7-Day Tanzania Safari through Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara

You will start your adventure early in the morning, heading to Arusha National Park. You will explore the shores of tranquil Lake Momella, which reflects the colours of the sky in her still waters, and you will experience the vibrancy of the bronzed bush where the Ngurduto Crater buffalo, waterbuck, giraffe, warthogs, zebra and gazelle busy themselves. These are resident throughout the year, so you’re bound to see a different animal everywhere you turn. The elusive leopards and elephants tend to be shy at Arusha, but there is a good chance of spotting them, too. 

At a slower pace, you can really begin to understand Africa. You will get up close and personal with the flora and fauna, but you will stay safe, accompanied by an armed ranger guiding you through the lush forest to the clear springs of a sparkling waterfall. Arusha National Park’s rangers are extremely knowledgeable, and as you walk, you will learn so much about the park's biodiversity – and suddenly, you will spot a tribe of black and white colobus monkeys famous in the park for their acrobatics. You will spend overnight in a camp close to the park, relaxing and enjoying a delicious dinner.

After awakening to a still African dawn, you will energise yourself with breakfast before heading to the Tarangire National Park, named after the river that flows across the park and is the only water source for the animals during the dry season. It’s an undulating landscape, scattered with Baobab trees and high grasses, and its mixture of vegetation is unique in the Northern safari lands. Tarangire is famous for its birdlife: over 550 species, including the endearing yellow-collared lovebird, make their homes here. 

The Tarangire swamps have the most breeding species in one habitat globally. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot Omo, the white giraffe with a genetic condition called leucism: she’s perfectly healthy, almost perfectly white! Of course, if you don’t see Omo, you’ll see a remarkable selection of wildlife, including elephants, lions, warthogs, impala, cheetah, buffalo, and baboons. After a fascinating day in this beautiful park, you’ll head off to Mto wa Mbu and reach the campsite in the late afternoon. While your guide prepares you a tasty dinner before resting up, you are ready for the next adventure.

Your Serengeti adventure begins here. After a good breakfast, you will drive to the world-famous Serengeti National Park. It’s world-famous for a reason: it’s home to the world’s largest concentration of wildlife, including zebra, gazelle, lions, wildebeest, elephants and giraffes. It’s also one of the points of the seasonal migration of wildebeest, which is an awesome sight in the truest sense of the word. 

Serengeti means ‘the land that moves on forever’; you can see why: the Serengeti flows with a never-ending wave of movement and a buzz of activity. You will stop for a well-earned break for lunch on a kopje (rock outcropping), gazing down at the incredible views while you eat and preparing yourself for your adventures deeper into the park. The evening will see you settled in Serengeti Camp, enjoying an appetizing dinner, watching a golden and pink sunset and picking out the first stars as they appear in the darkening sky.

Early in the morning, after a nourishing breakfast, you will continue your journey into the plains on a full-day game drive that will give you the opportunity to spot hundreds of the diverse animals that find their home within the Serengeti’s endless plains. You will likely see all the animals that make this park famous only a few feet away from you. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and water buffalo up close – no words can describe the feeling of closeness to animals so beautiful and wild. 

You will also have the chance to gaze on some of the park’s lesser-known but equally fascinating animals, including the majestic eland, the clever hyena, graceful gazelle, stolid crocodiles, and, of course, giraffe, zebra, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos and antelope. If you visit at the right time of the year, you will witness one of the modern natural wonders of the world – the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra, and the beauty lies in the land of Africa. You will spend the night at the campsite in Seronera, well known for animal sightings.

You will be up before dawn on an early morning game drive, the air crisp and keen and the sky brightening from indigo to golden pink and finally to hyacinth blue as we explore. The park is waking up and alive with the animals' calls. This is a time for tracking – predators have left their tracks overnight, and we will follow. As dawn breaks, the birds’ melodies harmonize, the early morning air starts to warm, and you will hear different calls as other animals start their day. You will add to yesterday’s collection of sightings: perhaps today you will see more hippos; perhaps a troop of monkeys or family of mongooses will grab your attention. After such an early start, you’ll be looking forward to a delicious lunch, which will be served at the park. In the afternoon, you’ll start your Ngorongoro adventure by heading off to the Simba Campsite located at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater itself. You’ll spend the evening enjoying a last.

After an early but delicious breakfast, you will travel into the Crater, which is known as “Africa’s Garden of Eden”; its unique geological formation is at the root of its diversity. Because the crater sides are a barrier to many species migrating in or out, the crater is packed full of wildlife, and there’s an excellent chance of spotting Africa’s Big Five today. You could also encounter vultures, zebras, hippos, wildebeests, and hyenas. The alkaline lake attracts geese and storks and pink clouds of flamingos, too. Your experienced guide will ensure that you discover all the glorious wonders of nature in this unique place. You’ll rest at Fanaka Camp overnight before your journey to the wonders of Lake Manyara National Park.

Your day starts with a healthy, filling breakfast, and then you will head off to the Lake Manyara National Park, which extends for miles along the emerald base of the gold-flecked Rift Valley escarpment. The park is a patchwork of forest, arid scrubland, and soda lake and is a paradise for bird lovers. The forest is alive with the birdsong and flittering with the antics of monkeys in the forest canopy; giraffes roam the savannah, and lions loll in trees, resting in the shade, while hippo families submerge themselves in the waters of the soda lake. You will enjoy a delicious picnic lunch served in the park before our drive back to Moshi, where your safari adventure ends. We will transfer you to Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport, where you prefer our driver to drop you off.