Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Arusha – Lake Manyara
- Pick up from Arusha and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park.
- We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge, and after lunch, we head into the Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive.
- This national park is one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park) located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment.
- The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, Lake Manyara’s unique tree-climbing lions, and large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae in the lake.
- Dinner and overnight at the lodge or hotel.
Day 2 Lake Manyara National Park – Serengeti Plains
- After breakfast, we head towards the Serengeti National Park via the beautiful high-lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
- Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa – the Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see.
- We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species.
- We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park.
- Dinner and overnight at the lodge or hotel.
Day 3 Serengeti Plains
- Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement). Floating silently above the awakening bush, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa across rivers and over numerous small villages.
- We do an after-breakfast game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River and is good for possible lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich, and cheetah sightings. The visitor’s centre not far from the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites is well worth a visit after the morning’s game drive. This nicely designed centre, offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area.
- The centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, a picnic area, and an information trail up and around a nearby kopje.
- We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the centre in the shade of the giant acacia trees.
- In the afternoon, we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lion and some formidably large cobras.
- Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons – including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink!
- Dinner and overnight at the lodge or hotel.
Day 4 Serengeti Plains – Ngorongoro Crater
- After breakfast at the lodge, we depart to the Ngorongoro Conservation area.
- We will stop over at Olduvai Gorge, boasting a history dating back to the dawn of time. It was here that the anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of the 'Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both significant links in the chain of human evolution.
- We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and spend the afternoon leisurely.
- Dinner and overnight at the lodge or hotel.
Day 5 Ngorongoro Crater
- After breakfast, we descend 600m into this magnificent crater for a full-day game drive.
- The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world's most densely crowded African wildlife areas and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals, including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos.
- Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park is its huge population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard.
- We will enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.
- Dinner and overnight at the lodge or hotel.
Day 6 Ngorongoro Crater – Tarangire National Park
- After breakfast we depart for the Tarangire National Park.
- The park runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. Its natural vegetation mainly consists of Acacia woodland and giant African Baobab trees, with huge swamp areas in the south. Both the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals, during Tanzania’s dry season.
- The Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. This African National Park is also home to three rare species of animals – the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, and a few Ashy Starlings.
- After a picnic lunch, we do an afternoon game drive.
- Dinner and overnight at the lodge or hotel
Day 7 Tarangire National Park – Arusha
- We enjoy an early morning game drive in the Tarangire National Park and breakfast at the lodge.
- We will then transfer back to Arusha.
- Upon arrival in Arusha, we will have lunch, and then we will end our safari.
- Head to the airport for your flight back home.
- All park fees All activities (unless labelled as optional)
- All accommodation (unless listed as upgrade)
- A service of professional driver/guide Roundtrip airport transfer (Local Flight)
- All transportation (unless labeled as optional)
- All flights during the tour
- All Taxes/VAT Meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Supporting crews ( Safari Chef and equipment supply driver)
- Bottled water 24/7 phone support
- Thermos with hot tea/coffee
- Medical Kit Binocular (I per SUV)
- Wet wipes
- International flights (from/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips (gratitude for your trip crew)
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