Getting to Ngorongoro Crater
Getting to Ngorongoro Crater | Tanzania Safaris and tours | Top Ngorongoro Safari | Tanzania National Patks | Day tours from Arusha | Safari Lodges and Camps | Hotels in Karatu| Where to Stay in Ngorongoro | Tanzania Travel Guide
Flights & Getting Around
Arusha Airport: located just outside the town of Arusha, Arusha Airport is the gateway to the Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire but you’ll need to get there via Kilimanjaro International Airport, located about 50km away.
Kilimanjaro International Airport: fly into Kilimanjaro from Dar es Salaam, Nairobi or directly from Europe and transfer to Arusha Airport but note that international flights often arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport late at night, so an overnight in Arusha is usually necessary.
However, as the Ngorongoro Crater is only a 3.5hr road trip from Arusha, many travellers prefer to make the final transfer to their accommodation at the crater or in the nearby town of Karatu by road. Game drives and road transfers in the Ngorongoro Crater region are conducted in open-sided 4X4s.
Top Travel Tips for the Ngorongoro Crater
Choose your accommodation carefully: lodges on the crater’s rim have out-of-this-world views and the quickest access onto the crater floor but the nearby town of Karatu has a wider range of accommodation and activities.
Prepare to share: at only 260 km² the Ngorongoro Crater gets pretty crowded during the dry seasons, especially around good animal sightings and popular lunch spots. For the lowest visitor numbers in the Ngorongoro Crater, travel during the April to May rainy season.
Bring the kids: the abundance of animals and its many child-friendly lodges means the Ngorongoro Crater is an ideal destination for a family safari.
Wrap up in winter: the Ngorongoro Crater’s geography means that you can expect cold weather between June and August.
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