Tanzania national park entry permits- all you need to know
are you planning a self drive safari in Tanzania? a guided safari or an all inclusive safari? are you planning a camping safari or a lodging within the famous parks of Tanzania either in northern or in southern parts of the country. regardless of whether you are visiting TANAPA governed national park(TANAPA stands for Tanzania national park authority) or planning to visit Ngorongoro conservation area that is governed by Ngorongoro conservation area authority, we gong to break down everything that you need to know as you are planning to get your entry permit into the park.
we are going to let you know when you can generate your Ngorongoro or TANAPA permit or when you need assistance from the local tour operator to generate your entry permit for you to enter the park. is it true that you cant generate your Ngorongoro entry permit on your own? when do you need a local tour operator to generate your TANAPA permit? what is bed night and when do you need it to be allocated for you to purchase your park entry permit. All that is going to be discussed in this article below.
How to purchase a permit for a tour company registered car?
For TANAPA Parks on self drive
If you are planning to visit TANAPA parks which include Serengeti national park, Tarangire national park, Lake Manyara national park, Arusha national park, Ruaha national park, Nyerere/ Selous national park, Mikumi national park, Mahale national park among other park governed by TANAPA on self drive safari. You will be able to process and pay for your park entry permit at the park gate withour passing through any one. the price for the permit will vary from one park to another but your control that you will use for payment will be generated at the park entry and paid with your credit or debit card. yo can find out the different park entry fees here
For TANANPA Parks on a guided tour (Car rental with the driver guide)
if you hire a car from the company and also hire a driver guide from that company, then that company will be liable for processing you park entry permit. it is always better that you make all your payments for the permit atleast 3 days before your trip so that you enable the company enough time to process your entry permits. the control number will be generated by the company and paid for in any bank within Tanzania.
you can choose to come with cash and the company simply give you your control number so that you pay for them yourself. it is high discouraged to make the credit card payment to the tour company on the day of arrival as the money require some days before being received by the company and that might affect the flow of your trip. also note that all park fees are paid in Tsh and the standard conversion rate the parks uses as of today is 1555$. this rate always differ from the dollar market rate within tanzania and this explain the difference you might notice from what you are asked to pay and the dollar rate on TANAPA tariff.
your permit be it for self drive or guided tour will include a vehicle entry fee which is about 20$ per day and you need to take not of it.
For an all inclusive Tanzania safari
for those planning to go for an all inclusive Tanzania safari, you wont need to worry about any extra payment as your quote will include everything from accommodation, transport. park fees and more. therefore worry not about any hassle regarding the park fees and related activities as all this is pre planned.
TANAPA entry permit with private car
if your car is registered as private car in Tanzania, worry not about TANAPA permit payment as the permit will be generated at the park entrance and the payment be made with your credit card. the rangers at the gate will generate for you the token and be advised on ho to proceed with the payment. though note that no cash payment will be accepted at the park entrance.
TANAPA Entry permit for East African registered cars
for those doing cross border safari with the car that are not Tanzanian registered but registered within east African block including Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda, with exception of Kenya. you will be able to process your park entry permits at the entry gates of TANAPA parks. the vehicle park fees for all east African registered car is the same as Tanzanian cars and it is about 20$ per car. for other African cars, the park fees will be way higher at about 177$ as they will be treated as foreign cars.
Permit for Ngorongoro for a tour registered company vehicle
for any tour registered vehicle that will be transit through Ngorongoro or planning to go to the must have their permits generated by the tour company that is renting them the vehicle. this doesn’t matter whether you are doing a self drive safari in Tanzania or you are on guided tour. all Ngorongoro permit for company registered car must be generated by the company that is offering you the car. therefore, always find out with your company whether they can generate for you the Ngorongoro permit to avoid any inconvenience.
Permit for Ngorongoro for a private registered vehicle
for those driving Tanzania private registered car through in Ngorongoro, you will be able to pay for your Ngorongoro conservation area authority permit at any entry gate. The payment will be made using your credit or debit card without any disturbance. However, always ask your service provider to avail you with the vehicle registration copy as you will be required to provide it to authority to varify that the vehicle is private. regardless of whether you have a guide or not, you will be able to pay at the gate as long as the vehicle is privately registered.
Permit for Ngorongoro for a other east African registered vehicle and foreign cars.
unlike TANAPA parks, Ngorongoro authority treats all east African cars as foreign registered cars and therefore, such vehicles has to pay the same amount as foreign registered (for TANAPA the price for east African car is the same as Tanzanian cars). those cars will be required to pay about 177$ as vehicle parking fees for a standard Landcruiser size car. Beside that, you will be able to generate your Ngorongoro entry permit with such a car at the park gate with the assistance of park rangers at the gate. there wont be any need to pass through your tour service provider.
about Kenya registered vehicles.
Kenya is part of the east African block. However, due to the trade war fare between these 2 neighboring countries with matters concerning tourism, the tourism car registered in Kenya is not allowed to enter into the parks( it can enter Tanzania) of Tanzania and vice versa. Therefore, if you are planning to do a cross border safari, always make sure that you have got a car suitable to visit all the country you are planning to visit, otherwise, you will be forced to switch the car for you to have a fruitful experience. At self drive Tanzania we have got Uganda registered car to enable you navigate all east African country with ease.
about bed night allocation
for those planning to spend some nights in Parks be it TANAPA parks or Ngorongoro. you will need to be allocated the bed night before your park entry permit is generated so that you can be able to pay the concession fees equivalent to the nights you will be spending in the park. The bed night for people doing a lodging safari is allocated by the lodge that you have booked accommodation with. for those going for a camping safari, the bed night will be allocated by the tour company you have booked with or it will be arranged by the park ranger at the park entry. this is important as you cant pay for the park entry before being allocated the bed night for those planning to spend a night in the park.
All that being said, for more clarity and information please feel free to reach out to our team of expert to suggest for you the most suitable for your safari experience in Tanzania and beyond.