Days: 7 Starting Price: Contact for pricing
If you’re looking for a week long dive into some of Tanzania’s most incredible people, animals, and places, all while enjoying the comforts of home, this safari will be a great fit for you. You’ll spend several days in the Serengeti, explore Tarangire, Lake Manyara, and Ngorongoro, and cap it all off with back to back cultural visits, making this a truly complete package you’ll carry with you for a lifetime.
You’ll start your week-long journey from Arusha, the bustling hub of the Northern safari circuit that sits near the foot of Mt. Meru, Tanzania’s second-highest peak. From here, you’ll take a scenic two-hour drive to your first destination, Tarangire National Park.
Known as the elephant’s paradise, Tarangire’s ideal landscapes and plentiful food sources help the park play host to a population of between 2000-3000 elephants—more than one for each of its 2,840 square kilometers. As you explore, your guide will share plenty of information about their incredible lives and habitat.
Around midday, you’ll stop to enjoy your lunch in a beautiful natural setting before embarking on another game drive to see many more of the park’s animals, including many lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, jackals, giraffes, buffaloes, mongooses, wildebeests, zebras, impalas, Dik-dik, baboons, monkeys, and over 450 different species of birds. In the evening, you’ll head to Eileen’s Trees Lodge or Marara Valley Lodge for a delicious dinner and an overnight stay.
After breakfast, you’ll head up to Lake Manyara, just a short drive away. During your morning game drive through the park, you’ll take in many of its most well-known inhabitants, including its rare tree-climbing lions, who, due to the thick areas of brush, learned to climb trees to get a better view of their prey—and because of it, are not found elsewhere in the region.
Around midday, you’ll stop to enjoy lunch at the beautiful Msasa picnic site before embarking on another game drive to see many of the park’s other attractions, including some of the largest baboon troops in the area. Other animals you can expect to see also include leopards, hyenas, jackals, mongooses, hippos, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, gazelles, monkeys, and many species of water birds.
Towards evening, you’ll head back to either Eileen’s Trees Lodge or Marara Valley Lodge for a tasty dinner and some rest.
After breakfast, you’ll drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area on your way to one of the most legendary locations in Africa: Serengeti National Park. You’ll arrive at the main gates around midday—enjoying your lunch shortly before or after your arrival—then spend the rest of the day on a game drive through the park.
Named by the Masaai for the seemingly endless plains, the Serengeti is home to over 1.5 million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles, which comprise the Great Migration. However, there are plenty more animals to be found, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, mongooses, giraffes, hippos, warthogs, topis, hartebeests, elands and many species of birds.
In the evening, you’ll head to either Thorn Tree Tented Camp or Mbugani Tented Camp in the heart of the Serengeti to enjoy a delicious dinner, then relax before turning in for the night.
After an early breakfast, you’ll head out to enjoy a sunrise game drive while exploring central and eastern parts of the Serengeti—the perfect time to spot predators and other animals who come out to enjoy the weather and hunt for food in the cool morning.
You’ll stop to enjoy your lunch in a scenic natural setting before heading out to see more of the park. Besides wildlife, you’ll also see many of the famous kopjes that seemingly rise up out of the plains. These large rock outcroppings are often used by predators for shelter, breeding grounds, and to gain a vantage point over their surroundings and prey, and stand as an iconic marker of the park.
In the evening, you’ll head back to Thorn Tree Tented Camp or Mbugani Tented Camp where you’ll have dinner and sleep for the night.
On your fifth day, you’ll have breakfast before embarking on an early game drive as you head out of the northern region towards your next destination: Ngorongoro Crater. After a morning of taking in more fantastic landscapes and wildlife, you’ll stop for lunch before continuing on your way back through the central and eastern parts of the park.
By evening, you’ll head back to either Eileen’s Trees Lodge or Marara Valley Lodge for some more rest, relaxation, and another fantastic dinner.
Today, you’ll enjoy an early breakfast before embarking on a gorgeous sunrise game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater. As you make your way down from the rim, you’ll quickly see why it’s commonly referred to as a small zoo—with over 20,000 animals, there’s something to see in every direction. Around midday, you’ll stop at a scenic picnic spot in the heart of the park to enjoy lunch while overlooking the wildlife gathering around a nearby watering hole.
From there, you’ll take another game drive through the park, seeing plenty of animals, including lions—many of which you may even see up close—as well as cheetahs, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, monkeys, baboons, hippos, gazelles, warthogs, wildebeests, zebras, many species of birds and one of the park’s biggest attractions—the elusive black rhino, which is rarely seen elsewhere in the region.
Towards the evening, you’ll head over to the Lake Eyasi Lodge to enjoy a delicious dinner before turning in for the night.
On your final day, you’ll start bright and early with breakfast before heading to visit two nearby tribes: the Hadzabe and Dagota. Upon arriving at the village, you’ll join the Hadzabe for a bow-and-arrow hunting expedition before returning to the village to enjoy their traditional dance.
From there, you’ll travel just a short distance to visit with the Dagota, well known for their blacksmithing abilities, livestock, and beautiful handmade jewelry. Here you will join in several cultural activities before heading back to camp, enjoying a hot lunch, and relaxing before taking your final scenic drive back to Arusha.