, then fly to the coast. → The Great Migration Circuit journey
• Shores of Zanzibar — the island stay the transfer day delivers you to. → Shores of Zanzibar journey