Day 1: Arusha

In the morning we will meet and greet you at Kilimanjaro Airport. Your personal guide and driver for this week will take us to Arusha to your first accommodation. We will accompany you to check-in, discuss travel plans with you and answer your questions. First of all, arrive and relax. In the afternoon, your driver will take you to the city center. Where you can get your first impressions of African life on a tour, make small purchases or experience local handicrafts in the Maasai Market.

Day 2: Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park is famous for its concentration of elephants and giant baobab trees. Named after the Tarangire River, the park is a unique source of fresh water in the park area. With open grasslands, acacia forest, marshes and hills, it provides the habitat for lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, impalas and many other antelope species. For bird watching, the park has about 450 species of birds.

After breakfast we drive along well-maintained roads through Maasai area and a number of small villages to Tarangire National Park. Here you will see your first gazelles, zebras, wildebeest, giraffes and elephants of all sizes. Following the game drive, we will make our way to your accommodation in Karatu in the afternoon. You will enjoy the sunset by the pool with a sundowner, dinner and a relaxing night’s sleep in Karatu.

Day 3: Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is Tanzania’s most famous national park, with endless plains and an abundance of fauna and flora. Siringet from the Maasai language means endless plain. The Serengeti covers 14,763 km² in northern Tanzania up to the Masai Mara in Kenya. Serengeti is the most important wildlife ecosystem for wildebeest migration, migrating from the southern plains of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Nature Reserve to the northern Maasai Mara in search of pasture land and water. The Serengeti is home to predators such as cheetahs, jackals, hyenas and lions, while along the rivers is the territory of hippos, crocodiles and leopards. Large herds of elephants, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, gazelles, impalas, hartebeest, populate the landscape.

After enjoying your tea or coffee in the early morning, we reach the Ngorongoro Highlands after a short drive and follow the road to the Serengeti National Park along the crater summit. On our way you will have the opportunity to visit a Maasai village. The villagers will greet you with singing, while the young warriors will compete with each other with their famous jumps from a standing position. Before reaching Serengeti Park, we will stop at a nice picnic area where you will have the opportunity to use washrooms for refreshment and eat food from lunch boxes. On the way to your accommodation in the Serengeti, we are already on a game drive. Surely you will see the first of the famous Big Five that you can observe during your safari, such as elephants, lions, rhinos, buffalo and leopards.

Day 4: Serengeti National Park

This morning you enjoyed a breathtaking sunrise in the Serengeti. Either from the room of your accommodation or, if you have taken the opportunity for an optional balloon ride including breakfast with a glass of champagne in the balloon. The 4th day of your safari is all about wildlife observation in the Serengeti.

Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater in the Ngorongoro Nature Reserve is a volcanic caldera inhabited by a variety of wildlife species. The crater is 610 m deep, has a diameter of 19 to 21 km and covers an area of about 300 square kilometers. The crater is home to over 30,000 large animals. Ngorongoro is an iconic unique place to see rare black rhinos, as well as other species such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas, serval cats, zebras, gazelles, wildebeest, hippos, buffalo, elephants, monkeys and bird species such as crowned cranes, eagle pelicans and flamingos. The Ngorongoro Nature Reserve covers a total area of 8300 km² and is known for being the cradle of humankind.

On the way to the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater we pass a large monument that marks the way to the Olduvai Gorge. A museum on the edge of the gorge provides information about the life of the first humans in this area over 200,000 years ago. When we arrive at the Ngorongoro Crater, you may notice that there are no giraffes living there, instead, with a bit of luck, you will have the opportunity to take photos of the rare black rhinos. In the late afternoon, arrive back at your accommodation in Karatu for dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Karatu / Mto wa Mbu

This day is dedicated to free time, to enjoy the pool and to let the impressions of the last few days sink in. On a trip to the nearby village of Mto Wa Mbu, a local guide will show you what the daily life of the people there is like in the rice and banana plantations. Or you can visit the African Galleria, which you can reach after a few kilometers. A modern building made up of a mixture between a museum and a shopping centre. Here you can learn about the mining of tanzanite gemstones, buy various pieces of jewelry with tanzanite gemstones and other silver and gold jewelry, as well as modern or traditional local handicrafts. Or simply browse for a souvenir and then have a coffee and a snack.

Day 7: Lake Manyara

The Manyara National Park is a biosphere reserve with a size of 330 square kilometers. The area around the eponymous Lake Manyara provides habitat for thousands of pink flamingos, other waterfowl and over 300 other tropical bird species. The landscape varies between groundwater and acacia forests, open grasslands and marshes. You will encounter large troops of baboons and look out for elephants, giraffes, impalas, bushbucks, waterbucks, warthogs and blue monkeys in the green of the forests. If you’re lucky, you’ll see lions resting in acacia trees. A behavior for which the lions of the park are famous.

After a relaxing breakfast, we say goodbye to Karatu and drive on paved roads to Manyara National Park with its impressive landscape, which is characterized by the alkaline lake, green umbrella acacia forests and huge, ancient baobab trees. Pure green nature with the largest bird nests in the world built by small hammerhead birds.
Today our safari ends. Your driver will make sure you arrive at your chosen airport in time for your flight home or onward flight to Zanzibar.

Included are:

• All parking fees and government taxes.
• Transfer from and to the airport
• Game drives in a 4×4 off-road vehicle with pop-up roofs and guaranteed window seats
• Professional safari guide and driver with very good English skills
• Meals as directed
• Accommodation as indicated.
• Activities as indicated.
• Bottled water during the safari.

Not included:

• International airfare.
• Items of a personal nature, such as souvenirs, travel insurance, and visas.
• Additional accommodations before and at the end of the trip
• Gratuities for the driver (approximate $10 per day per person)
• Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
• Government-imposed increases in taxes and/or parking fees