Updated June 1, 2026

Ruaha National Park Safari Itinerary: 5, 6 and 7 Day Plans

By Karlis A. from GetSafariTours

A Ruaha National Park safari itinerary breaks down cleanly into three lengths: five nights for a standalone Ruaha trip, six or seven nights for a Ruaha and Nyerere combo, and ten nights for the full southern Tanzania immersion. This guide covers the day-by-day for each, the lodges that fit each budget tier, what you should expect to spend, and how to pick the right length for your trip.

How to Choose Your Ruaha Itinerary Length

The right length depends on three things: whether you are pairing Ruaha with another safari park or with Zanzibar, how much time you have on the ground, and whether this is your first Tanzania trip or a second visit. Three nights is the absolute floor. Anything shorter is not worth the cost of the internal flights.

Length	Best for	Cost pp (sharing)
5 nights, 6 days	Ruaha standalone, Zanzibar pairing	$3,500 to $7,500
6 nights, 7 days	Ruaha and Nyerere southern circuit combo	$4,500 to $12,000
10 nights	Full southern Tanzania (Mikumi + Nyerere + Ruaha)	$7,000 to $18,000

Internal flights add another $500 to $1,200 per person on top of the lodge costs, depending on routing and how many legs you fly. Park entrance fees are usually built into camp rates.

5 Nights, 6 Days Ruaha National Park Safari

The cleanest standalone option. Five nights on the ground gives you a travel buffer on day one and day six, three full game-drive days in between, and time for both a walking safari and an optional sunrise balloon flight without rushing.

Day 1: Fly Dar es Salaam to Msembe airstrip. Afternoon game drive along the Great Ruaha River.
Day 2: Morning walking safari with an armed park ranger. Afternoon drive in the central Mwagusi sand river area.
Day 3: Full-day game drive with picnic lunch. Cover the Ikuka escarpment and the southern game-viewing circuits.
Day 4: Optional sunrise balloon safari (around $550 pp). Afternoon at leisure or short evening drive.
Day 5: Full-day drive focused on whichever area produced the best sightings.
Day 6: Morning game drive, fly out to Dar, Zanzibar, or Arusha.

Suggested lodges by category:

Mid-range: Mdonya Old River Camp, Tandala Tented Camp.
Upper-mid: Kwihala Camp (Asilia), Ruaha River Lodge (Foxes).
Luxury: Jabali Ridge, Kigelia Ruaha, Mwagusi Safari Camp, Ikuka Safari Camp.

Cost range: $3,500 to $7,500 per person sharing, depending on lodge category. Add $600 to $800 for return internal flights from Dar (Auric Air, Coastal Aviation, and Safari Air Link all run scheduled daily services).

Best for: travellers pairing Ruaha with a Zanzibar beach stay, second-time safari guests focused on big cats, and anyone wanting a walking-safari-heavy trip.

See it in practice: our 6-Day Ruaha National Park Fly-In Safari follows this template; the 10-Day Ruaha Fly-In & Zanzibar Beach Holiday extends it with the coastal pairing.

If you are short on time, this itinerary trims cleanly to four nights by dropping the day 4 balloon or one of the full drive days. Extending to six nights makes sense if you want to add a fly-camping leg, which puts you under canvas in a remote part of the park for one or two nights.

6 Nights, 7 Days Ruaha National Park Safari

The most popular southern circuit combo. Three nights at Nyerere on the Rufiji River, three at Ruaha in lion country, and one transit day in between. Enough time to feel the contrast between the two parks without rushing either side.

Day 1: Fly Dar to Nyerere. Afternoon boat safari on the Rufiji River.
Day 2: Morning walking safari at Nyerere. Afternoon game drive in the northern lake circuit.
Day 3: Full-day Nyerere drive with picnic lunch, focused on the wild dog and elephant areas.
Day 4: Fly Nyerere to Ruaha via Dar (around 90 minutes total). Afternoon Ruaha drive.
Day 5: Morning walking safari at Ruaha. Afternoon drive along the Great Ruaha.
Day 6: Full-day Ruaha drive. Optional sunrise balloon flight.
Day 7: Morning drive, fly out.

Suggested lodge pairings:

Mid-range: Lake Manze (Nyerere) + Mdonya Old River Camp (Ruaha).
Upper-mid: Roho ya Selous (Nyerere) + Kwihala Camp (Ruaha).
Luxury: Sand Rivers Selous (Nyerere) + Jabali Ridge or Kigelia Ruaha.

Cost range: $4,500 to $12,000 per person sharing. Internal flights add $700 to $1,000 per person for the full circuit (Dar to Nyerere, Nyerere to Ruaha via Dar, Ruaha out).

Best for: travellers who want the variety of two distinct safari styles in one trip, anyone visiting from Zanzibar, and southern circuit first-timers.

See it in practice: our 7-Day Nyerere & Ruaha Safari is the published version of this itinerary; the 11-Day Nyerere & Ruaha Safari & Zanzibar Beach Holiday adds a beach tail.

Note that Sand Rivers Selous, Roho ya Selous, and most other Nyerere camps close from mid-March to late May for the long rains, so this combo is realistically a June through February itinerary.

If you want Ruaha standalone over the full seven days instead, swap the Nyerere half for additional Ruaha nights plus a fly-camping leg, or finish with two nights on Zanzibar. The Ruaha-only seven-day trip works best when you split your nights across two camps in different parts of the park, for example three nights at Kwihala in the central area and three nights at Jongomero in the south.

10 Nights: Full Southern Tanzania Itinerary

For repeat Tanzania travellers, or anyone who wants the full southern circuit without the rush.

