Tanzania offers visitors three safari options:

• A Northern Circuit safari
• A Southern Circuit safari
• A Western Circuit safari

While there are wonderful parks and game experiences to be had in the south and west of the country, the out-and-out frontrunner for big-game safaris is the north. This is because the Northern Circuit has:

• Ngorongoro Crater
• Serengeti National Park
• The Great Wildlife Migration
• A marvellous density of the Big Five

One of the highest predator concentrations in Africa For these reasons, in this post about the best times for safari in Tanzania, we share the best times for heading to the parks of the Northern Circuit.

The four main game parks of the Northern Circuit are:

• Serengeti National Park
• Ngorongoro Conservation Area (which encompasses Ngorongoro Crater)
• Tarangire National Park
• Lake Manyara National Park

There are also other great game parks in northern Tanzania, like Arusha National Park. There are also other wonderful places to see wildlife, like Lake Natron Game Controlled Area, Maswa Game Reserve, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). But in this post we focus on just the above-mentioned four national parks, as these are the most popular in the region.

So when it comes to determining the best time for safari in Tanzania – or, in our case, a Northern Circuit safari – we need to consider the best times for visiting each park. We discuss what to expect month by month at each park to help you determine when you'd like to plan your Tanzania safari.
You can enjoy an amazing Northern Circuit safari at any time of the year. There's such a staggering density of large animals in the region that you never have to worry about 'missing' the animals!

Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater are the stars of the Northern Circuit, receiving by far the bulk of visitors each year. Lake Manyara National Park and Tarangire National Park are the lesser-known parks, and so offer quieter safaris. Safari guides love these quieter parks as they offer different landscapes, habitats and animal concentrations to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We highly recommend visiting the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater as well as at least one of the quieter parks during your Northern Circuit safari. The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater are worthy of all of the hype, but the quieter parks are also complete gems!