Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arusha to Lake Manyara

   • Get picked up from Arusha and head out to  Lake Manyara National Park, arriving in time for lunch at the lodge.

   • After lunch, head into the Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive.

   • Marvel at the beauty of the massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park), located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment. 

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

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 2½ hours

   Distance: 130 km

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

2. Day 2: Lake Manyara National Park to Serengeti Plains

   • 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, that 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.

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 6 hours

   Distance: 205 km

   Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

3. Day 3: Serengeti Plains

   • Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages.

   • Post breakfast, head on to full day game drive with lunch at the lodge.

   • Follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, attracting a number of lion and some formidably large cobras.

    Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

4. Day 4: Serengeti Plains

   • After breakfast, enjoy a full day game drive with lunch at the lodge, along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River,

   • Look out for lions, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings.

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

   Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

5. Day 5: Serengeti Plains to Ngorongoro Crater

   • After breakfast at the lodge, depart to the Ngorongoro Conservation area.

   • Stopover at Olduvai Gorge, boasting with a history dating back to the dawn of time, where anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of the 'Nutcracker Man’ and 'Handy Man', both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.

   • Arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and spend the afternoon at leisure.

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 4 hours  

   Distance: 145 km

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

6. Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater

   • After breakfast, descend 600m into this magnificent crater for a full-day game drive.

   • Look out for a variety of herbivores which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants.

   • Marvel at the huge population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, stalk and hunt.

   • Enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.

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

7. Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire National Park

   • After breakfast, depart for the Tarangire National Park, which runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor.

   • Discover joy as the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals during Tanzania’s dry season. The Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa.

   • Keep an eye out for the three rare species of animals – the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings.

   • After a picnic lunch, head out for an afternoon game drive.

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 3½ hours

   Distance: 155 km

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

8. Day 8: 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 and have lunch.

   End of tour.

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 2 hours

   Distance: 120 km