Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arusha to Arusha National Park

   • Meet the tour guide, who will pick you up at 8 a.m. at your hotel in Arusha.
   • Head off to the Arusha National Park, a jewel of Tanzania where waterbucks and gazelles roam throughout the year and where you can see giraffes, zebras, and warthogs. 
   • Drive along the golden, baked shores of Lake Momella, whose waters glow teal, aquamarine, and azure against the bold African sky. A knowledgeable and skilled ranger will help you learn more about the natural beauty around you. 
   • Explore the lush, green forest alive with the antics of colobus monkeys and chance upon the bright, bubbling waters of a waterfall among the greenery. 
   • Stop overnight at the park, where you can rest your legs and enjoy a delicious dinner served under the stars.

   Accommodation: Meru Inn

2. Day 2: Arusha National Park to Tarangire National Park to Mto Wa Mbu

   • Enjoy a healthy, tasty breakfast and set off for the Tarangire National Park, a birdwatcher haven. Tarangire boasts over 550 species of bird, and its marshes have the highest number of breeding species in one place in the whole world. 
   • Spot the flocks of dazzling yellow-collared lovebirds, the native Rufous-tailed weaver, the northern pied babbler, the red-and-yellow-barbet, the superior ostrich, as well as hundreds of migratory birds. 
   • Sit back and watch the parade of animals for which Tarangire is famous: the stately elephant, mighty lion, giraffe, graceful impala, cheetah, mongoose, buffalo, and baboons. 
   • Head off to Mto Wa Mbu and reach in the late afternoon. 
   • Relax or check out the photos you have taken so far while our cook prepares a delicious dinner, in which you can enjoy watching the apricot and bronze of an African sunset.

   Accommodation: Panorama campsite

3. Day 3: Mto Wa Mbu to Lake Natron

   • Set off for Lake Natron, a salt and soda lake in part of the great East African Rift Valley. 
   • Arrive at the campsite in time for a delicious lunch.
   • Take an afternoon stroll to the lake where you could be delighted by a pink cloud of flamingoes; the lake is the only regular breeding ground in East Africa of around 2.5 million lesser flamingoes who depend utterly on the lake and are therefore categorized as near threatened despite their numbers. 
   • Wander past salt marshes and freshwater wetlands and onto a sparkling waterfall. 
   • Get a chance to marvel at Oldoinyo Lengai (Mountain of God in Maasai, the language of the Maasai people), which is an active volcano.

   Accommodation: Campsite

4. Day 4: Lake Natron to Serengeti National Park

   • Leave the harsh and compelling landscape of Lake Natron to travel to the lush bounty of the Serengeti National Park. 
   • Journey via Loliondo and Wasso towns where the Maasai, Chagga, Sonjo and Warusha peoples live and work together harmoniously.
   • Travel further through Klein’s Gate, the northeast entrance to the Serengeti.
   • Look out for a wide variety of animals, including antelope, wildebeest, and zebra. Enjoy a lovely dinner while you anticipate what tomorrow will bring.

   Accommodation: Nyani campsite

5. Day 5: Serengeti National Park

   • Wake up to pink and apricot African dawn in the centre of the Serengeti, a paradise for wildlife and bird lovers. The Serengeti is home to the great migration of wildebeest and zebra, an incredible and world-famous phenomenon. 
   • Get a chance to see the lions, leopards, elephants, cheetahs and water buffalo all within a few feet of your jeep. Marvel at elands, antelopes and Grant’s gazelles; hyenas and crocodiles; monkeys and baboons, as well as hippos and rhinos. 
   • Spot hundreds of bird species, both endemic and migrating from Eurasia. 
   • Relax with a drink while you watch the sunset and wait for your delicious dinner to be served.

   Accommodation: Nyani campsite

6. Day 6: Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Crater

   • Spend this morning revisiting the diverse landscapes of the Serengeti - riverine forest, swamps, kopjes and grasslands before your next part of the adventure. 
   • Enjoy a tasty lunch and journey off to the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose fertile volcanic plains and stunning highlands hold some of the richest density of animals in Africa. 
   • Spend the night here, which is at the rim of the crater, and while you watch the golden pink sunset melt over the savannah within the caldera, our friendly cook will be preparing a delectable dinner for you.

   Accommodation: Simba campsite

7. Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater to Mto Wa Mbu

   • Explore the crater early in the morning. 
   • Get a chance to spot the Big Five - lion, elephant, leopard, rhino and water buffalo in a landscape lush with greens and olives and topped with the intense blue Tanzanian sky. 
   • Stop for a cheeky picnic lunch near a pond full of hippos. Older ones will be patiently sunning or muddying themselves while the youngsters play and splash. 
   • Begin your drive to Mto Wa Mbu after lunch. Enjoy a hot, fresh, tasty dinner under a sky full of stars.

   Accommodation: Panorama campsite

8. Day 8: Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha

   • Experience the beauty of Lake Manyara National Park, nestled at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. The park is a picturesque tapestry of habitats: the golden savannah, lush forest, arid, baked scrubland and tumbling rivers. 
   • Have an early breakfast to start the day early enough to spot the park's wildlife and breathe in the beauty of the place. 
   • Picnic in the heart of the park and then explore the shores of Soda Lake with its pink shimmer of flamingo, one of over four hundred species of dazzling birds, including the forest hornbill, pelican, and cormorant. 
   • Get a chance to spot the legendary tree-climbing lion as well as powerful water buffalo, African elephant, giraffe, impala, and hippo. 
   • Say goodbye to Manyara late in the afternoon and drive to Moshi, through Maasai bomas, baobab forest, and rolling savannah.
   • Arrive back in Arusha.