Tanzania›Northern Safari Circuit›Ngorongoro Crater›December
Ngorongoro Crater in December
Good month: December is at the start of the recommended season (June – October, December – March). Christmas and New Year peak can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of March, 3 months away. Long Rains: Muddy Tracks, Some Camps Closed usually starts in April, 4 months away.
2 days in Ngorongoro Crater in December · from ₹57,187 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
Before you book December
Closures, crowds and rules at Ngorongoro Crater this month.
Heads up
Ngorongoro Crater Fees and Time Limit
On top of the conservation area's US$70.80 a person per 24 hours, each vehicle pays a crater service fee of US$295 per descent, and may stay on the crater floor for about six hours. Go down at the 06:00 opening for the best light and fewest vehicles. Fees are paid by card through your operator.
What’s on in December
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Christmas and New Year peak
The busiest fortnight of the year in Zanzibar and on the northern circuit: lodges set peak rates and minimum stays, Zanzibar resorts add gala dinners, and Kilimanjaro climbs fill. Book lodges, bush flights and the climb by September or October.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 2 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹57,187 for two
- Room a night₹9,510
- Food a day, each₹988
- Main sight entry, each₹20,730
Mid-range
₹97,685 for two
- Room a night₹39,940
- Food a day, each₹2,280
- Main sight entry, each₹20,730
Luxury
₹2,45,526 for two
- Room a night₹1,61,670
- Food a day, each₹5,320
- Main sight entry, each₹20,730
What December does to prices
- The busiest fortnight of the year in Zanzibar and on the northern circuit: lodges set peak rates and minimum stays, Zanzibar resorts add gala dinners, and Kilimanjaro climbs fill.
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for Tanzania yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Arusha (JRO), 116 km away
Then: Flight · 2h 30m (Bush flight Arusha (ARK)–Lake Manyara (LKY) + 45 min drive to Karatu)
Flights from India: from 5 cities, one way from ₹30,000
Fly into Stone Town (ZNZ), 509 km away
Then: Flight · 5h (Drive to Lake Manyara airstrip (LKY) + flight to Zanzibar (ZNZ), one stop)
Flights from India: from 6 cities, one way from ₹28,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
E-visa before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹4,760
- Apply for the Tanzania e-visa (ordinary, single entry) on the official portal at immigration.go.tz at least 2-3 weeks before you fly: US$50, about ₹4,830, for up to 90 days. Processing takes about 5-10 working days; print the grant notice. Avoid look-alike visa sites, which charge more.
- Get a yellow fever vaccination at an authorised centre in India at least 10 days before you leave, and carry the yellow certificate. Tanzania asks for it if you transit more than 12 hours in Kenya, Ethiopia or another risk country, and India asks every traveller returning from Tanzania for it at the airport.
- Going to Zanzibar: buy the compulsory Zanzibar inbound travel insurance (US$44 a person, about ₹4,250) from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation online before you arrive, and keep the certificate. It is required even if you have your own travel insurance.
- Carry US dollars in clean notes printed in 2009 or later for park fees, tips and visas; older or torn notes are often refused.
Carry: Passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your stay, with two blank pages; E-visa grant notice (printout); Yellow fever vaccination certificate (needed again to re-enter India); Zanzibar insurance certificate, for Zanzibar; Return or onward ticket; Hotel and safari bookings.
Visas on arrival are sold at the main airports for many passports, but whether Indian passports get one was not confirmed in 2026, so get the e-visa first. Tanzania has also published rules for a compulsory insurance on the mainland, reported to start on 1 October 2026; check before you fly whether you need it.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in Tanzania in December
Also in season this month.
- Mafia Island · great month
- Arusha · good month
- Lake Manyara · good month
- Nungwi & Kendwa · good month
- Paje & Jambiani · good month
- Stone Town · good month
Nearby in Northern Safari Circuit:
Want this as a real plan?
Ngorongoro Crater in December, day by day, priced for your group.