Mikumi National Park

Mikumi is Tanzania's fourth-largest national park and by far its easiest to reach: a straightforward drive of around four to five hours from Dar es Salaam on a fully paved road, with no flight required. At its heart lies the Mkata floodplain, an open expanse of grassland often compared to a miniature Serengeti, where elephant, giraffe, zebra, buffalo and lion move freely across the plain in full view of the main road.

Bordering the vast Nyerere National Park to the south, Mikumi also makes a natural first or last stop on a longer Southern Circuit safari, easily combined with Udzungwa Mountains for forest walks or Ruaha for a deeper wilderness experience. Black-and-white colobus monkeys are common in the miombo woodland fringing the plains, and the park's modest size means game drives cover a lot of ground without long transfer times between sightings.