Tanzania Classic Safaris

Whatever your arrival time at Kilimanjaro International Airport, your driver-guide will be waiting for you with a warm welcoming smile. Kick back and relax in your comfortable vehicle as he takes you to your hotel in Arusha, Tanzania’s self-styled ‘safari capital.’ On your journey to the hotel, you will get a brief impression of this large, bustling, commercial city. Depending on your arrival time, you may have your pre-safari briefing today; if not, it will take place early tomorrow morning. Accommodation: Tulip hotel in Arusha (BB)

After a safari briefing in the morning and an approximate 2-hour drive, you will arrive at the Tarangire National Park. Giant baobab trees, bush savannah and the seasonal marshes add to the wonder of this nature reserve. The Tarangire National Park is considered as one of the best places to view elephants up close. The park is also home to buffaloes, zebras, and wildebeests which are always closely followed by a range of predators such as lions. Leopards are seen now and then but cheetahs are rarely spotted. From the open roof of the safari vehicle, you will be able to absorb the landscape and watch the animals. In the late afternoon, you will leave the park and drive to the Lodge, where you will overnight. Lunch and Dinner Accommodation: Ellince tree lodge

After breakfast, you will travel via the cooler highlands towards the southern Serengeti and at midday, you will reach the plains of the Serengeti National Park. This park is the largest in Tanzania and has a diversity of habitats and landscapes – short grass plains, savannah, thick bush, swamps, and lakes. Bizarre rock formations called kopjes dot the grassy landscape where predators are often seen. The Serengeti is famous for the yearly migration when hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras trek to find fresh grass and water. You will spend the night at the Tented Camps inside the park. Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner Accommodation: Serengeti Safari lodge (FB)

The entire days are dedicated to game viewing in the Serengeti National Park. The areas that you visit will depend upon where the migrating herds are. Predators usually follow closely behind the trekking animals and include lions, leopards (in the acacia trees), and cheetahs. During the short rainy season in November and December, the herds move from the hills in the north to the plains in the south. During the longer rainy season from April to June, they return up north. As the migration is completely dependent on the yearly rainfalls, the location of the herds may vary from year to year but your guide will know where to locate the animals and where to see them best. You will spend another 2 nights at the tented Camps. Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner Accommodation: Serengeti Safari lodge (FB)

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. 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). In the late afternoon, we travel back to our special tented camp. Dinner and overnight at tented camp: Accommodation: Ngorongoro Rhino Lodge (FB)

Rise and shine! After breakfast at daybreak, you travel back to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area before you drive down into the crater. The massive collapsed volcano is home to over 25,000 mammals ranging from the Big Five – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard – to spotted hyenas, rare wild dogs, and some of the more than 500 bird species of the area. After an extensive game drive and a picnic for lunch, you will leave the caldera in the afternoon and we make a short journey to Lake Manyara at Marera Valley lodge dinner and overnight Accommodation: Marera Valley lodge (FB)

We depart from your lodge in Lake Manyara and proceed to Lake Manyara National Park. Although small in size, this park is one of the most diverse reserves in the country. Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park. In the backdrop is the wall of the Great Rift Valley, before which lies the groundwater, forest, areas of open grassland near the lake foreshore, and the Soda Lake. We enjoy a picnic lunch in this area, which consists of open grassy areas, hot springs, dense woodlands, and steep mountainsides. Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise that has more than 350 species of bird. The park is also famed for its unique and elusive tree-climbing lions. After lunchtime, we will drive direct to Kilimanjaro International Airport for the evening flight or to Arusha for overnight Accommodation: Tulia lodge in Arusha (BB)

After breakfast, we will drive direct to Kilimanjaro International Airport