8 Days Tanzania Classic Wildlife Safari

Day 1: arrival in Arusha Arrive Kilimanjaro and transfer to Arusha at Moivaro lodge.

The rest of the day is free to relax and recover from your flight, laze by the pool or explore the town. Dinner and overnight at Moivaro lodge: Half board.

Day 2: Arusha National Park. We depart from your hotel in Arusha.

We go through Arusha National Park, where we view the herds of buffalo in the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, the flamingos of the Momela Lakes, and the imposing peak of rugged Mount Meru. Arusha National park houses a variety of wildlife, including giraffe, zebra, colobus monkeys, leopards and hyenas, in the park’s small but bustling 53 square miles of natural habitats. Enjoy a picnic lunch while gazing at the rolling hills and wooded savannahs of this national treasure. At the end of the day, we return to your hotel in Arusha. Dinner and overnight at Moivaro lodge: Half board.

Day 3: Game drive in Tarangire National Park.

Today we drive to Tarangire National Park, for excellent game viewing. Tarangire is a small park which offers some excellent sights. Generally in the dry seasons Tarangire comes alive as wildlife and birdlife congregate on the Tarangire River, which is a permanent source of water. We spend the night in our lodge beautifully set inside the park with stunning views and a unique atmosphere. Dinner and overnight at our special lodge, tented camp or adventure tent.

Day 4: Game drive in Lake Manyara National Park.

Today we drive to Lake Manyara National Park for a full day of game drives. This is one of Tanzania’s smaller parks but still offers a rewarding and diverse safari experience. The lakeshore at Manyara teems with birdlife, and while you are looking for the birds, you might spot one of the elusive tree-climbing lions.

There are a surprising number of other large mammals and the striking cliffs on the Rift escarpment form a dramatic backdrop. In the late afternoon we make a short journey from the park to our special tented camp. Dinner and overnight at our special lodge, tented camp or adventure tent.

Day 5: Game drive in Serengeti National Park.

We head towards the Serengeti National Park. En route there is an opportunity to visit Olduvai Gorge. It is within this steep sided ravine that Louis and Mary Leakey made some of the world’s most important archaeological discoveries in the 1950s. Here in a small museum we are able to see evidence of our ancestors that have been dated back 2.5 million years. After lunch we drive into the Serengeti itself and the rest of the afternoon is spent game viewing in the vast plains that are broken only by stands of acacia trees and the occasional kopje.

In December, January and February we will normally meet the migration with large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. There are always plenty of resident animals, such as giraffe, buffalo, and elephant, and many large predators such as lion, cheetah, and leopard. We return to our special tented camp for the night. Dinner and overnight at our special lodge, tented camp or adventure tent.

Day 6: Another full day game drive in the Serengeti National Park.

We have another full day in this wonderful park, rising early to make the most of our time. Our guides will choose the best spotting locations for the time of year; we can spend time at the Hippo pool watching these majestic animals laze about in the cool water happily living alongside the crocodiles, watch a big pride of lions, be in the middle of the migration, sometimes surrounded by wildebeest, sometimes by zebras, which travel with the wildebeest. We journey from the wide open plains to the kopjes: these volcanic rocky outcrops provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals and from the top we can look out across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti.

This diverse and interesting landscape will provide us with the ultimate in game viewing, we will hopefully see all of the plain games; elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lions and it you are lucky the elusive leopard and cheetah, as well as huge amounts of interesting bird life, from the elegant secretary birds to the flightless ostrich. We return to our special Tented camp for the night. Dinner and overnight at our special lodge, tented camp or adventure tent.

Day 7: Game drive in Ngorongoro Crater.

We start the day with an early morning game drive before heading to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Ngorongoro is a special place in that it is a Conservation Area, not a National Park; this means that the whole area is managed for both the animals and the local Masai people who graze their cattle alongside the indigenous wildlife. During the drive in Ngorongoro we have a chance to glimpse something of the Masai way of life. After stopping at the entrance gate, where there is a chance to learn more about this fascinating volcanic landscape, we will drive around the rim of the Crater itself, and from here we can look down and see the herd of wildebeest or buffalos.

Finally we descend into the crater. The crater walls provide a natural sanctuary for the animals, which means there is plenty to see: lions, elephants, buffalo, rhino and leopard (if you are lucky). The only animal you won’t see in here is a giraffe, whose long legs are unable to cope with the steeps sides of the crater. In the late afternoon we travel just outside of Ngorongoro Conservation Area to our special tented camp. Dinner and overnight at our special lodge, tented camp or adventure tent.

Day 8: Ngorongoro to Arusha

Free morning to relax after your great northern safari or explore the town, especially maasai market. After hot lunch in Arusha the airport transfer will be arranged to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) after your safari.