Itinerary

1. Day 1: Game Drive in Serengeti National Park

   • Head towards the Serengeti National Park.

   • En-route, there is an opportunity to visit Olduvai Gorge. It is within this steep-sided ravine that Louis and Mary Leakey made some of the world’s most important archaeological discoveries in the 1950s. Here is a small museum, we are able to see evidence of our ancestors that have been dated back 2.5 million years.

   • After lunch, we drive into the Serengeti plains itself and spend the rest of the afternoon in game viewing in the vast plains that are broken only by stands of acacia trees and the occasional kopje. In December, January and February, we will normally meet the migration with large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. There are plenty of resident animals that can be seen here, such as giraffes, buffalo, and elephants, and many large predators such as lions, cheetah, and leopards.

   • Return to our special tented camp for the night. 

   Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Campsite: Full board.

2. Day 2: Another Day in Serengeti National Park

   • Enjoy a full day in this wonderful park, rising early to make the most of our time. Your Tanzanian guides will choose the best spotting locations for the time of year; we can spend time at the Hippo pool watching these majestic animals laze about in the cool water happily living alongside the crocodiles, watch a big pride of lions, be in the middle of the migration, sometimes surrounded by wildebeest, sometimes by zebras, which travel with the wildebeest. We journey from the wide-open plains to the kopjes; these volcanic rocky outcrops provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals and from the top, we can look out across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti. This diverse and interesting landscape will provide us with the ultimate in game viewing, we will hopefully see all of the plain games; elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lions and if you are lucky, you will see the elusive leopard and cheetah, as well as varied bird species here ranging from the elegant secretary birds to the flightless ostrich.

   • Return to our special tented camp for the night. 

   Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Campsite: Full board.

3. Day 3: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater

   • Start the day with an early morning game drive before heading to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Ngorongoro is a special place in that it is a Conservation Area, not a National Park; this means that the whole area is managed for both the animals and the local Masai people who graze their cattle alongside the indigenous wildlife. During the drive in Ngorongoro, we will have a chance to glimpse the Masai way of life.

   • After stopping at the entrance gate, there is a chance to learn more about this fascinating volcanic landscape.

   • Drive around the rim of the Crater itself, and from here we can look down and see the herd of wildebeest or buffalos.

   • Descend into the crater. The crater walls provide a natural sanctuary for the animals, which means there is plenty to see: lions, elephants, buffalo, rhino and leopards (if you are lucky). The only animal you won’t see in here is a giraffe, whose long legs are unable to cope with the steeps sides of the crater.

   • In the late afternoon, we will travel back to our special tented camp. 

   Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Campsite: Full board.

4. Day 4: Game Drive in Lake Manyara National Park

   • Depart from your lodge and proceed to Lake Manyara National Park. Although small in size, this park is one of the most diverse reserves in the country. Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park. At the backdrop is the wall of the Great Rift Valley, before which lies the groundwater forest, areas of open grassland near the lake foreshore, and the Soda Lake.

   • Enjoy a picnic lunch in this area, which consists of open grassy areas, hot springs, dense woodlands and steep mountainsides. Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise that has more than 350 bird species. This park is also famed for its unique and elusive tree-climbing lions.

   • In the late afternoon, drive back to Arusha. 

   Dinner and overnight at Arusha Safari Lodge: Half board.

5. Day 5: Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport

   • After breakfast or lunch, we will drive straight to the Kilimanjaro International Airport for your international flight back home.