Saadani National Park

Welcome to Saadani National Park in Tanzania! Tourists can view the magnificent wild animals basking along the Indian Ocean shores.

About Saadani National Park

Saadani National Park is Tanzania’s 13th National Park. Tourists can view animals basking along the Indian Ocean shores. It is managed under the Tanzania National Parks Authority. It has an area of 1062 km2 and was officially gazetted in 2005, from a game reserve which had existed from 1969.

You will not find a large group of animals in Saadani national  park like you do in serengeti. However, it’s the only place in Tanzania where you may encounter elephants walking on the beach.

Famous for: 

Wildlife sanctuary.

Saadani is where the beach meets the bush. The only wildlife sanctuary in East Africa to boast for an Indian Ocean beachfront, it as well possesses all the attributes that make Tanzania’s tropical coastline and islands very popular with European sun-worshipers.

Interesting Facts

• The Saadani National Park is located four hours north of Dar es Salaam. By plane, it takes about 20 minutes to fly from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar Island.
• Saadani has been officially a National Park since 2005. …
• The famous explorer, Richard Burton (1925-1984) investigated Saadani National Park.

Best Time

January and February and June to August (Animals are attracted to water in the park)

High Season

June to October (Park rarely gets crowded at any time)

Low Season

April and May (Access roads might be impassable)

Getting to Saadani

You can reach Saadani from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, and there are scheduled flights connecting all three. The lodges in Saadani also organize road and boat transfers from Dar es Salaam on request.

Your entry point in Tanzania is usually Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) near Dar es Salaam. In most cases, your tour operator will pick you up from the airport and handle all further ground operations or domestic flights. Chartered flights from Arusha town, the base for the northern safari circuit, are also available.

Domestic flights:

Charter flights are typically booked by a tour operator as part of your safari tour. Scheduled flights to Saadani can be booked with several carriers.

Things to See

• Clean beach and the Indian Ocean.
• Abundance of wild mammals like waterbuck, giraffe, warthog, yellow baboon, hartebeest, wildebeest, zebra, elephant and lion.
• Green turtles breeding site.
• Wami River.
• Zaraninge coastal forest.
• Over 220 species of birds including migratory birds.
• Historical remains.

Things to Do in Saadani

• Game drive
• Historical tour
• Boating and canoeing,
• Balloon safari
• Fishing
• Sea safari
• Walking safari
• Jeep safari

Where to Stay

• Miseni retreat
• Saadani river lodge
• Kisampa bush retreat
• The vagabond lodge
• Barry’s beach resort
• Bay  beach resort
• Saadani safari lodge

Weather & Climate

• Best Weather; June to September (Little rainfall)
• Worst Weather: March, April & May (Peak of Wet season)

If you liked Saadani National Park, you might also like Lake Natron.

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