Option 1: SGR train from Dar es Salaam (recommended)
The standard-gauge railway runs several times a day between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro, taking about 1.5 hours in air-conditioned comfort. From Morogoro station it is a 2-hour drive to the camp. Our driver meets you on the platform with a name board.
- Tickets: buy in the TRC app or at the station; economy and business class. Book a few days ahead in high season and over holidays.
- Timing: take a morning train and you can be on an afternoon game drive the same day.
- Our transfer: Morogoro station ↔ camp. Free when you book a safari of 2+ days with us. With a 3+ day safari we also cover your train tickets from Dar es Salaam. See the safari packages.
- Kilosa station: a stop closer to the park is being developed; for now Morogoro is the practical choice.
Option 2: By road from Dar es Salaam (not our recommendation)
About 300 km on the A7 (Morogoro Road). Count 5–6 hours to Morogoro including leaving Dar es Salaam, longer on Fridays and holidays, and then 2 more hours to Mikumi. It is a long, tiring drive — the train does the Dar–Morogoro leg in 1.5 hours — so we recommend the road only if the train times do not fit. We arrange private transfers from Dar es Salaam hotels or Julius Nyerere International Airport, and the road passes through the Mikumi park itself for the last stretch — your first wildlife sightings are often from the car.
- Private transfer: door to door, flexible times; price on request.
- Bus: buses to Iringa and Mbeya stop in Mikumi town; we can collect you there.
- Self-drive: a normal car is fine for the highway; the camp track is passable in all seasons. Do not drive the park section after dark.
Option 3: From Zanzibar
Take the 07:00 fast ferry from Stone Town to Dar es Salaam (about 2 hours), then either the SGR train to Morogoro with our pickup, or a private road transfer from the ferry terminal. You arrive in time for dinner facing the Mikumi mountain ridge and a dawn game drive the next morning. Many guests do Mikumi as a 2–3 night break from the beach.
Option 4: By air
Charter flights can land at the Mikumi airstrip. Scheduled flights serve Iringa (about 3 hours by road) and Dar es Salaam. For most travellers the train is faster door to door and far cheaper.
Coming from the south (Iringa, Ruaha, Mbeya)
Camp Lilac sits just off the highway between the south and Dar es Salaam, which makes it a natural overnight stop after Ruaha or Iringa. Arrive by late afternoon for an evening game drive and leave after breakfast.
Airport pickups
We offer pickups at Julius Nyerere International Airport (Dar es Salaam) and at Morogoro SGR station. Send us your flight or train number when you book and we take care of the rest.