5-Day Tanzania Wildlife Safari with Serengeti Balloon Option

Get picked up from Moshi and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park.

Arrive in time for lunch at the lodge.

After lunch, head to Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive. This national park is one of Tanzania's most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake covering two-thirds of the park, set at the foot of the Great Rift Valley's western escarpment. The park's varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa's largest concentrations of elephants, Lake Manyara's unique tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos drawn by the algae in the lake.

After breakfast, travel to Serengeti National Park via the beautiful high-lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Visit the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source and 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.

Glide in a hot-air balloon over the Serengeti Plains, available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement, as you float silently above the awakening bush while spotting wildlife and enjoying the fantastic scenery of Africa across African rivers and over numerous small villages.

After breakfast, go on a game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, for possible sightings of lions, Thomson gazelles, topis, ostriches, and cheetahs.

Stop by the Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites after the morning's game drive. This nicely designed centre offers interesting wildlife displays and a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. The centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and an information trail up and around a nearby kopje.

Enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the centre in the shade of the giant acacia trees.

In the afternoon, follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, attracting several lions and some formidably giant cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered around the plains that form miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons, including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink.

Depart for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area after breakfast.

Stop at Olduvai Gorge, a site with a history dating back to the dawn of time. It was here that the anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of 'Nutcracker Man' and 'Handy Man', both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.

Have an early breakfast and descend over 600 meters into the crater for a half-day safari tour. Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a wide variety of animals, including herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another major draw of this picturesque national park is its dense population of predators, including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot.

Visit Lake Magadi with your African tour guide, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, where many flamingos, hippos, and other water birds can usually be seen.

In the afternoon, have lunch at your lodge.

Transfer to Moshi.

Upon arrival in Moshi, end your African safari adventure. You will be taken to your hotel, which concludes our safari services.