Day 1 to 2: Mikumi National Park (drive in from Dar, gentle land-based warm-up).
Day 3 to 5: Nyerere (boat safari focus, Rufiji circuit).
Day 6 to 9: Ruaha (walking and big-cat focus).
Day 10: Optional Udzungwa Mountains add-on for birders, or fly out from Ruaha.

Suggested lodge pairings:

Mid-range: Vuma Hills (Mikumi) + Lake Manze (Nyerere) + Mdonya Old River (Ruaha).
Upper-mid: Stanley's Kopje (Mikumi) + Roho ya Selous (Nyerere) + Kwihala Camp (Ruaha).
Luxury: Vuma Hills (Mikumi) + Sand Rivers Selous (Nyerere) + Jabali Ridge (Ruaha).

Cost range: $7,000 to $18,000 per person sharing across the full trip. Internal flights run $800 to $1,200 per person depending on routing.

Best for: second-time Tanzania travellers, photographers, and anyone wanting a slow-paced trip across multiple parks.

See it in practice: our 10-Day Southern Tanzania Grand Safari is the published version of this trip; the 14-Day Southern Tanzania Grand Safari & Zanzibar Beach Holiday extends it with the Zanzibar tail.

Stanley's Kopje runs June to February and closes during the long rains, so for a March or April attempt at this itinerary, swap to Vuma Hills (open year-round). You can also swap the Mikumi opener for a Zanzibar tail at the end of the trip, but losing Mikumi removes the easy land-based start and forces every leg onto fly-in transfers, which raises both cost and the chances of a weather-delay headache.

When to Book Each Itinerary

Booking lead time varies by season and lodge category. For peak season (June through October), book nine to twelve months in advance. The top lodges like Jabali Ridge, Kigelia Ruaha, Mwagusi, and Sand Rivers Selous routinely sell out for high season by the previous December.

For green-season trips (December through February), four to six months out is usually enough, and you can sometimes book inside two months if you are flexible on lodge choice. Most camps offer green-season discounts of 20 to 40% against peak rates.

The long rains (March through May) are not worth booking for most travellers. Many camps close, the ones that stay open cannot guarantee road access, and game viewing is unreliable.

For more on seasonal trade-offs, see our southern Tanzania safari guide and the timing section of our Ruaha National Park safari guide.

What's Included in These Costs

The cost ranges above are based on fully inclusive lodge rates, which typically cover:

Accommodation in en-suite tents or chalets.
All meals, soft drinks, local beer and wine.
Twice-daily game drives or other activities.
Park entrance fees (usually built into the rate).
Airstrip transfers and in-park road transport.

What is normally extra:

Internal flights between Dar, Nyerere, Ruaha, and Zanzibar: $500 to $1,200 per person depending on routing and number of legs.
Balloon safaris: around $550 to $650 per person, available at Ruaha seasonally (May to November typical window).
Premium drinks: champagne, imported spirits.
Tips: $20 to $30 per guide per day, plus $5 to $10 per day for the camp staff pool.
Travel insurance and any pre-arrival hotel nights in Dar or Zanzibar.

For the broader cost picture, see our Tanzania safari cost guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Five nights gives you the cleanest standalone Ruaha experience: a travel buffer on day one and day six, three full game-drive days in between, and time for both walking and an optional balloon flight. If you want to combine Ruaha with Nyerere on the southern circuit, six nights split as three plus three is the most popular option. Anything under three nights is not worth the flight time.

Three nights is the absolute minimum and only really works if you are already in southern Tanzania, for example flying in from a Nyerere stay or a Zanzibar beach trip. You get one half-day arrival drive, two full game-drive days, and a half-day morning departure. There is no time for walking safaris or a balloon flight, and the long internal flights eat into your ground time.

Yes, but only for travellers who want a deep, walking-focused experience in one park. A standalone seven-day Ruaha trip works best when you split your nights across two camps in different regions, for example the central Mwagusi area and the southern Jongomero region. For first-time southern circuit travellers, the 6-night Ruaha and Nyerere combo gives you more variety for similar money.

A 6-night, 7-day Ruaha and Nyerere combination costs roughly $4,500 to $12,000 per person sharing, depending on lodge category. Internal flights for the full circuit (Dar to Nyerere, Nyerere to Ruaha via Dar, Ruaha out) add $700 to $1,000 per person. Mid-range camps come in at the lower end, and properties like Sand Rivers Selous or Jabali Ridge push the budget toward the top. Park fees are usually built into camp rates.

For peak season (June through October), book nine to twelve months in advance. The top lodges sell out for high season by the previous December. For green-season trips (December through February), four to six months out is enough. Avoid the long rains (March through May), when many camps close and the ones that stay open cannot guarantee road access.

A 5-day Ruaha safari is four nights on the ground: one arrival day, two full game-drive days, and one half-day morning departure. A 6-day trip adds one extra full day, which lets you fit in either a sunrise balloon safari or a dedicated walking-and-fly-camping leg. The 6-day option is the better value if you have the time, since the marginal cost of one extra lodge night is small compared to the cost of getting to Ruaha in the first place.

Do Nyerere first. The river-based activities ease you into the slower southern circuit pace, and you arrive in Ruaha primed for walking and big-cat mode. The internal flight from Nyerere to Ruaha runs via Dar and takes about 90 minutes total.

Yes, and it is one of the most popular pairings. Ruaha sits a 2-hour flight from Zanzibar (via a Dar refuel), which makes a five-night Ruaha plus four-night Zanzibar trip a clean nine-day option. Many travellers book the safari first and use Zanzibar as the wind-down.

Ready to Plan Your Trip?

Pick the length that fits your time and budget, then we will build the lodge, flight, and activity stack around it. Itineraries are a starting point, not a fixed script. Every Ruaha trip we run gets shaped around guest interests, seasonality, and lodge availability when you book.

The published versions of each length: