Best of Tanzania Safari Package
Northern Tanzania is world famous as a safari destination, and with good reason. Here, you can range through the Great African Rift Valley through the lands that are home to the big five of African safari and myriad creatures you’ve dreamed of spotting your whole life.
Diverse terrain makes up this region of Tanzania; safari through the plains of the Serengeti, spot birds at inland salt lakes, descend into volcanic craters as you explore this epic land. As you learn about the nature and landscape of this part of the world, so you’ll be given the chance to learn something of human history too.
This safari takes you across the most sought-after parks in Tanzania. You’ll have chance to see:
- Elephant
- Zebra
- Lions
- Cheetah
- Giraffe
- Buffalo
- Rhino
Along with plenty more animals you’ve maybe not even heard of yet. You will be accompanied every step of the way by an experienced Tanzanian safari guide. They’ll know the usual places to find the animals you want to see and be able to help you identify species and get the best photographs possible. Since you are taking a private safari, it’s possible to request the tour is done in reverse order if you desire.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arusha – Lake Manyara National Park (130 km, 3 to 4 hours)
Your Tanzanian safari guide will meet you at your hotel, residence, or the airport ready to take you deep into the wilds and begin your adventure across the savanna. The journey to Lake Manyara will take you through Tanzanian countryside, offering you a brief glimpse at the way of life in this stunning country.
As soon as you arrive at the park, named after the 330 square kilometre lake at its edge, you will be met with rugged terrain and the chance to see the plethora of animals that live within. The lake is famed for the bird species that reside here, including tens of thousands of flamingos that will appear to turn the lake pink as they dance and feed in the waters. Terrestrial animals abound here, too, with
- Hippos
- Monkeys
- Zebras
- Elephants
Roaming the plains to hunt and graze, along with plenty more creatures to introduce you to the wonders of Tanzanian safari.
Your lunch will come picnic style as you roam through the park with your guide and vehicle. Once the evening begins to set in, you will make your way to your chosen camp or lodge where you can rest up and eat dinner, ready for the day that lies ahead. Included in the first day of your safari in Africa is:
- Accommodation at your camp or lodge
- Overnight stay inside Lake Manyara National Park
- Lunch and dinner, no breakfast
- Drinking water, other drinks are extra
Day 2: Lake Manyara National Park – Serengeti National Park (290 kms, 5 to 6 hours)
Rise early to be able to pack in as much into this day traversing the plains as possible. After breakfast at your camp or lodge, you will embark on a game drive past Lake Manyara and move towards one the jewels in the crown of African safari, the Serengeti. As you head towards your destination you will pass through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where you’ll be return to in the coming days to experience the sheltered habitat.
Passing through the Serengeti, you will be introduced to the vastness of the park. The plains roll before you, endlessly, and the rivers cut through the land heading into the far-off distance. The big five of African safari make their home here:
- Elephants
- Buffalo
- Rhinos
- Lions
- Leopards
Are all possible to see, whether at this point or on your up-coming adventures through the park.
You’ll take lunch during the trip as a picnic and have a full dinner once you reach the camp or lodge that you’ve chosen for your stay in the Serengeti. Your first full day on safari in Tanzania includes:
- Accommodation at your camp or lodge
- Overnight stay inside Serengeti National Park
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Drinking water, other drinks are extra
Day 3: Full Day in Serengeti National park
The Serengeti is undoubtedly a special place, and it deserves a special viewpoint to do justice to the beauty within. You can choose to take a hot air balloon over the park at day-break, watching the sky turn from black, to shades of orange and red, until it finally turns blue to mark the start to another glorious day on the savanna. You’ll have a different appreciation for the landscape and the sheer size of the terrain covered by the animals that live here. Once you return to solid ground you will be treated to a champagne breakfast on a viewing platform with panoramas over the grasses. As an optional activity, there’s an additional fee of $500 per person for this experience.
The rest of your day is dedicated to game drives throughout the park, with a choice of breaking up the day with a return to your accommodation for lunch or taking your midday meal as a picnic deep inside the park, surrounded by nature. Either way, you have access to one of the most densely populated nature reserves in Africa, where you’ll have plenty of chance to observe and photograph them in their natural habitat.
