Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arusha to Lake Manyara

   • Start from Arusha and head to your first destination.

   • After lunch, head into the Lake Manyara National Park, one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park) at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment. 

   • Take note as the park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae in the lake.

   Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested/booked. 

2. Day 2: Lake Manyara to Serengeti

   • After breakfast, head towards the Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

   • Leaving the highlands behind, 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.

   • Head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River. This river provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species.

   • Arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park with your Tanzanian tour guide.

   Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested/booked. 

3. 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.

   • After breakfast, embark on a game drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, which is good for possible lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings. 

   • Enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the centre in the shade of the giant acacia trees.

   • In the afternoon, follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, attracting a number of lion and some formidably large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered around the plains, 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 as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested/booked. 

4. Day 4: Serengeti Plains to Ngorongoro Crater

   • After breakfast at the lodge/Campsite, depart with a lunch box to the Ngorongoro Conservation area with your Tanzanian tour guide.

   • With an optimally a stopover 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 ‘Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.

   • Have our lunch and then we will spend the afternoon at leisure.

   Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested/booked on the crater rim; no accommodation available inside the crater.

5. Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater

   • Descend into the crater to view wildlife for a half day's safari.

   • Witness a vast variety of animals, including herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park is its dense population of predators, including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye.

   • Enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.

   Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested/booked on the crater rim; no accommodation available inside the crater.

6. Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire National Park

   • After breakfast, head to the Tarangire National Park for a morning game drive. 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. Note as the national park 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 Fringe-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings.

   • Return to the lodge after lunch.

   Dinner and overnight in the Tarangire National Park area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested/booked.

7. Day 7: Tarangire National Park to Arusha

   • Enjoy an early morning game drive in the Tarangire National Park, followed by breakfast at the lodge.

   • Head back to Arusha.

   • Upon arrival in Arusha, have lunch and end the African safari adventure.