8-Day Tanzania Wildlife Safari with Serengeti Hot Air Balloon

• Arrive anytime at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), where a private transfer will be waiting to take you to Arusha. The rest of the day is at leisure.

• Stay at the African Tulip Hotel, beautifully located on the slope of Mount Meru and a perfect place to prepare for your safari.

• Gather at the hotel in the evening for a pre-safari briefing and an equipment check.

Dinner and overnight at African Tulip Hotel or similar: Bed and Breakfast.

• Drive to Tarangire National Park to view its outstanding game and wildlife. In the dry season, Tarangire comes alive as wildlife and birdlife congregate along the Tarangire River.

• Spend the night in the beautiful lodge nestled inside the park, with gorgeous views and an exotic atmosphere.

Dinner and overnight at Nsya Lodge: All meals included.

• Drive to Lake Manyara National Park for a full day of game drives. This is one of Tanzania's smaller parks, but it still offers a rewarding and diverse safari experience. The lakeshore at Manyara swarms with birdlife, and while you are looking for the birds, you might spot one of the elusive tree-climbing lions. There are also a surprising number of other large mammals, while the striking cliffs on the Rift escarpment form a dramatic backdrop.

• Later that afternoon, make a short journey from the park to the luxury lodge.

Dinner and overnight at Eileen's Tree Inn Lodge: All meals included.

• Head towards Serengeti National Park.

• En route, there is an opportunity to visit Olduvai Gorge. In this steep-sided ravine, Louis and Mary Leakey made some of the world's most important archaeological discoveries in the 1950s. There is a small museum here where you can see evidence of our ancestors dated back 2.5 million years.

• After lunch, drive into the Serengeti. The rest of the afternoon is spent game viewing across the vast plains, broken only by stands of acacia trees and the occasional kopje. You will normally meet the migration in December, January, and February, with large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. You will also see plenty of resident wildlife, such as giraffes, buffalo, and elephants, as well as many large predators, including lions, cheetahs, and leopards.

• Return to the camp.

Dinner and overnight at Kananga Special Tented Camp: All meals included.

• The Serengeti Balloon Safari is probably the most beautiful balloon flight in the world and the ultimate safari experience, allowing you to enjoy the beautiful migration of wildebeests across the endless plains of the Serengeti.

• At 5:00 a.m., Serengeti Balloon Safaris will collect you from your central Serengeti lodge or camp and transfer you by Land Rover to the launch site near Masai Kopjes.

• Meet your pilot, receive a briefing, and watch the inflation of your balloon.

• At dawn, take off, rising with the sun and floating in whichever direction the morning winds take you. Your pilot can precisely control the altitude of the balloon, sometimes flying at treetop height or lower, offering a unique perspective and excellent photographic opportunities of the wildlife below.

• After breakfast, you will be taken to the rendezvous point to meet your Tanzanian safari guide/driver and continue your full-day game drives.

Dinner and overnight at Kananga Special Tented Camp: All meals included.

• Start the day with an early morning game drive before heading to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where the whole area is managed for both the animals and the local Masai people, who graze their cattle alongside the indigenous wildlife.

• During the drive into Ngorongoro, you will have a glimpse of the Masai way of life.

• After stopping at the entrance gate, where you will learn more about this fascinating volcanic landscape, drive around the rim of the crater itself. From here, you can look down and see herds of wildebeest and buffaloes.

Dinner and overnight at Rhino Lodge: All meals included.

• The Ngorongoro Crater provides great game viewing all year round. The wildlife here forms a permanent population because grazing and water supplies are plentiful throughout the seasons.

• Finally, descend into the crater. The crater walls provide a natural sanctuary for the animals, which means there is plenty to see, including lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, and, if you are lucky, leopards.

• Later that afternoon, travel from just outside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area back to Arusha.

Dinner and overnight at African Tulip Hotel: Bed and Breakfast.

• Take a private transfer to the airport to fly back home.