As the sun sets, once again treating you to multicoloured skies, you will head back to your camp or lodge. Dinner is served and you then have time to reflect on the day and rest up, ready for another day out in the wilds. The Third day of your Tanzanian safari includes:
- Accommodation at your camp or lodge
- Overnight stay inside Serengeti National Park
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Drinking water, other drinks are extra
Day 4: Full Day in Serengeti National park
Another day crossing the terrain of the Serengeti awaits, after breakfast at your camp or lodge. Discuss with your guide about the animals you’re excited to see; they have a radio in your safari vehicle and can communicate with other guides in the vehicle to share information on the locations of the popular animals. Be on the lookout for the big five of African safari, along with:
- Hippos
- Giraffes
- Zebras
- Dik-diks
- Baboons
- Hyenas
On this day, you are also invited to learn about the human side of the Serengeti. The Masai people have lived a nomadic live across these lands for uncountable generation, thriving in the challenging landscape and learning how to live alongside the wild animals. You will be greeted at one of the villages with a traditional song and dance and offered a guided tour of the village and a glimpse inside one of their homes so as to better understand their way of life. As an optional extra on the tour, there is an additional fee of $20 per person.
Once again, it’s up to you whether to take your lunch back at your accommodation and split the day in two, or take an extended game drive with lunch picnic-style. Irrespective of your choice for the day, the evening sees your return to the camp or lodge of your choosing for dinner and rest. This, the fourth day or your African safari, includes:
- Accommodation at your camp or lodge
- Overnight stay inside Serengeti National Park
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Drinking water, other drinks are extra
Day 5: Serengeti National Park – Ngorongoro Conservation Area (160 km, 3 to 4 hours)
Although today you will leave Serengeti National Park, you will remain very much within the same biosphere as you move southwards towards Ngorongoro Conservation Area that is attached to a much wider area under protection. Breakfast will be served early so you can get out on to the Serengeti early and complete your swansong game drive before moving into the area of the infamous crater.
As you pass through the area, you will come across Olduvai Gorge, a sparsely planted area that holds the key to human history. Here, Dr Richard Leakey spent years digging for the earliest human remains, with some bones dating back over a million years. He also discovered untold numbers of some of the first tools crafted by early humans; one of the most important discoveries in our history. To learn more about this fascinating place, you have the option to pay a visit to the museum on the site, for a fee of $45 per person.
Thirst for knowledge quenched, it’s back to the land of the animals as you descend into the crater, 600 metres down to the floor to watch the afternoon activities and have lunch as a picnic. Round of the day by arriving at your accommodation, either directly on the crater’s edge or on the lands just outside. Here, you’ll have dinner and have time to relax and appreciate viewing terraces that may be provided. The fifth day of your Tanzanian safari includes:
- Accommodation at your camp or lodge
- Overnight stay inside Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Drinking water, other drinks are extra
Day 6: Full Day in Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Crater is its own microcosm of the wider lands in this area. It’s got forested areas, an alkaline lake, hot springs, and two rivers flowing into it, providing a massive range of habitats for the animals within to thrive. After breakfast, dive down in your safari vehicle and be on the lookout for:
- Rhinos
- Giraffes
- Wildebeest
- Lions
- Elands
- Gazelles
- Hyenas
During your travels across the floor of this impacted volcano.
You’ll spend a full day out in the crater, that is over 600km in diameter and teeming with life. Lunch will be served picnic style to save you having to leave this natural amphitheatre. The pace of the day will be revealed as the sun passes overhead, with predators more lethargic in the heat and herbivores more confident of their safety. The dynamics of this nearly-closed system will be revealed to you.
Once the sun begins to fall, it’s time for your safari vehicle to ascend the crater’s edge and return you to the comfort of your camp or lodge for dinner. This sixth day of your safari in Tanzania includes:
- Accommodation at your camp or lodge
- Overnight stay inside Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Drinking water, other drinks are extra
Day 7: Ngorongoro Conservancy Area – Arusha (191 km, 3 to 4 hours)
This is your final chance to catch the animals of the crater as they stir from another night of slumber, breakfast and then head out into the wilds to see the last of your animals living in such stunning lands.
Goodbyes said, it’s time to leave and pass through the Tanzania countryside, far removed from your safari experience. You’ll arrive in Arusha where we can drop you off at your hotel, residence, or at the airport for you to continue your travels. The final day of your adventure through northern Tanzania includes:
- No accommodation, this is the final day
- Breakfast and lunch, no dinner
- Drinking water, other drinks are extra
INCLUSIONS AND EXCLUSIONS
What’s Included
- All transfers
- All accommodations during the tour
- All meals and drinking water during the tour
- Flying Doctors medical, emergency, and rescue cover
- All game drives as noted in the itinerary
- Transport in a private 4 x 4 Safari Land Cruiser
- English speaking tour guides/driver
- All applicable government taxes, levies and entry fees
- Personalized private service
What’s Not Included
- International flights and taxes
- Passports and visa applications and processing
- Travel insurance
- Tips and gratuities for drivers/guides
- Personal laundry
- Alcoholic drinks
- Entrance fee for activities noted as optional