Tanzania’s Best of the North Safari

On arrival at Kilimanjaro or Arusha Airport you’ll be personally met and escorted by our driver-guide to the fashionable Arusha Hotel in the heart of Tanzania’s safari centre where you’ll spend the night.

Activities, including swimming, shopping, or visiting the Tanzanite Experience museum are available for those who arrive early.

Arusha is the safari capital of northern Tanzania. Located at the foot of Mount Meru, it serves as an excellent base from which to explore the remarkably scenic surrounding area which includes majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as the Manyara, Tarangire and Ngorongoro National Parks.

Arusha is a good spot to take a day or two off from the safari circuit as it features a temperate climate and lush surrounds. From here you can hike or kayak in the foothills of Mount Meru or take on the challenge of climbing Mount Meru, Africa’s fifth highest mountain, and less busy or difficult than nearby Kilimanjaro.

Dinner tonight is included.

After breakfast, drive in comfort to Tarangire National Park and your luxury tented camp set in picture perfect acacia woodland and grassland in the park buffer zone just outside the park boundary.

After a relaxing lunch, we’ll enter head off for game viewing in the national park, famous for its giant baobab trees, large herds of elephants, plains game and predators. Tarangire also boasts a large variety of spectacular bird life including endemic species.

Dinner and overnight at the Kirurumu Tarangire Lodge on a full board basis.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park, is a vastly under-rated park situated within Tanzania’s spectacular Manyara Region. It has a vast population of wildlife and awe-inspiring scenery – comprising of granite ridges, river valleys, mixed vegetative landscapes, and free-roaming wildlife.

During the annual dry season, the Tarangire River is a magnet for thirsty wildlife. Large herds of elephants and migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland gather and not surprisingly the predators follow. With lion being among the most commonly spotted animal, it is a rare day that a visitor does not spot this majestic animal.

Tarangire is also the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as oryx and gerenuk are seen regularly. This expansive area is also known for its spectacular baobab trees, its breathtaking views of the Masaai Steppe and the wondrous mountains to the south.

Sadly many visitors rush past it on their way to the Serengeti which is a mistake, but also a blessing since the park beautifully quiet and free from too many visitors.

After breakfast you’ll embark on a full day’s game drive with picnic lunch, ranging far and wide.

Among many aspects of animal behaviour, your professional guide will point out the fascinating way elephants have of communicating with subtle interactions.

Overnight at the Kirurumu Tarangire Lodge on a full board basis.

Drive to Lake Manyara National Park, passing through the cool shade of the groundwater forest before reaching the lakeshore. The Park is best known for its tree climbing lions, but you are more likely to encounter elephants, buffalo, primates and astounding bird life.

After a picnic lunch you continue game-viewing. Return as the sun sets behind the distant highlands and climb the Great Rift Valley escarpment to Kirurumu Manyara Lodge with your room perched right on its edge for a relaxing dinner and overnight.

Lake Manyara National Park

Situated in Tanzania’s central-northern region with the Lake Manyara to its east and the Manyara Escarpment to its west, the Lake Manyara National Park offers breathtaking views and a large variety of habitats supporting an array of wildlife. This small park is a great introduction to your safari and is home to surprising biodiversity – featuring a magnificent landscape of acacia woodlands, forests, baobab strewn cliffs, algae-streaked hot springs, swamps and the lake itself.

The park supports over 400 species of bird and the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world.

Other species to spot include giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, warthog, the Cape clawless otter, and the Egyptian mongoose. Don’t miss the opportunity to see thousands of flamingos on the lake, the renowned tree-climbing lions, and large families of elephants strolling through the forest.

An early morning ethno-botanical walk including a visit to the local Iraqw tribe.

After breakfast, depart for Ngorongoro Conservation Area, ascending to the rim on the descent road of the Crater some 2,000 feet below. Tour the Lerai Forest with its yellow-barked acacias, searching for giant-tusked elephant, rare black rhino and black- maned lion.

