8-Day Tanzania Wildlife Safari with Serengeti and Ngorongoro

• 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 Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive.

• Marvel at the beauty of the massive but shallow soda lake, which covers two-thirds of the park and lies at the foot of the Great Rift Valley's western escarpment.

• Take note of the varied habitat that attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa's largest concentrations of elephants, Lake Manyara's rare tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos drawn 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.

• After breakfast, head towards 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 - 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. It features the Seronera River, which attracts wildlife representative of most of the Serengeti's species.

• Arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in 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.

• Be one of the fortunate few 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.

• After breakfast, head out for a 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 lions and some formidably large cobras.

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

• 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.

• After breakfast at the lodge, depart for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

• Stop over at Olduvai Gorge, a site 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 is available inside the crater.

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

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

• Marvel at the huge population of predators, including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard, as they 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 is available inside the crater.

• After breakfast, depart for 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 the joy of seeing how the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals during Tanzania's dry season. Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa.

• Keep an eye out for three rare species - 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.

• Enjoy an early morning game drive in 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