8-Day Northern Tanzania Safari with Ngorongoro and Serengeti

You will be met at Kilimanjaro or Arusha Airport by your personal safari specialist and driver, who will brief you on the journey ahead.

After checking into your chosen Arusha hotel, relax and unwind before enjoying dinner at the hotel or at one of our recommended local restaurants in Arusha town.

Overnight: Gran Melia Hotel in Arusha

You will wake early and start your journey to the unique Tarangire National Park.

The park is famous for its huge herds of elephants set against a stunning backdrop of majestic, ancient baobab trees.

Wildebeest and zebras join elephants, buffalo, and giraffes to form a wildlife migration second only to the Serengeti/Maasai Mara phenomenon.

There are large populations of impala, giraffe, eland, and buffalo. Thomson's gazelle, hartebeest, bohor reedbuck, and both the greater and lesser kudu are also in abundance here.

In terms of predators, lion prides are common throughout Tarangire, as are leopards and spotted hyenas. Packs of wild dogs sometimes pass through as well.

After a day spent exploring Tarangire, you will head to your camp for dinner and an overnight rest.

Overnight: Tarangire Safari Lodge in Tarangire

Early in the morning after breakfast, you will depart your lodge and head for Lake Manyara National Park to continue your safari.

Lake Manyara lies in the Great Rift Valley and is one of the most beautiful places in Africa.

Upon entering the park, you will become captivated by large troops of baboons and blue monkeys swinging from the trees.

Home to 350 species of birds, including flamingos, pelicans, sacred ibises, grebes, and storks, Lake Manyara is easy to understand why it is commonly referred to as "the bird watcher's paradise".

The most famous spectacle in the park is the tree-climbing lions, who spend much of their day lazily relaxing along the branches of acacia trees 6-8 metres above the ground.

The park is also noted for its numerous buffalo, elephants, giraffes, impalas, hippos, and a number of smaller animals, which can all be seen in a single day.

After a picnic lunch, you will continue your afternoon game drive to see as much wildlife as possible.

You will depart the park around 6 pm and head to your lodge, where you will relax and rest overnight.

Overnight: Acacia Farm Lodge in Karatu

After an early breakfast, you will begin your journey to the stunning Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

By lunchtime, you will be descending into the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site formed when a volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself 2-3 million years ago.

You will enjoy your first game drive around the crater floor, stopping for a picnic lunch at one of the many scenic lunch spots.

You will be searching for lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, hippos, flamingos, jackals, rhinos, antelopes, and many rare birds. You might even get to see the "Big Five" all in one day.

At around 6pm, you will depart for your lodge perched on the edge of the crater rim.

The rest of the evening can be spent relaxing and enjoying the spectacular views over this prehistoric landscape.

Overnight: Sanctuary Retreat in the Ngorongoro Crater

A 6am wake-up call is recommended to catch the amazing sunrise over the crater.

After breakfast, you will depart for the South Serengeti ecosystem, belonging jointly to the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

On one of the most scenic drives in Tanzania, you can see Maasai warriors grazing cattle and, depending on the time of year, you may witness what makes up the largest mass migration of animals on earth.

Before entering Serengeti National Park, you will visit a traditional Maasai village and experience how this ancient tribe has lived for hundreds of years, receiving a personal tour of the manyattas (houses).

After lunch, you will begin your afternoon game drive, where you can expect to see large numbers of elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos, antelopes, and many exotic bird species.

Overnight: New Baobab Central Camp in the Serengeti

Your drive will begin around 6am in search of nocturnal predators returning from their night's hunting and animals waking up in the early dawn.

Breakfast boxes will be prepared for you to enjoy as soon as the sun rises.

After breakfast, you will go in search of prides of lions, cheetahs, and leopards, just a handful of the many animals residing in the park.

We will pass by the Serengeti Information Centre in the Seronera area for a brief look at the history of the region.

We will then return to your lodge for a relaxed lunch and cold drinks.

Later in the afternoon, when the sun is less intense, you have the option to go on an early evening game drive or undertake a nature walk around the camp with resident tribesmen, who will be happy to share their knowledge of the surrounding plants and animals.

Alternatively, lunch can be taken as a picnic to maximize your time in the park - a long day, but worth it for the experience of a lifetime.

Overnight: New Baobab Central Camp in the Serengeti

Today will be a full day of game driving with lunch at the lodge.

We will follow the Kopjes Circuit, taking an anti-clockwise route around the Maasai Kopjes, an area known to attract lions and some formidably large cobras.

Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered around the plains.

The kopjes are a particularly good location for spotting wildlife throughout the dry season - you may even see lions that like to lie in wait for their prey by the water.

Overnight: New Baobab Central Camp in the Serengeti

Enjoy breakfast with views over the stunning Serengeti plains before departing for the Seronera airstrip, located in the central area of the Serengeti.

You will take a flight back to Arusha Airport, where you will connect to flights to your next destination, or transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport if required.

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