5-Day Tanzania Wildlife Safari from Arusha with Maasai Village Visit

• You will be picked up at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transferred to Arusha town. You will meet your driver-guide, who will brief you on your upcoming safari, then you can rest until the next morning.

• After breakfast at your hotel or lodge in Arusha, meet our safari manager and your driver-guide for a short safari briefing before departing for Tarangire National Park via Arusha town for any last-minute purchases. The drive passes along the Maasai steppe and across many villages all the way to the Tarangire gate. Tarangire is the fifth-largest national park in Tanzania, located at the base of the Great East African Rift Valley. The park runs along the Tarangire River and is made up of high hills and lowlands dominated by acacia woodlands and huge baobab trees that dwarf some of the animal species that gather beneath them.
• Spot herds of buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, warthog, hippos, giraffes, and many baboons and monkeys. Predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas also inhabit the park. For birdwatchers, this is paradise, as over 400 bird species have been recorded here, including ostriches, herons, secretary birds, and other migratory birds. In the late afternoon, drive to the lodge via the Great East African Rift Valley for sunset watching, then continue to Marera Valley Lodge.

Overnight at Marera Valley Lodge in Karatu.

All meals included.

• After breakfast, depart for Serengeti National Park. The drive passes through the beautiful high-lying farmland of Karatu to the Ngorongoro gate for check-in. Then drive up to the crater viewpoint, where you can stop for some nice pictures of the crater floor from the rim, before continuing around and down via the Malanja Depression to the Serengeti plains.
• On the way, you will visit one of the Maasai villages for a cultural encounter, where a group of Maasai warriors will invite you in and take you around their houses while sharing stories of their livelihood in this area. You will meet children and other family members, and you can ask questions and take pictures with them.
• Lastly, they will sing and dance to their famous song, which involves jumping high, and you may join the dancing.
• Next, drive to the wildlife-rich Serengeti National Park, with its endless rolling plains, and reach Naabi Hills Gate for registration. You can have your packed lunch here or further ahead at the kopjes before starting your afternoon game drive into the vast Serengeti plains in search of big cats and the Great Wildebeest Migration, depending on your travel dates.

Overnight at Serengeti Bush Camp or similar in Central Serengeti.

All meals included.

• On this day, start as early as 06:30 am with a breakfast box and lunch box for an early morning game drive in the vast Serengeti plains, with the possibility of spotting cat families on the road, as they usually spend their morning time there avoiding the morning mist.
• See other nocturnal predators returning from their long night of hunting or a group of lionesses organizing a morning ambush.
• Take a break for breakfast in the bush and drive to where the Wildebeest Migration is gathered, spending plenty of time with the herds. This will depend on your travel dates and whether they are in Central Serengeti, but with or without the migration, Serengeti is still one of the best places to visit.
• Later in the afternoon, begin the drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area with an en-route game drive.
• Arrive at Rhino Lodge for sunset watching.

Overnight at Ngorongoro Rhino Lodge at the crater rim or similar in Karatu town.

All meals included.

• Start early and descend 600 meters into the crater floor for wonderful game viewing. Ngorongoro Crater is referred to by many as the 8th natural wonder of the world. Supported by a yearly water supply and fodder, the crater supports a large number of animal species, including herds of wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, eland, topi, warthog, hippos, African elephants, and the rare black rhino.
• Spot lions, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, as well as the ever-mysterious leopard, which sometimes requires binoculars to spot.
• You will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake on the southwest corner of the crater, frequently home to hippos, flocks of flamingos, and other aquatic birds. With a bit of luck, the Big Five can be seen in just one day of game driving in the Ngorongoro Crater. A picnic lunch will be served on the crater floor.
• In the afternoon, drive out and return to Arusha.
• Drop-off at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) to catch your flight.