Ascend the crater rim at dusk through verdant montane forest for dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge – right on the crater’s rim with spectacular views. Your stay here is on a full board basis.

Ngorongoro Crater

Located in Northern Tanzania, the Ngorongoro Crater is best known for its natural beauty and abundance of diverse wildlife; which makes it one of Africa’s most popular safari destinations.

Surrounded by Tanzania’s highlands, this UNESCO-listed crater is said to be the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Visitors can look forward to spotting the world-renowned Big Five and a host of other wildlife species including large herds of zebra and wildebeest.

It is famed as one of Tanzania’s best tourist attractions and so can be busy, but despite this it never fails to impress – offering visitors an array of wonderful activities including excellent bird watching, trekking, wildlife viewing, mountain biking and visiting a local Maasai village.

Morning game-drives in the Ngorongoro Crater, followed by lunch back at Ngorongoro Serena. In the afternoon you head out to the rolling hills of the Ngorongoro Highlands to meet a Maasai chief, who guides you around the nearby bomas and on an afternoons walk in the surrounding area. In the late afternoon, head back to Ngorongoro Serena

Lodge for dinner and overnight.

In the morning you depart for the Serengeti via Olduvai Gorge to visit the interesting museum at this world-famous archaeological site containing fossils of our early two million year-old human ancestors.

Continue on a game-drive through the vast Serengeti National Park to the luxurious Kirurumu Serengeti Camp for lunch. In the afternoon, head out for game drives before returning to camp for dinner and overnight.

Your stay at Serengeti Camp is in a full board basis including soft drinks, tea and coffee.

Olduvai Gorge is a paleoanthropological site of major significance, where an old river has carved away the rock to expose layer upon layer of volcanic soil. This is where Dr Louis and Mary Leakey found the remains of hominids: Nutcracker Man, Tool Making Man, and Lucy discoveries that have helped to fill some of the missing links in the chain of human evolution and added more evidence to the theory of modern man’s emergence in Africa.

The Cradle of Mankind now has a visitor centre where you may hear a short lecture on the work of the Leakey’s and their successors and a small museum where you may see some of their finds, including a giant giraffe – it is hard to believe that they were once even taller!

Full day game drives in the Serengeti, home to the greatest concentration of large mammals on earth. Non- migratory species include large prides of lions, solitary leopards, cheetah and graceful impala.

The landscape is characterised by vast stretches of open plains, punctuated by kopjes, rock formations that have survived from the Pre-Cambrian period, and open woodlands. After a sumptuous dinner, relax by the campfire, under a canopy of stars.

Overnight at the Kirurumu Serengeti Camp – full board with tea, coffee and soft drinks included.

Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti, together with Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Park, constitute Africa’s most famous wildlife park, spread over the enthralling landscapes of northern Tanzania. This is a precious ecosystem, supporting the annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. The largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet involves more than a million animals following the rains, including more than 1.5 million white-bearded wildebeest and 250 000 zebras. Prides of lions, as well as groups of elephants, giraffes, gazelles, and eland, roam among the photogenic vast grass plains between weird-and-wonderful-looking acacia trees. Aside from traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti plains and horse riding safaris are on offer.

Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai Gorge is a paleoanthropological site of major significance, where an old river has carved away the rock to expose layer upon layer of volcanic soil. This is where Dr Louis and Mary Leakey found the remains of hominids: Nutcracker Man, Tool Making Man and Lucy – discoveries that have helped to fill some of the missing links in the chain of human evolution and added more evidence to the theory of modern man’s emergence in Africa.

The Cradle of Mankind now has a visitor centre where you may hear a short lecture on the work of the Leakey’s and their successors and a small museum where you may see some of their finds, including a giant giraffe – it is hard to believe that they were once even taller!

After breakfast, transfer to Seronera airstrip to connect with your return flight to Arusha. Upon arrival, there will be time for some shopping/browsing and a dayroom will be available before being transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward or return international flight.