Most first-time visitors go north, to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Tanzania's southern parks see far fewer travellers but hold some of the country's best wildlife: the largest elephant population outside the Serengeti ecosystem, one of the last strongholds of the African wild dog, and boat safaris down a river you won't find on a northern itinerary. Each park below can be reached by a short flight from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, and combines well with a beach stay.