Fee reference
Tanzania park fees 2027: what is actually payable
Park fees are the largest and least transparent part of a safari price. Below are the rates from the TANAPA and NCAA tariffs themselves rather than from summaries: what is charged per person, what per vehicle, where VAT is already inside and where it is added, and why one document contains two seasonal calendars that do not agree.
Entry fee: TANAPA, per person per day
Tariff rates are published excluding VAT. The payable column is the same rate with 18% VAT — those are the figures lodges and operators actually invoice.
| Park | Season | Tariff rate | Payable with VAT | Child 5-15, payable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serengeti | peak: 16 May - 14 March | USD 70 | USD 82.60 | USD 23.60 |
| Serengeti | low: 15 March - 15 May | USD 60 | USD 70.80 | USD 23.60 |
| Tarangire, Manyara, Arusha | peak: 16 May - 14 March | USD 50 | USD 59.00 | USD 17.70 |
| Tarangire, Manyara, Arusha | low: 15 March - 15 May | USD 45 | USD 53.10 | USD 17.70 |
| Kilimanjaro | all year | USD 70 | USD 82.60 | USD 23.60 |
Concession and camping: a DIFFERENT calendar
This is where the trap sits. Concession seasons do not match entry seasons: in February entry is charged at the peak rate while concession is charged at the low one.
| Fee | Season | Tariff rate | Payable with VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concession, Serengeti | low: October - June | USD 50 | USD 59.00 |
| Concession, Serengeti | peak: July - September | USD 60 | USD 70.80 |
| Concession, Tarangire and Manyara | all year | USD 40 | USD 47.20 |
| Special and seasonal campsite | low: October - June | USD 50 | USD 59.00 |
| Special and seasonal campsite | peak: July - September | USD 60 | USD 70.80 |
Ngorongoro: NCAA counts by its own rules
NCAA rates are published as final figures — there is no need to multiply by 1.18. A permit runs for exactly 24 hours and allows multiple entry within that period.
| Fee | Unit | Non-resident | Child 5-16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation area entry | person / 24 hours | USD 70.80 | USD 23.60 |
| Concession: lodges and permanent camps | person / night | USD 59.00 | USD 11.80 |
| Special campsite | person / night | USD 70.80 | USD 35.40 |
| Public campsite | person / night | USD 35.40 | USD 11.80 |
| Crater descent | vehicle / trip | USD 295.00 | - |
| Bush lunch permit | person | USD 23.60 | - |
| Olduvai Gorge and Shifting Sands | person | USD 35.40 | USD 11.80 |
| Hot air balloon | person / flight | USD 39.53 | - |
Vehicles: a tenfold difference
Here the registration matters more than the class of car. The rate depends on tare weight and on where the vehicle is registered.
| Where | Weight | Locally registered | Foreign registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA, Ngorongoro | 2001-3000 kg | TZS 41,300, about USD 16 | USD 177.00 |
| NCAA, Ngorongoro | up to 2000 kg | TZS 23,600, about USD 9 | USD 47.20 |
| TANAPA, all parks | 2001-3000 kg | commercial: USD 150 | USD 150 |
| TANAPA, all parks | up to 2000 kg | commercial: USD 40 | USD 40 |
| TANAPA, open vehicle | any | +50% on the rate | +50% on the rate |
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Two calendars in one tariff
The TANAPA tariff defines seasons twice, and differently. Serengeti entry runs at the peak rate from 16 May to 14 March, which is most of the year, leaving a low season of barely two months. The concession fee is arranged the other way round: its peak falls in July to September, and from October to June the low rate applies.
In February that means entry is charged at the peak USD 70 before VAT while concession is charged at the low USD 50. Applying one calendar to both fees is the most common error in these calculations, and depending on the month it errs in either direction.
18% VAT on top, but not everywhere
The TANAPA tariff ends with the line "All charges are VAT (18%) exclusive". The published USD 70 for the Serengeti therefore becomes USD 82.60 payable. Invoices confirm it: a lodge bills Tarangire entry at exactly USD 59.00, which is 50 multiplied by 1.18.
The NCAA tariff works differently — its figures are already final. USD 70.80 for entry and USD 59.00 for concession need no multiplier. The two documents are easy to confuse, because the figure 59.00 appears in both and means different things.
What an operator price already covers
In a good operator’s package price, park and concession fees are usually inside and you do not pay them again. That is a feature of the particular quotation rather than a general rule: some proposals leave the fees out and add them on the ground.
The practical check is to ask which year’s fees the quotation is based on and whether VAT is included. Getting "fees for the travel year are included" in writing is worth the message — tariffs move, and across a nine-day programme for four the difference easily reaches several hundred dollars per person.
A tariff three years old
The operative TANAPA tariff is dated 2023/24 and applies until replaced. For travel in 2027 that is a risk: rates may rise between booking and departure, and almost every operator’s terms contain a clause passing such an increase to the client.
Hence a practical rule: the contract should state which tariff the calculation rests on and who carries the difference if it changes. The phrase "fees included" without a year protects less than it appears to.
Common questions
- What do park fees come to on a nine-day safari?
- The order of magnitude is this: two days in Tarangire at USD 59.00 per person per day, a night and a crater descent in Ngorongoro at USD 70.80 per entry day plus USD 295 per vehicle for the descent, and Serengeti days at USD 82.60. The exact total depends on how many permit days are actually consumed, which is decided by the time you cross the gate.
- Why is February entry charged at the peak rate but concession at the low one?
- Because the TANAPA tariff carries two independent seasonal calendars. The entry peak runs from 16 May to 14 March; the concession peak is only July to September. February falls inside the first and outside the second.
- Should VAT be added to Ngorongoro fees?
- No. The NCAA tariff publishes final figures: USD 70.80 for entry and USD 59.00 for concession are already complete. The 1.18 multiplier applies to TANAPA rates only.
- Is it true that open vehicles are charged more?
- Yes, the TANAPA tariff provides for a 50% surcharge on open vehicles. But an ordinary safari Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof is not treated as an open vehicle — operators confirm this in writing. The surcharge applies to open-sided vehicles.
- How long is a Ngorongoro permit valid?
- Exactly 24 hours from entry, with multiple entry allowed inside that period. If the programme includes a night inside the conservation area and a departure the following day, two permit days are consumed.
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