Table of Contents
Serengeti National Park Flights
If you are interested in flights to Serengeti National Park, in general, find out more about those here.
Flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area/Flights to Ngorongoro Crater
There are no international airports in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA).
Airport Near Ngorongoro Crater/Ngorongoro Crater Airport
The international airport closest to Ngorongoro is Kilimanjaro International Airport, which is approximately 200 kilometers away.
READ ALSO: Nugumu & Serengeti Safari Operators
Ngorongoro Airstrip (Ngorongoro Airport)
Ngorongoro is accessible by air, though.
There is an airstrip on the crater rim close to the headquarters of the NCA.
Flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area are usually charter flights to this airstrip or to another airstrip nearby, though scheduled flights do exist.
Airlines That Operate Scheduled Flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- Coastal Aviation Coastal Aviation operates flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area that land at one of two airports/airstrips. One of the airstrips is Ndutu Airstrip which is within the NCA, close to the Serengeti, and the other is Lake Manyara Airport, about 40 minutes drive from the Lodoare Gate of the NCA.
- Another airline that operates flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area from Arusha Airport and Kilimanjaro Airport is Air Excel. Like Coastal Aviation, Air Excel flights land both at Ndutu Airstrip and Lake Manyara Airport.
- A third airline that operates scheduled flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area–both Lake Manyara Airport & Ndutu Airstrip–is Regional Air.
- ZanAir operates flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area but only to Lake Manyara Airport.
- Auric Air operates daily flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, landing both at Lake Manyara Airport & Ndutu Airstrip.
- Flightlink operates regular flights to Lake Manyara Airport.
Note that all these scheduled flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area land either at Lake Manyara Airport (a 40-minute drive away) or at Ndutu Airstrip (in the NCA near the Serengeti) and not the airstrip on the rim of the Crater.
No scheduled service can go to the Crater as weather can be unpredictable.
READ ALSO: The Accurate Zanzibar to Tanzania Distance in 2025
Other Flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area
On top of the above scheduled flights to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, it is possible to arrange for special flights to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
For instance…
- Auric Air flies on request directly to Ngorongoro not only from locales in Tanzania such as Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, and Serengeti but also from locales within the region such as Entebbe in Uganda and Kigali in Rwanda.
READ ALSO: Flight Cost from Tanzania to Dubai & More
As I mentioned above, the international airport closest to Ngorongoro is Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).
When you are booking your flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will therefore need to book the international portion of your flight to KIA (or Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar), and then book a separate local portion of your flight to Ngorongoro.
Here is what you can expect to pay for the portion of your flights to Ngorongoro Conservation Area up to KIA, on popular routes.
READ ALSO: Travelling Through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area
How to Reach Arusha
The easiest way for you to get to Arusha, most probably, is to fly there.
Arusha is served by two airports: Kilimanjaro International Airport and Arusha Airport.
If you want to get to Arusha from outside Tanzania, then you will most likely need to fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Arusha Airport is a domestic airport, and you can fly into this airport from several locations across Tanzania.
Coastal Aviation also operates a flight between Kigali, Rwanda and Arusha Airport.
READ ALSO: 3 Places to Stay in Arusha, Tanzania
How to Reach Arusha by Road
Getting to Arusha by road is very possible because Arusha is connected by good quality highways running both north and south through it, as well as east and west.
Arusha is an easy 4-5 hour drive from Nairobi, Kenya, across an international border, and a 10-11 hour drive from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Photo Credit: YellowZebra