Ngorongoro: everything you need to know
Self drive Ngorongoro: everything you need to know. As self-drive safari experts, question we get asked a lot at off-road trip Tanzania is whether it’s possible to visit the Ngorongoro Crater without booking through a tour company or going with a tour guide. If you’re more of an independent traveler, off-road trip Tanzania has the best tips on how to arrange your NCA park permits. Avoid paying double entry fees, and where to stay for a better Ngorongoro experience.
Covered in this guide to self-drive in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area:
- How much do I need to budget for a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater?
- How do I arrange the Ngorongoro entrance permits for my self-drive safari in Tanzania?
- Can I explore the Ngorongoro Crater without hiring a driver?
- I’m designing my Tanzania itinerary.How many days should I reserve for the crater?
- Camping and the best places to stay in Ngorongoro.
Self drive Ngorongoro: everything you need to know – budget and fees?
Visiting Ngorongoro is always an unforgettable experience. Both because of the unrivalled amount of wildlife you get to see in one day, and the high costs to see it…
When planning your safari, take into account the following entrance fees:
Fees are quoted per person incl VAT, per single entry up to 24 hours.
- The fee for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is $70.80 per person
- The vehicle entry fee for your Roadtrip Tanzania rental car (locally registered vehicle) is 23,600 TSH ($10) per day for the RAV4 and 41,300 TSH ($20) per day for the Landcruiser.
- If you want to enter the crater, you have to pay the additional Crater Service Fee of $295 per vehicle each time you go down the crater.
- Public campsites are $35 per person/night. Special campsites are $50 per person/night.
For a detailed cost overview, check the official Ngorongoro Crater website.
For a detailed cost overview, check the official Ngorongoro Crater website.
If you are planning to visit the Serengeti and just transit through the NCA. Since you still have to pay the NCA fee twice: on your way going to the Serengeti and on your way back from the Serengeti. The only way to avoid paying the NCA fee twice is by exiting/entering the Serengeti via Klein’s gate on the North East. On your way to/ from Lake Natron. Its a very scenic route from Klein’s Gate to Lake Natron. But not enjoyed by everyone, as it has some pretty bad stretches and your drive in remote area. Check off-road trip Tanzania’s Travel Guide on Lake Natron, for route description from Serengeti to Lake Natron.
Can I explore the Ngorongoro Crater on a self-drive safari?
Yes! you can do a self-drive safari in the Ngorongoro Crater. The park wardens at the NCA entrance gate will advise you to take a ranger-guide. But this is not compulsory, and not needed in our opinion either. The safari tracks on the carter floor are well maintained and sign posted, and its basically impossible to get lost.
How do I arrange the Ngorongoro entrance permits for my self-drive safari in Tanzania?
The entrance permits for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Crater can’t be arranged and paid for on arrival at the park gate. The Tour Operator has to issue your NCA reservation quote, and the actual permit needs to be paid for in cash at the bank. Off-road trip Tanzania can arrange your quote. This option is included in the online reservation form when you book a car with us. For this, we charge a handling fee of € 50.
I am designing my Tanzania itinerary. How many days should I reserve for the crater?
The Ngorongoro Crater permit is valid from 6 AM to 6 PM. A half to full day is enough to cover the main tracks in the crater. Apart from the world famous Ngorongoro Crater, the Highlands of the conservation area provide some great opportunities for breaking up a vehicle-based safari and stretching your legs. So linger around for a few more days, beat the crowds, and allow for some off the beaten track exploration.
Our Travel Guide comes with your off-road trip Tanzania car rental and is a great source of information. Very detailed, up to date and covering off the beaten track places to visit. Herein we highlight a few lesser known sights to explore inside the Ngorongoro Conversion Area:
Self drive Ngorongoro: everything you need to know – Empakaai Crater
Empakaai Crater: the stunning but relatively unknown Empakaai Crater lies some 40km north-east of its famous neighbor, the Ngorongoro Crater. From the moment you arrive at Empakaai, you will be treated to splendid views of the Empakaai Crater as well as a glimpse of Oldoinyo Lengai. Which is Tanzania’s most active volcano. Its a 45 minute descent into the crater through thick and mountainous forest. Down on the crater floor, there is superb birding around the lake, and the chance to see flamingos as well as some big game like buffalo, hyena and elephant.
Self drive Ngorongoro: everything you need to know – Olduvai Gorge
If your interest is in ancient history, visit Olduvai Gorge (aka Oldupai) one of the most important palaeonthropology sites in the world. It is renowned for the early hominin fossils discovered here, stone tools and plant and mammal fossils. There is a small museum. At Laetoli, hominid footprints of our genetic ancestors have been found in sedimentary rock of 3.7 million years old. A 30-minute drive from Olduvai you can find a curious phenomena. And that is a shifting sand dune. This dune is formed from fine volcanic ash, which due to its high iron content is highly magnetic. This means that the dune clings together, and acts as a single unit as it slowly moves across the landscape.
Self drive Ngorongoro: everything you need to know – Gol Mountains
Gol Mountains and which means the Mountains of God. Provides a surreal wilderness environment of stark, pink cliffs, enclosing the Angata Kiti pass. That provides a bottleneck for the annual Great Migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra. This remains one of the most traditional corners of Tanzania, home to the Masai, who still kill lions as their rite of passage into warrior hood, and who still live outside cash economy. Don’t think you can go one a ”cultural tour, visiting the Masai” as if they are some kind of bucket-list item to visit, and have a genuine experience. But if you go on a (multiple) guided walking safari with a good tour guide, you for sure will learn a lot about this spiritual place.
Driving times to the Ngorongoro are as follows:
- Arusha – Loduare Gate (NCA entrance) / crater rim: 3-4 hours
- Loduare Gate to Ngorongoro Crater entrance: 1.5 hours.
- Ngorongoro Crater entrance to Naabi Hill Gate (Serengeti entrance): 3-4 hours.
- Note that it’s about a 3-4 hours drive from the NCA Simba Public Campsite to Naabi gate Serengeti (which is also the exit of the NCA). So if you want to avoid paying the NCA twice, whilst staying overnight in the NCA, you have to time your visit wisely and take the 3-4 hour drive into account to exit the NCA.
Best maps of the NCA:
- Harms Verlag (IC) Ngorongoro Conservation Area Map
Camping and the best places to stay in the Ngorongoro
Self drive Ngorongoro: everything you need to know. Karatu is a nice and affordable place to base yourself from when visiting the NCA and the Ngorongoro Crater. We have covered tips on where to stay in Karatu on our accomodation page. If you want to stay inside the NCA, the most affordable option is Simba Public Campsite A, which is on the crater rim.
The rest of the campsites on the crater rim are so-called ‘special campsites’, largely reserved by private safari companies, who bid on them for the season. As an individual traveller, you won’t be able to stay there. The less interesting special campsites are not taken by the safari companies and are available for booking by individual travellers. Read more about how to secure you special campsite permits here.
The most affordable lodge on the crater rim is Rhino Lodge. This doesn’t have a view though. All the other lodges are very expensive; off-road Tanzania’s top choice among these would be Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
