5-Day Tanzania Safari through Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro

• Drive from Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park.

• Have a picnic lunch in Manyara, then start a late afternoon game drive, which is the best time to view animals in this park.

• View the Rift Valley escarpment as it looms on the horizon, forming an impressive backdrop to the lake. In the tall trees of the groundwater forest, monkeys leap from branch to branch, and on the escarpment, elephants stand in the shade.

• See wild animals such as zebras, impalas, monkeys, giraffes, buffalos, hippos, and others.

Overnight in Mto Wa Mbu or Karatu.

• Drive to Serengeti National Park via Oldupai Gorge. Olduvai Gorge is an archaeological site located in the eastern Serengeti plains, where early human fossils were first discovered.

Overnight at the Serengeti Wild Camp or Ikoma Wild Camp and Cottages.

• After breakfast, venture into the Serengeti's wilderness corners for a full day of game viewing in the park.

Overnight and dinner at the Serengeti Wild Camp or Ikoma Wild Camp and Cottages.

• After breakfast, drive to Ngorongoro Crater for game drives.

• See black rhinos, prides of lions, colorful flamingoes, and a variety of water birds.

• Drive to Karatu for an overnight stay.

• After breakfast, go on a morning hike in the southern Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the elephant cave and waterfall.

• Visit the Iraqw Tribe Cultural Center in Karatu to learn how the tribe protected their cattle from Masai incursions using underground settlements.

• In the late afternoon, drive back to Arusha.