Tanzania voted Best Destination for Wildlife and Scenery in SafariBookings 2023 Experts’ Survey

SafariBookings.com, the world’s leading online safari marketplace, has declared Tanzania to be the leading destination as far as wildlife and spectacular scenic landscapes are concerned.

An official release from the SafariBookings Marketplace reveals that a combined tally from both SafariBookings experts and safari-goers ranked the country as the best safari destination for both wildlife and scenic beauty.

“In this case, it was ‘SafariBookings,’ experts who tipped the balance, based on their vast experience.”

According to the SafariBookings’ latest survey report, the experts narrowly voted Tanzania as the best safari country for wildlife.

In their report, Tanzania was described to be home to the great migration, as well as the scenic wonders that are Ngorongoro Crater and the savannah grasslands and kopjes of Serengeti National Park.

They were also awed by spanning Indian Ocean coastline, the classic savannah grasslands of the north, the continent’s highest mountains, and dense rainforests out west.

“Tanzania is one beautiful country. And when it comes to safaris, these soul-stirring landscapes provide habitat for wildlife on an epic and incredibly diverse scale. If great wildlife and spectacular scenic beauty are why you go on safari, it just has to be Tanzania.”

The comprehensive study of more than 4,000 expert and safari-goer reviews has ranked Tanzania top in these two categories.

In an extremely close race, Tanzania also came in a close second place behind Botswana as the best country in Africa for a safari.

The reviews used in the analysis are 2,897 user reviews gathered by safaribookings.com between January 1, 2019, and April 21, 2023, and 1,266 reviews from 22 reputable guidebook authors – working for Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Frommer’s, Bradt and Footprint. It also assessed over 4,000 reviews from safari-goers and African travel experts.

In addition to the overall rankings, SafariBookings took into account a number of safari categories, including wildlife, birding, bush value and scenic value.

And when all of these were considered, it confirmed that Tanzania is one of the best safari countries in Africa.

“The results should come as no surprise. This is a country where you can see vast herds of wildebeest and zebra streaming across the plains of the Serengeti, or commune with chimpanzees in the rainforests of the west,” reads part of the report.

In Tanzania, you can climb Mt Kilimanjaro, dodge hippos on the Rufiji River, or enjoy the magic of Zanzibar. And Tanzania is home to some of the biggest populations of lions and elephants on the planet.

But in overall ranking, the country came second to Botswana.

Still, Tanzania clearly beat some of Africa’s most celebrated safari countries, including Kenya and South Africa, as well as up-and-coming destinations such as Zambia and Uganda.

The latter two fared particularly well. When only the votes of safari travelers were used, Zambia came in top for wildlife, and for birding. And safari-goers chose Uganda as the best overall country to go on safari.

But Tanzania ranked well with everyone, and the fact that Tanzania did so well with both experienced safari veterans and safari-goers, including many on their first safari, shows that Tanzania has exceptionally broad appeal.

And Tanzania was so close to coming in first that Botswana will be looking nervously over its shoulder next time around.

Tanzania was the winner in 2013 when SafariBookings conducted the first study to determine the best safari country in Africa.

It held onto first place in our second study in 2017.

However, that changed in 2018 when Botswana narrowly defeated Tanzania.

Botswana again took first place in 2019 surveys.

This is the first survey since travelers returned to the safari trails following the pandemic.

As it happens, Botswana reasserted its position in the number one spot, although Tanzania remains very close behind. Both are incredible safari countries.