Distance: 130 km, Travel time: 2½ hours

After an early breakfast pick-up from Arusha,  we drive to Lake Manyara National Park.  We begin with lunch at the lodge and prepare for the afternoon game drive. This park is one of Tanzania’s most dramatically situated wildlife areas, with a soda lake covering two-thirds of the whole park.  The park is located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment. The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants. Lake Manyara is home to unique tree-climbing lions (rare), as well as large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae that is found in the lake.

Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Distance: 205 km, Travel time: 6 hours

After breakfast, we continue our journey to Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high-lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa “the Serengeti National Park” with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park.  Here, the Seronera River provides a valuable water source to this area that attracts wildlife representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive.

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Choose to Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement). Float silently above the awakening bush, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over incredible endless plains.

After breakfast, enjoy a full-day game drive, with a hot lunch at the lodge in the afternoon. We will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which runs counter-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes.  Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons and attracts lions and large cobras.

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

After breakfast, experience a full-day game drive with lunch at a  lodge. We will follow the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River and provides opportunities for sighting lions, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich, and cheetah. The visitor’s center, which is not far from the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites, is well worth a visit after the morning’s game drive.

This nicely designed center offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. The center also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and an information trail up set around a kopje. We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the center in the shade of the giant acacia trees.

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Distance: 145 km, Travel time: 4 hours

After breakfast at the lodge, we depart to the Ngorongoro Conservation area. We will stop at Olduvai Gorge, boasting a history dating back to the dawn of time. It was here, that the anthropologist Drs. Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of the ‘Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both very significant links in the chain of human evolution. We arrive in time for lunch at a lodge for the hot lunch, followed by relaxation until the next day of descent to the crater.

Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested on the crater rim, no accommodation available inside the crater.

After breakfast, we descend 600m into this magnificent crater for a full-day game drive. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most densely populated African wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals, including some of Tanzania’s rare remaining black rhinos. Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the crater supports a vast variety of other animals including herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. The crater also draws a huge population of predators including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard. We will enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.

Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested on the crater rim, no accommodation available inside the crater.

Distance: 155 km, Travel time: 3½ hours

After breakfast, we depart to Tarangire National Park. The park runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. Its natural vegetation consists of Acacia woodland and giant African Baobab trees, with huge swamp areas in the south. Both the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals, during Tanzania’s dry season. The Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. This park is also home to three rare species of animals – the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, and a few Ashy Starlings. After a picnic lunch, we will proceed with an afternoon game drive.

Dinner and overnight in the Tarangire National Park area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Distance: 120 km, Travel time: 2 hours

We enjoy an early morning game drive in the Tarangire National Park, followed by breakfast at the lodge. We will then return to Arusha. Upon arrival in Arusha, will we have lunch and then end our African safari adventure. You will be taken to your hotel, and depending on your departure flight, you will be transferred to the Airport.