Six days give this safari the rarest of luxuries: time. You begin in the animal-packed woodlands of Tarangire, sweep past Lake Manyara at the foot of the Rift Valley wall, then arc up over the crater highlands to the endlessly rolling Serengeti, where two full nights put the Great Migration and its predators right outside your door. The finale is the staggeringly beautiful Ngorongoro Crater - a natural wonder you not only admire from the rim but wake beside and walk inside on your last morning.
| What’s included in my trip |
|
|||||
| What’s NOT included in my trip: |
|
After breakfast you head for Tarangire and give the whole day to its roads, crossing nine distinct vegetation zones in a single visit - a range few parks can match. Towering baobabs, famously the largest trees in Africa, dwarf the animals feeding beneath them, while the meandering Tarangire River draws elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and antelope, plus a bright feathered supporting cast.
Tarangire holds the biggest elephant population in Tanzania, and patient game viewing lets you watch herds interact - mothers shading calves, young bulls squaring off, families greeting one another with raised trunks. A picnic lunch at an observation point above the river may even coincide with a predator sizing up a thirsty zebra or wildebeest; then the viewing continues until you return to your accommodation for dinner and the night.
A pleasant morning's drive takes you down into the Great Rift Valley and through Lake Manyara National Park, small at 205 square miles yet astonishing in its scenery. Lush acacia forest, giant figs and mahogany trees shelter a healthy growing population of baboons and blue monkeys, while giraffe, elephant, impala and a great many buffalo live here year-round, with the park's resident hippos loafing in the shallows.
Words struggle to capture the landscape, and the drives along the water's edge deliver postcard frames of giraffe and buffalo in the foreground with the lake and its flamingos behind. Optional extras such as a bike tour or boat excursion can be added during the day, before you transfer to camp in the afternoon for dinner.
After an early breakfast you set off for the most famous national park in the world, climbing onto the crater highlands and pausing at the rim for a first, breath-stopping view down into the Ngorongoro Crater. Pressing on into the Serengeti - 'endless plains' in Swahili - you understand the name instantly: 6,900 square miles of grassland that seems to stretch to the horizon and radically bends your sense of distance.
This is migration headquarters, home to roughly two million wildebeest along with hundreds of thousands of zebra and antelope, from impala to Thomson's gazelle. It is also the premier spot for lion, cheetah, leopard and hyena - the very cast whose famous river crossings look so spectacular on screen, and today your camera does the filming.
This is your day to do the Serengeti your way. Your guide will tailor the plan to your preferences, whether that means a morning game drive, a midday return to camp for lunch and a siesta, and an afternoon drive; or a full day out with a picnic lunch beneath a spreading acacia. Each morning begins with a short chat about timings - game drives and wake-up included - so the pace of the safari fits you perfectly.
We suggest a very early start today for a morning game drive while the animals are at their liveliest, and a ring-side seat for one of the best sunrises you will ever witness. After a rewarding brunch back at camp you transfer to Ngorongoro, widely called the eighth wonder of the natural world. Its crater spreads across 102 square miles beneath 2,000-foot-high walls, a working Noah's Ark that shelters almost every species indigenous to East Africa - and one of the very few places on the continent where the black rhino can still be found.
Inside you will find a river, several swamps, a soda lake crowded with flamingos, patches of forest and open plains, plus elephants whose tusks are among the largest in the world. You arrive on the rim in time for a sundowner, with the option to upgrade or downgrade your accommodation level to match your budget.
Sunday's start is early once more, and you descend to the crater floor for an incredible morning of wildlife in one of the most spectacular settings on Earth. After the game drive there's a picnic lunch beside the hippo lakes, then a short final drive before you climb back out of the crater, leave the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and point the vehicle towards Arusha - expecting to arrive around five in the afternoon, though we stay flexible if you have a flight to catch.
With two nights in the Serengeti and a slow sweep by way of the crater, this map keeps a long northern itinerary perfectly legible. Tarangire, Manyara, the endless plains and the Ngorongoro bowl appear in order, with the camps and gates that mark each day's end. Everything you need to visualise six rich days of Tanzania is right here.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis Theme natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis Theme natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus
