What it costs, and where the money goes

Safari pricing is opaque almost everywhere, and it suits the industry that way. It does not suit us. Most of what you pay on a fly-in safari is not our margin — it is fees set by government authorities and published openly, plus an aircraft seat and a bed.

So here they are. If a quote you have been given is much cheaper than ours, one of the lines below is missing from it.

Government fees, per person

These are charged by Tanzania National Parks and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority. Neither we nor any other operator can discount them. All figures include 18% VAT, which is what you are actually charged.

Children under 5 pay no park or conservation fees anywhere. Source: TANAPA published tariffs and the NCAA tariff schedule. Rates change — TANAPA's year runs 1 July to 30 June — and we re-check them annually.

The number that catches people out

An adult inside the Serengeti costs $153.40 a day in government fees alone — $82.60 entry plus $70.80 concession — before a single other cost. Two nights in the park is over $300 per person that neither we nor anyone else can reduce.

The crater service fee is the other one. It is $295 per vehicle per descent, not per person. At two travellers that is nearly $150 each, and it is the line most commonly left out of a crater quote. It is inside our Ngorongoro rates.

Why park fees start when you land, not at a gate

Seronera airstrip is inside the national park. Your 24-hour clock starts the moment the aircraft touches down at 10:00, not when you reach camp.

This is why our 3-day trip lands at 10:00 and boards at about 09:45 on the final morning. That fifteen-minute margin keeps you inside two fee periods rather than three. It is also why a delayed return flight can trigger another day's fees for a delay nobody caused — and under our delay policy that cost sits with us, not you.

What else is in the price

• Return flights. A scheduled light aircraft seat, Zanzibar to the Serengeti and back.
• The bed. Full board at a named, contracted camp or lodge.
• The vehicle and guide. Held for your party alone, and driven up from Arusha for your departure. We absorb the empty return leg.
• Transfers at both ends, and lunch and drinking water on every full day.

What we make

A 15% markup on net cost, grossed up for the 3.5% card fee, rounded up to the next $25. Once the card fee comes off, that is roughly 11–12% of the published price.

We publish that because it explains why we do not discount. There is no room in an 11% margin for haggling, and an operator who does discount heavily is either cutting a fee they will collect from you later, or a corner you will notice on the ground.

Why a cheaper quote is cheaper

Usually one of these:

• Park fees excluded, payable by you at the gate. Check whether your quote says "excluding park fees".
• The crater service fee omitted — $295 a vehicle, easy to leave out.
• A shared vehicle, so the cost is split across strangers and your day runs on their schedule.
• Driving instead of flying, which is genuinely cheaper and costs you two days.
• A camp outside the park, avoiding the concession fee and adding an hour to each end of the day.

All of those are legitimate ways to run a cheaper trip. None of them is the trip we are quoting you for. Ask any operator which one applies.