Seronera Rest House (Taji)
Park rest house · Behind the Seronera Visitor Centre, central Serengeti · TANAPA (Tanzania National Parks)
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Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (TANAPA)
TANAPA describes Taji, its Seronera rest house, as "a budget-friendly accommodation located just behind the Seronera Visitor Centre in Central Serengeti" with "simple rooms with mosquito nets, self-bathroom with basic amenities, hot showers, and free WiFi". At $35.40 a head with VAT it is the only bed with a roof inside the park at campsite money. You must book ahead through TANAPA, and you sort out your own food. It suits a self-driver or a budget operator trip that wants a door and a hot shower in the middle of the Seronera Valley; skip it if you want a restaurant, a pool or a guide who comes with the room.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A room with its own bathroom for $35.40 a head
- Hot showers and free Wi-Fi, on TANAPA's description
- Central Seronera position, five minutes from most game circuits
- Money goes straight to the park authority
Cons
- Prior booking required, through TANAPA's system
- No meals mentioned: bring food or eat at a lodge
- TANAPA publishes no room count or photos
- We found no published child policy
What's here
- Wi-Fi
- En-suite bathrooms
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
Read from Seronera Rest House (Taji)'s own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Serengeti National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$70 plus 18% VAT, so $82.60, per 24 hours from 16 May to 14 March; $70.80 from 15 March to 15 May.
- $83per person, per day
- Vehicle$40 plus VAT, so $47.20, for a foreign-registered vehicle up to 2,000 kg; a Tanzanian-registered safari vehicle pays TSh 20,000, about $8 at TANAPA's TSh 2,555 to the dollar.
- $47per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $639 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
A lodge or camp inside the park adds TANAPA's concession fee on top: $70.80 per adult per night from July to September and $59 from October to June, VAT included. Arriving by road from Arusha adds the Ngorongoro permit of $70.80 per adult each way.
The full fee schedule for Serengeti National ParkRates at Seronera Rest House (Taji)
From $30 pppn. The Serengeti rest house is $30 per head per night for non-residents and residents alike, TZS 20,000 for East African citizens, under TANAPA's 2023/24 tariff; 18% VAT is extra, so $35.40. Prior booking is required. The conservation fee of $82.60 per adult per 24 hours (16 May to 14 March) is on top; TANAPA does not say whether the concession fee applies. Meals are not included and TANAPA mentions none.
Room only. Meals, activities and park fees all come on top.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked on 6 October 2026 against each operator's own website or rate sheet, in US dollars per person per night sharing unless the entry says otherwise. Two figures are per room, not per person: Serengeti Serena's $728 and Serengeti Explorer's $750 (a January 2025 opening offer). One figure is a reseller's, not the owner's: Africa Safari Serengeti Ikoma's $154 a night on Priceline (6 Oct 2026, basis not stated). Ndutu Safari Lodge's figures come from a rate sheet that ran to 15 December 2025, the newest on its site. Unless the entry says otherwise, TANAPA fees come on top of every rate inside the park: the conservation fee of $70 plus 18% VAT ($82.60) per adult per 24 hours from 16 May to 14 March, $70.80 from 15 March to 15 May, and the hotel concession fee of $70.80 per adult per night from July to September or $59.00 from October to June, VAT included. Camps at Ndutu and Lake Masek pay the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority instead: $70.80 entry per 24 hours and $59.00 concession per adult per night. Wilderness Usawa is the one rate we found that includes park fees.
Questions about Seronera Rest House (Taji)
How much is the Seronera Rest House?
TANAPA's 2023/24 tariff sets the Serengeti rest house at $30 per head per night, $35.40 with 18% VAT. The conservation fee of $82.60 per adult per 24 hours is charged on top in peak season.
How do you book Seronera Rest House?
The tariff says prior booking is required. Book through TANAPA's online reservation system at ors.tanapa.go.tz or through a licensed Tanzanian operator.
Does Seronera Rest House have Wi-Fi?
Yes, on TANAPA's own description: simple rooms with mosquito nets, a private bathroom, hot showers and free Wi-Fi. TANAPA does not say how reliable the signal is.