Tarangire National Park, which lies to the southeast of Lake Manyara, is renowned for its large elephant herds and huge baobab trees. The park is also home to lion, leopard and cheetah, and very occasionally it may be visited by packs of endangered African wild dog. In the dry season, it has a particularly high concentration of mammals, with July to October being the best months for wildlife viewing.

The main road circuit in northern Tarangire attracts large volumes of day visitors, who usually arrive mid-morning and leave mid-afternoon. This means it can be uncomfortably busy around lunchtime. Relatively few safaris stay overnight in the park, however, so the roads tend to be much quieter in the early morning and late afternoon.

As with the Serengeti, some private reserves around the national park offer more exclusivity, but generally at a higher cost.