Experience eight days of breathless adventure on safari in northern Tanzania with this odyssey that explores three national parks and a conservation area. ‘Safari’ comes from the Swahili word for ‘journey’ and over the course of this unforgettable itinerary, you will undertake a journey like no other: you will discover some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world, come face to face with wildlife and encounter intriguing cultures.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Tarangire National Park: lush and green wetlands provide an ideal habitat for hundreds of species of birds. Famous for its abundance in elephants, tree-climbing lions, leopards and pythons. The park hosts a large number of baobab trees and termite mounds.
Lake Manyara National Park: a lush habitat where tree-climbing lions, huge hippos, zebras and wildebeest herds can be seen. The shores of the lake, encrusted with pink flamingo, attract more than 400 species of birds. Large herds of buffalo, cheetah, giraffe and impala roam the lake shores and the forested valley slopes.
Serengeti National Park: Home to millions of wild animals and the famous location of the yearly wildebeest migration. The resident population of lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, and birds is also impressive. Its unique ecosystem has inspired writers such as Ernest Hemingway, filmmakers like Hugo von Lawick and Alan Root.
Ngorongoro Crater: the planet’s largest intact volcanic caldera is a world within a world in which humans and wildlife perfectly cohabit. Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes and springs, to open grassland and some sandy dunes. This area promises you a truly unique wildlife experience.
Day 1: ARRIVAL KILIMANJARO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - ARUSHA
After landing in Kilimanjaro International Airport, a tour representative will meet and greet you before guiding you to your transfer to Arusha Serena Hotel. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure, be that heading out to start exploring Arusha at your own rhythm, or perhaps taking advantage of the comfortable facilities. This hotel stands amid coffee plantations on the shores of Lake Duluti. Designed to echo the traditional style of the colonial coffee farm, which originally stood on this site, it offers a range of tastefully presented cottage-style rooms set amid extensive landscaped grounds.
Overnight in Arusha.
Day 2: ARUSHA – TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK (150km – 3 hrs)
Morning at leisure with safari briefing followed by lunch. In the afternoon depart Arusha in safari vehicle passing through the Masai Steppe filled with many picturesque African villages as well as maize, coffee and banana plantations. At the town of Makuyuni continue to Tarangire National Park Gate to clear formalities. Enter the park and begin exploring and game viewing as you continue to your lodge arriving for dinner. Tarangire Sopa Lodge, surrounded by ancient baobab trees. It is the home to one of the greatest concentration of elephants in Africa, and other game including the elusive leopard. Over 400 bird species have been identified within the park. With water constantly available through the Tarangire River, the greenery is lush, providing a wonderful contrast to the burnt ground. The lodge boasts 75 spacious rooms with glass sliding doors to a balcony with a great view of the landscape beyond.
Overnight in Tarangire.
Day 3: TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK – LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK (120 Kms – 3 hrs)
In the morning board your safari vehicle for game viewing within the park in search of its large lion prides and elephant herds. Drive through the baobab tree lined park and explore the silale swamp. Return to your lodge for lunch. In the afternoon drive north through the park and to the town of Makuyuni where you continue the journey through a scenic escarpment that brings you to your lodge, perched on the edge of the Rift Valley with stunning views over the distant Lake Manyara. The Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge offers a unique blend of tranquillity, wildlife discovery, and ornithological richness. Designed to reflect the brilliance of Lake Manyara's unique birdlife, the architectural motif melds swooping avian curves with the gentle concentric patterns of traditional Maasai ‘bomas’, while the vibrantly coloured wall frescoes depict the intricacy of bird migration patterns.
Overnight in Lake Manyara.
