5-Day Northern Circuit Safari in Tanzania with Serengeti and Ngorongoro

You will be picked up from the airport by a Fargin Safaris representative and driven to your accommodation in Arusha.

Depending on your arrival time, you will hopefully have time to relax and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime.

Busy Arusha is an essential part of safari life in northern Tanzania, and most travellers pass through here at some stage.

Main Destination: Arusha (City)

Accommodation: Arusha Planet Lodge

Accommodation details: Mid-range lodge located in Arusha (City)

Your Fargin Safaris guide will collect you from your accommodation after breakfast.

You will then drive to Tarangire National Park. This transit drive is approximately two and a half hours on good tarmac roads.

The park is named after the Tarangire River, which runs through it. This 'river of warthogs' is the only source of water for wildlife in the region during the dry season.

Tarangire is well known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffe, bushbuck, and hartebeest, closely followed by a range of predators, including lions and leopards.

There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire than anywhere else on the planet.

The huge and ancient baobab trees can be seen here, and some of them are said to have lived for more than a thousand years.

Lunch will be at a picnic site inside the park.

After your game drive, you will transfer to your accommodation in Karatu.

Main Destination: Tarangire National Park

Accommodation: Eileen's Trees Inn

Accommodation details: Mid-range lodge located 1-2hr drive from Tarangire NP

Meal & Drinks: All meals included

Meal & Drinks: Drinks not included

After breakfast, you will drive up into the cooler regions of Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. Concealed by the steep volcanic walls is a pristine wilderness of sweeping savannah, pockets of acacia woodland, and glistening lakes and swamps.

The crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago, and it covers an area of 260 km².

It is famous both for its geological delights and for being a natural reserve that is home to some of the densest large mammal populations on the African continent. After you descend into the crater, you quickly find yourself among large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, and more than 500 bird species.

The crater also provides you with the best chance of seeing the endangered black rhino.

You will then transit through Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the Serengeti, entering at the south of the park.

Main Destination: Ngorongoro Crater

Accommodation: Embalakai Serengeti Camp

Accommodation details: Luxury tented camp located inside Central Serengeti NP

Meal & Drinks: All meals included

Meal & Drinks: Drinks not included

The Serengeti is truly spectacular. It is famous for its vast open grasslands, which allow for excellent sightings of wildlife. The Serengeti's climate and vegetation have remained largely untouched for millions of years.

Whilst it boasts abundant wildlife, it is perhaps best known for the annual Great Migration. Vast numbers of wildebeest, accompanied by large numbers of zebra and antelope, move in an annual pattern, constantly seeking fresh grazing. The migration can be found during any given month; you just need to know where to look.

In addition to the iconic landscapes, you have a good chance of encountering predators, and you may see lion, cheetah, and leopard. It is a truly life-changing experience.

In the afternoon, you will start your journey back to Karatu, hopefully enjoying more wonder on the way.

Main Destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Eileen's Trees Inn

Accommodation details: Mid-range lodge located in Karatu (Town)

Meals & Drinks: All meals included

Meals & Drinks: Drinks not included

After breakfast, you will drive to Lake Manyara National Park, a small but diverse park 120km west of Arusha.

Everything you will see here is on a different scale. It is both compact - one of the narrowest parks in Africa - and epic, with the Great Rift Escarpment towering over Lake Manyara's western boundary.

The park's namesake is a shallow salt lake. It covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons, and is home to thousands of wading birds, including flamingos and over 500 other bird species.

You may see baboon and elephant in the park's thick evergreen forest, and watch for the tree-climbing lions that have become famous throughout Africa.

Picnic lunch will be served in the park.

After your game drive, you will say farewell to your guide and be dropped off at a place of your choosing, such as Arusha, Kilimanjaro Airport, or Arusha Airport.

Main Destination: Lake Manyara National Park

Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included)

Meals & Drinks: Drinking water (Other drinks not included)