Day 1 - Arrive Kilimanjaro Airport - Drive to Arusha

On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you are met by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Arusha for the night. 

Overnight: Bronze: Airport Planet Lodge | Silver: Arusha Coffee Lodge | Gold: Legendary Lodge

Day 2 - Arusha to Tarangire National Park

After an early breakfast, drive to Tarangire National Park - famous for its large elephant herds and picturesque landscapes dotted with baobab trees. Tarangire is one of the least visited parks in northern Tanzania yet its dense population of wildlife from July to November is second only to the Serengeti.

You will arrive at camp in time for lunch before setting out on an afternoon game drive where you explore Tarangire’s valleys and riverbeds looking for herds of impala, eland, kudu and buffalo that wander the park's vast swamps and river. The park is also a bird lover's paradise with over 550 bird species and flocks of migratory birds from January to March. Return to your lodge just before sunset to freshen up before dinner.

Overnight: Bronze: Moivaro Tarangire Porini | Silver: Sanctuary Swala | Gold: Chem Chem

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 3 - Tarangire National Park

Today, set out into the park with a picnic lunch to maximize your time in this wonderful wilderness area. Centered on the Tarangire River, this park has expansive views with wide panoramas of wooded savannah stretching in every direction. The most outstanding feature is the Tarangire River, which is permanent and the only reliable dry-season source of water available to wildlife in this vast stretch of Tanzania's Rift Valley. The river attracts tremendous concentrations of animals and birds.

Make your way back to camp in the afternoon and choose to stretch your legs on a little bush walk should you wish. This is a fantastic way of learning about tracking animals, what plants are helpful, which are harmful and seeing the myriad of small creatures which are so important to the eco system.

Overnight: Bronze: Moivaro Tarangire Porini | Silver: Sanctuary Swala | Gold: Chem Chem

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 4 - Ngorongoro Crater

Drive up towards the Ngorongoro Crater. On the way stop in at the AK Philanthropy Women’s Bike Shop to see how the project has changed the lives of the ladies working there. There are also a number of other exciting activities available at an additional cost including a Tuk Tuk tour of the village with a local lunch.

Overnight: Bronze: Pamoja Farm Lodge | Silver: Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp | Gold: Entamanu

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 5 - Full day in Ngorongoro 

Your game drive today will be like no other as you visit one of the most dramatic safari destinations in Africa, the Ngorongoro Crater. Descend to the crater floor in search of the big 5 with the backdrop of the forest covered crater walls surrounding you, creating a stunning canvas for all your wildlife photographs. Travel through the Lerai Forest looking for leopard and onto the plains where the wildebeest and zebra graze whilst cheetah and lion lay and watch. Old elephants pass your vehicle whilst further afield rhino wander in search of grazing and hippos hide in the pools. A picnic lunch is provided so you can maximize your day in the crater.

This deep, volcanic crater and the largest unbroken caldera in the world; about 20 kilometres across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kilometres in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder. Within the crater rim large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist. Just outside the crater's ridge, tall Maasai herd their cattle and goats over green pastures living alongside the wildlife as they have for centuries.

Overnight: Bronze: Pamoja Farm Lodge | Silver: Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp | Gold: Entamanu

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 6 - Ngorongoro to Serengeti

It is an early start today to catch your flight to the Serengeti National Park. From the air enjoy the magnificent views of the Great Rift Valley Escarpment and, if it is clear, the Ngorongoro Crater.

You will be met in the Serengeti by your Driver Guide who will once again have your private vehicle waiting for you. Enjoy your first Serengeti game drive on the way to the camp for check in followed by lunch.

In the afternoon venture out into the Serengeti’s game filled savannah for a game drive. Driving through the Serengeti in late afternoon, the light provides the perfect opportunity to capture some magical wildlife and landscape photographs. As the light fades return to your property for dinner.

Overnight: Bronze: Pamoja Serengeti Camp | Silver: Sanctuary Kichakani | Gold: One Nature Nyaruswiga

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 7 & 8 - Full days in the Serengeti

Over the next two days explore the vast plains of the Serengeti and all its wonders.

Every year, triggered by the rains, 1.3 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle gather to undertake the long trek to new grazing lands. The migration of the herbivores roughly defines the boundaries of Serengeti National Park, which is the central zone of the Serengeti ecosystem, an area that also takes in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the east, the Grumeti to the west and the Maswa Game Reserve in the south.

The Serengeti is not only famous for the great Wildebeest Migration but also for the vast number of species that reside in the park year-round. The concentration of predators in the Serengeti is high with large prides of lion, numerous hyena clans and regular sightings of both cheetah and leopard. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe and antelope can be found feeding on the rich plains as well as some of the lesser known and hard to spot species such as aardwolf, mongoose, caracal, servals and hyrax.

Overnight: Bronze: Pamoja Serengeti Camp | Silver: Sanctuary Kichakani | Gold: One Nature Nyaruswiga

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 9 - Fly to Arusha - Depart

Today you bid farewell to Tanzania. You will fly back to Arusha where you will have a day room and a chance to freshen up before your evening flight back home with the fond memories of your time in this amazing country.

If you would like to add on a few days at the beach, please see our Zanzibar Beach Extension.