Trip Description

Tour Tanzania’s greatest parks on a private luxury Tanzania safari with your own guide and 4×4 Land Cruiser safari vehicles. Start in a beautiful coffee plantation on the cool shore of Lake Diluti and a hike of Mount-Meru which offers stunning views and wildlife encounters such as monkeys and giraffe. Then it is on to Tarangire Park with its magnificent herds of elephant. Stay overnight at Lake Manyara, one of the only places to see tree climbing lion. Next stop are the breathtaking beauty of the world’s largest intact caldera, Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and likened to “Noah’s Ark” for its concentration of all different kinds of wildlife. End this unique safari exploring the abundant resident wildlife of the Serengeti or experience the annual Great Migration of zebras and wildebeests. Fly back to Arusha for a refreshing lunch and souvenir shopping before returning home from this unforgettable safari.

Day 1: Arusha

Airport transfer between your Arusha hotel and Kilimanjaro International airport with private vehicle and english speaking driver.

In the event of serious illness, Flying Doctors will cover the cost of emergency air evacuation service needed to fly back to Nairobi, Kenya for treatment. Excludes coverage for medical treatment.

Accommodation: Serena Mountain Village

Serena Mountain Village is hidden on a coffee plantation, tucked away from the nurturing arms of Arusha. A calm escape from Arusha’s city atmosphere, the hotel is built of 42 guest rooms, each designed as members of a bona fide African village but with all the necessities of your own home. From the shores of Lake Duluti, mountain breath and clean breeze float through the hotel’s grounds, mingling with halos of rich emerald foliage that set the fairytale mystique of this hotel. Restaurants complete the tropical safari aim of the décor, with tasteful dishes marked by local tradition while retaining key dishes favored worldwide. Guests may develop a soft spot for Duluti waters and the natural surroundings; appreciating walks along the shore and hikes through the cliffs and woods.

Mt Meru Hike

Day 2: Arusha

Stop for lunch at the Arusha Hotel in this tourism capital of Tanzania. Shop the local souvenir market.

Includes a guided hike on the slopes of Mount Meru amongst the wildlife. This hike is at moderate altitude and is suitable for people who are leisurely fit – it is also a good hike for acclimatization prior to a Kilimanjaro climb. Meru’s lower slopes are covered in dense highland forest, where colobus monkeys play and buffalo graze concealed beneath the thick foliage. The extinct volcano’s extensive base gives way to a perfectly formed crater, and another internal crater whose walls are sharp, sheer cliffs. An ash cone forms a subsidiary peak, and the Momela Lakes and Ngurdoto Crater are visible from Meru’s slopes. Along the lower slopes, paths to rivers and waterfalls make a relaxing day hike.

Enjoy dinner (included in tour price).

Accommodation: Serena Mountain Village

Day 3: Arusha – Tarangire

From Arusha, your guide will drive you to the Tarangire National Park. This commute takes approximately 3 hours to complete.

Enjoy lunch (included in tour price).

On this afternoon drive you will notice the unusually shaped baobab trees, also known as the “upside-down tree”. Look up and you might find the tree climbing African pythons. This is one of the world’s largest species of snakes, but do not worry, it is also a non-venomous species. Tarangire’s pythons climb trees, as do its lions and leopards, lounging in the branches.

Enjoy dinner (included in tour price).Accommodation: Treetops

Tarangire Treetops Camp is located a short trip outside the Tarangire Conservation Area, offering an especially comfortable and enchanting stay in wooden treehouses. The 20 individual treehouses provide the utmost in privacy and scope, with panoramic views from each veranda. Meals consist of pan-African cuisine as well as some dabbling in international treats. The area overlooks a wateringhole where a multitude of animals gather, while the camp itself is set in the path of the elephant migration and ensures a lot of contact with wildlife. The campsite is perfect for nature walks and game drives.

Elephant Yellow-collared Lovebird

Day 4: Tarangire

In the early morning hours, your skilled guide will pick you up and take you for a game viewing drive through Tarangire National Park. The main highlight here is elephant, which mass in enormous numbers during the dry season June to December. General game is also good, although predators tend to be quite difficult to find. From January to May the park is beautiful and offers a more private experience with very low visitor numbers. Year round this is a unique safari experience.

Enjoy lunch (included in tour price).

On this game drive you might notice the swamps, tinged green year round, which are the focus for 550 bird varieties. This park boasts of having the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world’s largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys. More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.

Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Accommodation: Treetops

Day 5: Tarangire – Manyara

From Tarangire National Park, your guide will drive you to the picturesque Lake Manyara. This drive will take approximately 3 hours. Enjoy lunch (included in tour price).

On todays game drive you will have to keep your eyes peeled in order to spot some of this area’s beautiful and elusive big cats. It will take a keen eye to take notice of the tree climbing lions, or the camouflaged spotted leopards. You should try to look around shaded area during the hotter hours of the day, as the wildlife will be looking for a cool area to relax.

Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Accommodation: Tree Lodge

From soaring groundwater forests and a tranquil lake, to the mountain escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park boasts an incredible wealth of habitats and diverse African wildlife. Guests are offered an exciting, interpretive safari experience in game-rich surrounds which include large herds of elephant and buffalo. The Lodge, which was designed to exert minimal impact on the environment, is situated in the remote southwestern region of the Park. Cradled in the boughs of mahogany trees, 10 stilted tree house suites are a sophisticated blend of intimacy and romance, offering privacy and exclusivity in cool, leafy surrounds.

Day 6: Ngorongoro

Private transportation and guide in the Ngorongoro national park.

Descend into the Ngorongoro caldera to view the wildlife on the crater floor. The crater is roughly 20 km/12 mi wide and 600 m/2,000 ft deep, once you’ve reached the top of the caldera it takes about 45 minutes to descend to the crater floor. The floor is home to a rich and highly concentrated wildlife. Some 20,000 mammals of size live there, including about 20 black rhinoceros, making the crater the best place in Tanzania to see the rhino. The crater floor also has one of the highest carnivore densities in the world. Lions, cheetahs, hyenas and jackals are commonly seen, while leopards, servals and bat-eared foxes may be seen with some good luck. You’ll spend most of the day in the crater.

Enjoy lunch (included in tour price).

Time permitting, there are many optional activities. Depending on which lodge you’re staying at, activities include: nature walks, cultural village visits, hike to Endoro waterfalls, bike tours, coffee plantation tours and more. Some of these can be prebooked through your destination specialist while others can be booked directly with the lodge upon arrival.

Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Accommodation: Crater Lodge

Hanging off the edge of the world-renowned Ngorongoro Crater, which is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site, sits the opulent Crater Lodge. On the eastern side of the Serengeti in Northern Tanzania, the lodge is an astonishing example of accommodations somehow built in the great African wilderness. It comprises three separate camps totaling 30 suites of the highest standard and most breathtaking views. Dining is a gala event, where one may put on their best etiquette and flaunt the outfits that have been collecting dust when roughing it during the day. Here, one may feast on cuisine from the American chef’s world-knowledge. Activities include game drives involving visits to the Ngorongoro Crater.

Day 7: Ngorongoro – Serengeti

Your guide will pick you up from the Ngorongoro Conservation area and drive you to the famous plains of the Serengeti. On this trip, you will make a short stop at the Olduvlai gorge, for some brief game viewing after entering into the Serengeti. This drive takes 5 to 6 hours, but expect longer trip times during the rainy season.

The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge is commonly referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind.” It is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley, which stretches along eastern Africa. Olduvai is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about 30 miles (48 km) long. The gorge is named after the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant Sansevieria ehrenbergii, commonly called Oldupai.

Enjoy lunch (included in tour price).

Spend the day taking in the spectacle of the famous wildebeest migration. This annual migration through the Serengeti and Masai Mara is one of the safari highlights of Africa. The wildebeest migration moves in a basic clockwise direction throughout the year in Serengeti eco-system and move north into Masai Mara, Kenya from June/July through to Sep/October. Sightings cannot be guaranteed as the herds move according to availability of food source and migration movements can be erratic. The herds are accompanied by zebra and Thomson’s gazelle and are stealthily hunted by local predators such as leopard, lion and hyena.

Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Accommodation: Kusini Camp

Kusini Camp is placed in the centre of a group of kopjes in the Serengeti, a short drive away from the game-rich wilderness that dominates the Great Migration and which otherwise wander around the plains. It features 12 en-suite tents with showers and private, furnished verandas. Dining is taken privately as a bush meal or under candlelight in the dining tent, where one may mingle with other guests. Meals are gourmet specialties from the camp’s chefs. After indulging sit back and sip on a cocktail while reading at the camp library.

Day 8: Serengeti

Head out into the park early in the morning as animals are more active in the early morning and afternoon. Tanzania’s oldest and most renowned national park, the Serengeti offers the most expansive game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. Explore this amazing park with the help of your expert guide.

Enjoy lunch (included in tour price).

Today head out with your guide to explore the wide expanse of the Serengeti. The park is well known for its healthy stock of resident wildlife, particularly the “Big Five”, named for the five most prized trophies taken by hunters: lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros, and African buffalo. Though there are now few black rhino in the park, you may still spot them. The Serengeti has the largest population of lion and giraffe in all of Africa and the largest concentration of topi and Coke’s hartebeest (kongoni). Enjoy the challenge of spotting other game such as cheetah, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, eland, waterbuck, hyena, baboon, impala, African wild dog and giraffe. The park also boasts about 500 bird species, including ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, crowned crane and marabou stork.

Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Accommodation: Kusini Camp

Day 9: Serengeti – Arusha

If time allows, your expert guide will squeeze in one more game drive before dropping you off at the airstrip. It will be your last chance to see the park’s diverse range of animals.

Take your flight from Serengeti to Arusha today. The flight will do more than one stop on the way. The flight duration is approximately 2hrs. (10h30 – 12h35)

Stop for lunch at the Arusha Hotel in this tourism capital of Tanzania. Shop the local souvenir market.

Includes opportunity to visit local handicrafts market to stock up on souvenirs.

Airport transfer between your Arusha hotel and Kilimanjaro International airport with private vehicle and english speaking driver.

Depart from Kilimanjaro International Airport –

end of Gosheni Adventures  services