9-Day Tanzania's National Parks and Ngorongoro Crater Tour

Pickup from your hotel in Arusha town or from the airport at 08:30 and drive to Arusha National Park for a 4-hour walking safari with an armed ranger. Expect to see plenty of wildlife, including giraffes, zebras, antelopes, buffaloes and black-and-white colobus monkeys, and potentially elephants near the trail.

After lunch, enjoy a canoe safari on Lake Momella, a unique opportunity to get close to the animals. You can see hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, waterbucks and many species of birds, with spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.

In the late afternoon, drive to Mc-Elly's Hotel in Arusha for dinner and overnight.

Meals: Lunch and dinner (breakfast not included). Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Mc-Elly's Hotel, Arusha (budget hotel).

Meet your professional driver-guide at Mc-Elly's Hotel in Arusha town at 08:30 and drive with packed lunches to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive until the afternoon. Enjoy lions, hippos, antelopes, impalas and zebras right beside your safari vehicle. In flamingo season, the lake shore is covered with flamingos feeding on algae.

After lunch, set off on a guided walking safari inside the park, accompanied by an armed ranger. A walking safari is an excellent break from game drives.

After an early dinner, leave at about 20:00 for a night game drive of approximately three hours. Your expert guide will take you through the park's diverse habitats in search of nocturnal animals and their sounds. Afterwards, drive to Migombani Camp for overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Migombani Camp, Lake Manyara.

After an early breakfast, set off on a long and exciting journey to Serengeti National Park, with a game drive en route. Stop at the best viewpoints along the way for superb landscapes, including a view over the Ngorongoro Crater (no game drive in the crater today).

Have lunch at Naabi Hill Gate at around 14:30 while your driver arranges the park entry.

In the late afternoon, enjoy game viewing and photography in the Serengeti until sunset. The Serengeti is home to over 1,300,000 wildebeest, 250,000 Thomson's gazelles, 200,000 zebras, 70,000 impalas, 50,000 topis, 30,000 Grant's gazelles, 10,000 elands, many other antelopes and hundreds of predators.

After sunset, freshen up for dinner and overnight at Pimbi Public Campsite.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Pimbi Public Campsite, inside Serengeti National Park (budget camping).

At 05:45, collect your breakfast box and packed lunch and set off on an exciting sunrise game drive, followed by a full day of game viewing in Serengeti National Park.

Your driver-guide will choose the best locations to see the park's wildlife and, depending on the season, the Great Wildebeest Migration.

You may spend time at the hippo pool watching these enormous animals lazing in the cool water alongside crocodiles, or see a large pride of lions gathering in the middle of the migration.

Travel from the wide-open plains to the rocky outcrops called kopjes, which give shelter to a wide variety of animals. From here you can look out across the vast grasslands and spot elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, lions, leopards and cheetahs, as well as abundant birdlife.

Dinner and overnight at Pimbi Public Campsite.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Pimbi Public Campsite, inside Serengeti National Park (budget camping).

After an early breakfast, enjoy a full game drive en route with a picnic lunch to Simba Campsite on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, with an optional stop at the small but fascinating Dr. Leakey Museum at Olduvai Gorge.

On the way you will cross the Serengeti plains, one of Africa's great natural wonders. Look out for predators such as lions, cheetahs and leopards resting in the trees, flamingos and water birds on Lake Magadi, and lovebirds and kingfishers along the Seronera River valley.

Continue game viewing across the Serengeti kopjes, looking for cheetahs, lions and leopards. Hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, elephants and small antelopes are also plentiful on these plains, and depending on the season you may see the wildebeest migration.

Dinner and overnight at Simba Campsite.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Simba Campsite, Ngorongoro Crater rim (budget camping).

Descend 610 metres to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater for 6 hours of game viewing with a picnic lunch. Look for endangered black rhinos, lions, elephants, zebras, buffaloes, wildebeest and many other animals.

At the crater's soda lake you will see many species of birds, including flamingos. The crater's abundant wildlife also supports predators such as lions and leopards, and scavengers such as hyenas and jackals.

Return to the crater rim for dinner and overnight at Simba Campsite.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Simba Campsite, Ngorongoro Crater rim (budget camping).

After breakfast, drive one kilometre with packed lunches from Simba Campsite to the starting point on the northern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Begin walking through the acacia forest accompanied by a Maasai warrior, an armed ranger and donkeys to carry your luggage, enjoying views over the crater.

The walk covers about 17 km (approximately 7 hours) through the acacia forest on the crater rim, with plenty of birds and wildlife such as giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and bushbucks.

Dinner and overnight at Leianai Bush Campsite.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Leianai Bush Campsite, Ngorongoro Crater rim (budget camping).

After breakfast, continue walking about 17 km (6–7 hours) with packed lunches along the crater rim from Leianai to Ilkiepusi, accompanied by a Maasai warrior, an armed ranger and donkeys. The route crosses acacia forest with views over the crater from the top of the rim.

Look out for buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, elephants, giraffes and many birds.

Dinner and overnight at Ilkiepusi Bush Camp.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks included. Overnight: Ilkiepusi Bush Camp (budget camping).

After breakfast, walk about half a kilometre to meet your safari vehicle and drive to Tarangire National Park for a full-day game drive with a picnic lunch.

Tarangire National Park covers 2,600 square kilometres, and in the dry season its concentration of animals rivals that of the much better-known Serengeti. The numbers are staggering: around 30,000 zebras, 25,000 wildebeest, 5,000 buffaloes, 3,000 elephants, 2,500 Maasai giraffes and over 1,000 fringe-eared oryx. Predators include lions, cheetahs and leopards.

Birdlife is abundant too, including green wood hoopoes, Fischer's lovebirds, white-bellied go-away-birds and giant kingfishers.

In the late afternoon, drive back to Arusha for drop-off at your hotel in Arusha town, where the safari ends.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch. Non-alcoholic drinks included.