Saadani National Park
Description: One of Tanzania’s newest national parks, Saadani bills itself as one of the few spots in the country where you can enjoy the beach and watch wildlife at the same time. It’s easily accessible from Dar es Salaam as an overnight excursion and is a good choice if you don’t have time to explore further afield. To the south of the reserve is the Wami River, where you’ll probably see hippos, crocodiles and many birds, including lesser flamingos, fish eagles, hamerkops, kingfishers and bee-eaters. Wildlife-watching can’t be compared with that in the better-known national parks, animal numbers are slowly increasing now that poaching is being brought under control. You’ll also likely see giraffes, and elephant spottings are increasingly common. With more effort, you may see hartebeests and even lions, although these are more difficult to spot. The birding is also wonderful.
Things 2 Do: Game drives, Boat trips, Bush walks, Village tours
Accommodations
“Access 2 Tanzania was absolutely amazing from day 1 of planning to our bittersweet “see you later” wave to Tanzania on our plane ride home. Casey helped my husband and I plan and execute our dream honeymoon. All we came to Access 2 Tanzania with was a rough idea of dates, a budget, and a dream of going on a safari – Casey took it from there! He worked with us to plan a great itinerary and handled every logistical detail from booking us puddle jumper flights out of the middle of the Serengeti to making sure our favorite soft drinks were stocked in our safari vehicle. Even after our itinerary was finalized, he checked in with us multiple times to answer any and every question we had and to make sure we were all set with visas, vaccinations, etc. We had the best experience ever and I would highly recommend them to anyone planning a trip to East Africa!”