One Day Safari Tarangire vs Lake Manyara
Question
I am planing a safari trip for the Northern Circuit. At first I planned to go on a one day safari to Lake Manyara and then head out to the Ngorongoro Crater. After doing some more research I realized that Tarangire is also on the way to the Crater and it seems to be a bigger park with a lot more wildlife than Manyara. However, it is a lot bigger than Manyara and not sure if it makes sense to only go there for a day trip.
Does it make more sense to spend a day at Manyara and cover more ground there or is it worthwhile to spend the day at Tarangire ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Answer ( 1 )
Although I place Tarangire among the top few parks in whole East Africa, for a half-day visit (as yours seems will be), I’d rather pick Lake Manyara. A few-hours “sprint visit” does really not do justice to Tarangire. You need to spend at least one night/two days there. On the other hand, Lake Manyara is just the right small park for a half-day visit.
And beside that, Tarangire is very similar ecosystem that you will be visiting later on – typical savanna. At Lake Manyara, on the other hand, you will be able to see some mammals (colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, …), birds, and landscapes (forests, lakeshores, swamps) that you will not see in Ngorongoro and Serengeti.