Itinerary

1. Day 1: Kilimanjaro International Airport - Lake Manyara National Park

   • On your arrival, meet your tour guide at JRO airport 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. In 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, consisting of open grassy areas, hot springs, dense woodlands and steep mountainsides. Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise that has more than 350 species of bird. The park is also famed for its unique but elusive tree-climbing lions. 

   • Have dinner and stay the night at Farm Of Dreams Lodge.

   Meals Plan: Half Board

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 3 hours and 43 minutes
   Distance: 176.6 km

2. Day 2: Lake Manyara – Seregeneti Plains

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

   • 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. We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source in this area and 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. 

   • Have dinner and stay the night at Mbugani Tented amp or Sound of Silence.

   Meals Plan: Full Board

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 6 hours 

   Distance: 205 km

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, do a game drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, and which is good for possible Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings. Close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites, the Visitor Centre is well worth a visit after the morning game drive. This nicely designed Centre offers some interesting wildlife displays and a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. The Centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased and a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby kopje. 

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

   • In the afternoon, you will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lions and some formidably giant cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered around the plains, which are miniature ecosystems, 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! 

   • Have dinner and stay the night at Mbugani Tented amp or Sound of Silence.

   Meals Plan: Full Board

4. Day 4: Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater

   • Today, the safari adventure turns south and continues to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (world UNESCO site and was once in the 7 wonders of the world) (6 hrs., 180 km) with the Tanzanian tour guide.

   • Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater floor for a game drive, the volcanic caldera (the world's largest) is full of grassland, a forest, and swamp, a setting of jaw-dropping beauty. Secondly, the permanent water of the Crater floor supports a resident population of more than 25,000 large mammals. There, you'll find many of the reasons you chose to come on safari: elephant, lion, leopard, hyena, jackal, wallowing hippo, waterbuck, baboons, and even the rare black rhino finds shelter here.

   • Sharing this great space with the animals and the Masai, grazing their cattle in an area that has been a separate conservation area since 1956 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978. This harmonious cohabitation of man and beast makes Ngorongoro unique in Tanzania, and your driver-guide will be pleased to explain this incredible co-existence to you.

   • Have dinner and stay the night at Farm Of Dreams Lodge

   Meals Plan: Half Board

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 4 hours

   Distance: 145 km

5. Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater – Arusha

   • After breakfast, you will drive back to Arusha. Upon arrival, head to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) for your flight back home.

   Non-game-viewing travel time: 4 hours 

   Distance: 190 km