Due to Serengeti National Park being essentially a wilderness area, there is no Serengeti airport as such to fly to in Serengeti or near the Park and the area is instead served by a network of all weather gravel airstrips. Seronera is one of the of the largest and most commonly used airstrips in Serengeti National Park.The airstrip has an airport building that works as a lobby and hosts administrative offices of Seronera airstrip, along with Serengeti Kusini Airstrip, both are among the primary and most well known airfields in the park. There are scheduled twice daily flights from Arusha to Serengeti that stop at several airstrips per flight. Additionally there are several airlines that serve this route including Auric Air, Coastal Aviation, Flightlink, and Regional Air. The nearest international airport to Serengeti is the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha, a flying distance of one hour.
Travelers would need to know which airstrip in Serengeti they should use when booking their flights as there are close to a dozen airtsrips in Serengeti National Park, including the community wildlife conservancies and game ranches surrounding the main park. It is imperative to fly to the airstrip nearest to your accommodation to avoid unnecessarily long transfers which also happen to be rather expensive. Some of the most common airstrips include Seronera, Kogatende,Serengeti kusini, Lobo, Fort Ikoma, Sasakwa Grumeti, and Kirawira airstrip and we have detailed below which lodges and camps are served by each airstrip.
Seronera Airstrip one of the largest and most commonly used airstrips in Serengeti National Park. The airstrip is located in the heart of Serengeti National Park, in Seronera town and only 2 hours drive from Naabi hill gate and Ndabaka gate. Seronera airstrip has an airport building that works as a lobby and hosts administrative offices of Seronera airstrip.
Seronera town, where Seronera airstrip is found has special and public campsites, a tourist information centre, 2 fuel stations, shops, a dispensary and bars that tourists may find useful. Seronera airstrip is 5km from the Seronera visitor information centre. The airstrip mainly serves Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge, Ikoma Tented Camp, Four Seasons Serengeri Safari Lodge, Lemala Ewanjan Tented Camp, And Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas among others. Read more about Seronera Airstrip in detail at this page.
Kogatende Airtsrip is located on the banks of Mara River, in the northern part of Serengeti National Park. Kogatende airstrip is an easy access to the remote areas of the park and is strategically situated in the migration corridor where hundreds of thousands wildebeests are seen crossing the Mara River during the great migration. Kogatende airstrip is 1km from both Klein’s and Bologonja gates of Serengeti National Park. Read more about Kogatende Airstrip in detail at this page.
Serengeti Kusini Airstrip is one of most commonly used airstrips in Serengeti National Park, located near the Kusini Kopjes, south of the Serengeti National Park. The airstrip is strategically located such that on lucky days of transit tourists can spot the great migration take place. The airstrip is also near Lake Ndutu, Lake Elemti, Lake El Dabsh and Lake Masek which are a great calving area for wildebeests and zebras during the great wildebeest migration. Serengeti Kusini airstrip is about 9kms from the Maswa Game Reserve. Read more about Serengeti Kusini Airstrip in detail at this page.
Lobo Airstrip is located on the Northern eastern region of Serengeti National Park, in Lobo area. The airstrip is approximately 30 mins to 1 hour drive to the park's main entrance. Lobo airstrip is 6km from Klein’s gate, and 7km from Bologonja springs and 8kms from Ngare Naironya springs. The airstrip serves domestic flights for travellers visiting Serengeti National Park and neighbouring tourist destinations. Read more about Lobo Airstrip in detail at this page.
Kirawira B airstrip is a small airstrip found in the western part of Serengeti National Park, and is a short distance north of Grumenti River. The airstrip is only 3 hours from Mwanza town, and only 1 hour drive to Ndabaka gate, 4km from the Kirawira migration cross point 1, 8km from Grumenti Game Reserve and Handajeba gate, as well as 7km from Bali view point.
Fort Ikoma airstrip is a small airstrip located North West of Serengeti National Park, and is rarely used as is near the Seronera airstrip. The airstrip is about 3kms from Retima Hippo pool, 1km from the Nyabogati hippo pool, and 1km from Fort Ikoma gate.
Sasakwa airstrip is located within the Singita Grumeti Reserves‚ which borders the western side of Serengeti National Park to the north of the Western Corridor. The area encompasses 400 acres of unrivalled wilderness and forms part of the famous migratory route‚ which is traversed by hundreds of thousands of animals every year.
Arusha Airport (IATA: ARK, ICAO: HTAR) is a domestic airport located in the city of Arusha, the capital of the Arusha Region of Tanzania. The airport is currently undergoing an expansion, which includes a new apron and terminal building. Transfer time from city center is 10 minutes traffic free but more like an 20 to 30 minutes in normal traffic, and most local flights require that you be at the airport at least an hour before the flight.
Typically all the main airlines have morning and afternoon flights, with the same aircraft turning back to Arusha after every flights. The flight time is approx. 1 hour though actual time depends on how many stops the flight will make, ( known as ''hops'') as they land to drop or pick up passengers from various airstrips. Most flights limit stops to the fewest possible so the timing of an hour to Serengeti is practially fairly accurate. See the schedule below.
| Daily Flights to Serengeti ( Approximate Timings) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | From | To | Dep | Arr |
| Morning Flight | Arusha | Serengeti | 10:00 | 11:00 |
| Serengeti | Arusha | 11:00 | 12:15 | |
| Afternoon Flight | Arusha | Serengeti | 14:45 | 15:45 |
| Serengeti | Arusha | 15:45 | 17:00 | |
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High Season: 16 December - 31 March & 1 July - 31 Octomber Low Season: 1 April - 30 June & 1 November - 15 December |
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Due to the sheer volume of passengers flying to Serengeti during the peak season months from July to October, both Auric Air and Coastal Aviation place an additional midday flight service to handle the passenger numbers. During these months we recommend booking early enough to secure seats.
As mentioned above these include Auric Air, Coastal Aviation, Flightlink and Regional Air. These airlines generally have an excellent safety record and operate to high standards with professional staff.
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Flying Safari package to Serengeti are convenient due to the short one hour flight versus the 5 to 6 hour road journey from Arusha. Flights to Serengeti being readily available, a flying package safari is possible to book for most Camps and Lodges. Flying to Serengeti is also recommended for those who want to enjoy game drives in open sided safari vehicles.
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