Day 4: LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK – SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK (245km – 5 hrs)
After a delicious breakfast, there is a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. Return to the lodge for lunch. Afterwards, leaving Lake Manyara behind, the journey continues North West across the stunning hilly countryside of the highlands which is filled with wheat and coffee plantations, and then into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. From here lie the vast plains of the Serengeti, where you begin spotting wildlife as you approach the entrance gate. Complete the formalities and enter the park with game viewing en route to the lodge. Arrive at Serengeti Serena Lodge, check-in and enjoy a tasty dinner. Set high on the saddle of a tree-clad ridge, commanding panoramic views across the Serengeti, this lodge is the ultimate fusion of traditional African architecture and world-class style. Centrally located adjacent to the famous Western Corridor and Grumeti River, the lodge has been designed to blend completely into the living landscape. The lodge has been styled to offer a showcase of cultural performance, heritage and traditional art. This is best illustrated by the lavish Makonde carvings which decorate both the rooms and the stunning domed dining room. As for wildlife, the Serengeti National Park offers not only all the members of ‘The Big Five' (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo), but also the annual ‘migration' of over one million wildebeests and their attendant cast of predators.
Overnight in Serengeti.
Day 5: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
In the morning, wake up to breakfast at the lodge and depart for your next adventure. The Serengeti National Park is famed for being home to millions of animals and the annual Great Migration of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles but the dramatic landscapes in which the wildlife prowls are themselves worthy of admiration during the morning and afternoon game drives, with a stop around midday to have lunch at the lodge. Riverine forests and woodlands, rocky outcrops called kopjes and volcanic grassland are just some of the backdrops in which the animals can be spotted during the game drives. With some luck, here you will see the Big Five: the lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. Birds and reptiles are also plentiful in the national park. In the evening, enjoy dinner at the lodge.
Overnight in Serengeti.
Day 6: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK – NGORONGORO CRATER (190km – 4 hrs)
After breakfast, you depart for Ngorongoro. Enjoy viewing game across the vast Serengeti plains and stopping en route for a picnic lunch. Continue to Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, set high on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, arriving just in time for dinner. Regularly voted one of the best hotels in the world, this unique lodge clings to the rim of the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, the largest and most perfect volcanic crater on Earth. Long and low, the lodge is built from local river stone and camouflaged with indigenous vines. Designed to blend completely into the landscape, it is entirely invisible from the floor of the Crater 600 metres below. Known as ‘The eighth wonder of the world' the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa's best-known wildlife arenas. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it offers a unique biosphere, which has remained virtually unchanged since the dawn of time. Deep within the Crater, enclosed by towering walls, some 25,000 large mammals wander the plains, lakes and forests of ‘The land that time forgot', dominated by enormous bull elephants, rhinos and lions.
Overnight in Ngorongoro.
Day 7: NGORONGORO CRATER
Have a delicious breakfast and depart to explore what is commonly referred to as the World’s largest natural wildlife arena. Descend with a picnic lunch through the early morning mists, going 2,000 feet into the crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the World’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes and springs, to open grassland and some sandy dunes. This area promises you a truly unique wildlife experience. Return to the lodge in the late afternoon and spend the rest of the day at leisure. In the evening, wrap the day up with dinner.
Overnight in Ngorongoro.
Day 8: NGORONGORO CRATER – ARUSHA – DEPART KILIMANJARO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (240km – 5 hrs)
Depart after breakfast and head southeast past Lake Manyara and Mto wa Mbu Village. Through the highlands and the Karatu district, you’ll view the scenic wheat plains and coffee plantations here before journeying down the spectacular escarpment turning south onto the main road to Arusha. The journey will pass through the Maasai Steppe, filled with many picturesque African villages as well as maize, coffee and banana plantations. On arrival in Arusha, lunch is provided followed by a transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your departure flight.
Passengers should bring only soft-sided bags on safari. Passport/ identity card required for internal flights, for which baggage is limited to 15kg per person, including hand luggage. Excess baggage will be charged at check-in. Passengers arriving Tanzania may be asked to present a valid Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate. Travellers’ cheques are generally not accepted in east Africa. US banknotes cannot be older than 2012 and must have the most current security markings (large portrait of the president). Sun protection, sunglasses, a hat and mosquito repellent can be very useful during your stay.