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Last checked: October 2026.
This page goes deeper than our general guide to how much a safari costs, which compares countries. Here the subject is northern Tanzania: the two park authorities, how VAT works on their fees, and why a lodge rate that looks like Kenya's can end up higher once the fees are added.
Every figure is a "from" figure or a published rate for a named place and date. None is a trip price.
The detail
Two authorities, two price lists. TANAPA runs the Serengeti, Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Nyerere. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) runs Ngorongoro and the crater. TANAPA's website still shows its tariff for 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, and we have found no newer one, so the figures below are labelled that way. NCAA's figures come from its own tariff page, read in October 2026, which says tariffs can change without notice.
TANAPA, per adult per day (VAT of 18% is added).
| Park | Conservation fee before VAT | With VAT | Fee season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serengeti | US$70 peak; US$60 low | US$82.60; US$70.80 | Low is 15 March–15 May |
| Tarangire, Lake Manyara | US$50 peak; US$45 low | US$59; US$53.10 | Same dates |
Two cautions. The fee season is a pricing calendar, not a weather one. And guides on the web quote US$70, US$82.60 or US$83 for the same Serengeti fee depending on whether VAT is included, which is why quotes should show it. The contradiction is TANAPA's own: its tariff web page says fees include VAT "where applicable", while its tariff PDF says they exclude it. We use the PDF, and a good quote shows which.
If you sleep inside a park, a concession fee applies. In the Serengeti it is US$60 per adult per night in July to September and US$50 from October to June, plus VAT: about US$70.80 or US$59. Children pay less. TANAPA's fees run per 24 hours from entry, so leaving later in the day than you arrived adds a day's fee. Add it to the day fee and a night inside the Serengeti costs an adult about US$130 to US$153 in fees alone, before any lodge rate. The fees pay for park management and anti-poaching patrols and, in part, for community projects such as schools, clinics and water supply near the parks; TANAPA publishes no full breakdown online. Two examples, per adult, fees only: three days and nights inside the Serengeti in August come to about US$460; in April, about US$389.
Ngorongoro has its own rules. Entry is US$70.80 per adult per 24 hours, and a lodge or camp inside the conservation area adds a concession fee of US$59 per adult per night. Going down into the crater costs US$295 per vehicle per trip. That is a vehicle charge, so a vehicle of four shares it, about US$74 each, while a couple pays about US$148 each. Foreign-registered safari vehicles also pay a permit, which operators usually fold into the quote.
Asilia's Tanzania rates leave the park fees out. The lodge rate and the fees are separate lines at Asilia's Tanzania camps; Dunia Camp's page lists park fees, camping fees and an Asilia conservation charge as excluded. That matters when you compare with Kenya, where some conservancy camps include their own bednight fee. These are rates per person per night sharing, from each operator's site in October 2026.
| Band (our grouping) | Example | Highest published 2026 rate | Lowest published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge | Reseller guide range US$236–571, "a guide only" | — |
| Upper | Dunia Camp (Seronera) | US$1,200 (1 Jun–30 Sep) | US$560 (1 Apr–31 May) |
| Upper | Ubuntu Migration Camp (mobile) | US$1,080 (1 Jul–31 Oct) | US$780 (June, 1–14 Nov, 15–19 Dec) |
| Top | Olakira Migration Camp (mobile) | US$1,490 (1 Jul–31 Oct) | US$1,100 (June, December) |
| Top | Namiri Plains (east) | US$2,250 (1 Jun–30 Sep) | US$1,400 (1 Oct–19 Dec) |
| Top | Sayari Camp (north) | US$2,250 (1 Jul–31 Oct) | US$1,030 (June, Nov–Dec) |
A worked total. Three nights in the central Serengeti, per adult sharing, using the fees above and the Seronera return fare below. These are examples at published rates, not Nobu trip prices. The fees column leaves out Asilia's own conservation charge.
| Example (3 nights) | Lodge | Fees | Before flights | With Seronera return flights (before about US$56 taxes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunia Camp, August | 3 × US$1,200 = US$3,600 | US$460 | about US$4,060 | about US$4,580 |
| Dunia Camp, April | 3 × US$560 = US$1,680 | US$389 | about US$2,069 | about US$2,587 |
| Namiri Plains, August | 3 × US$2,250 = US$6,750 | US$460 | about US$7,210 | about US$7,728 |
Flights add the same US$518 before taxes whatever the month, so the season matters more: April costs about US$1,990 less per person than August at Dunia. When Tanzania is the poorer-value choice: on four nights or fewer, the fixed in-park fees and the bush flights weigh more per night, which can make Kenya's Mara the better-value first safari, except from July when its own reserve fee doubles.
Flights decide how many parks fit. Coastal Aviation's published fare from Arusha to the central Serengeti (Seronera) is US$259 one way per adult, about US$518 for the two legs, before airport taxes and surcharges. Reaching the Ndutu area costs US$343 and the north (Kogatende, Lamai) US$355 on the same list. A road safari avoids the fare but spends days on the road; the choice follows how many nights you want in each place. Coastal also flies Kilimanjaro to Nairobi's Wilson Airport at US$200 plus taxes (US$75), which is useful when joining Tanzania to Kenya.
What sits outside the quote. International flights, the Tanzanian visa (US$50 for most travellers, US$100 for US citizens; see the Tanzania visa guide), the government inbound insurance for first entry, activities and gratuities.
Compared with Uganda and Rwanda
The gorilla permit is the largest single fee in East Africa and sits outside everything above: US$800 in Uganda and US$1,500 in Rwanda, against about US$578 for a week of Serengeti day fees at US$82.60. We found no Uganda tariff covering 1 July to 31 December 2026, so your quote will give the figure for your dates. For the permits in depth, see Uganda vs Rwanda gorilla trekking.
Key facts
Serengeti conservation fee: about US$82.60 per adult per day including 18% VAT (TANAPA tariff last published for 2023/24). Serengeti concession fee: US$50 October to June, US$60 July to September, plus VAT. Ngorongoro: entry US$70.80 per adult per 24 hours; crater service US$295 per vehicle. Lodge examples: about US$236 to US$2,250 per person per night sharing, park fees extra. Flight: Arusha to Seronera US$259 one way plus taxes. Worked total: three August nights at Dunia Camp, about US$4,060 per person sharing with fees, before flights. Prices are: "from" figures, not trip prices.
Planning it with Nobu
Tanzanian quotes are easy to misread because some include park fees and some do not, and some show VAT and some do not. We list each fee, VAT and the flights as separate lines for your dates, and we say when a published tariff is out of date.
Is it right for you?
This page is right for you if you are reading a Tanzania quote and want to know what sits in it. Choose another page if you are looking for ways to spend less, in which case read our affordable safari in Tanzania story, or for a top-end trip, in which case read luxury safari in Tanzania. For Kenya, see the Kenya safari cost guide.
Journeys to consider
- Tanzania, one chapter at a time. — Eight days in northern Tanzania, where the Serengeti and Ngorongoro fees above apply. Tanzania, one chapter at a time
- Gorillas in the forest of Uganda. — For the permit-led side of the cost picture. Uganda forest
