11 days, 10 nights - a classic safari including the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire National Parks amongst others. You will experience a maximum of nature and wildlife and you will encounter indigenous tribes. Luxury accommodation.
Our Classic Luxury Tanzania Safari brings you to some of Africa's most stunning natural wonders. You will see a large variety of wildlife and you will encounter indigenous tribes and learn about their habits and culture. The accommodations chosen are of the highest standard available.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arusha
Welcome at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Our driver will transfer you to the luxury Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, beautifully nestled between Mt Meru and Mt Kilimanjaro in the middle of a lush coffee plantationation (or to a lodge of similar standard if not available*).
Day 2: Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast you will meet our representative who will brief you about your safari holiday in Tanzania. Then you depart to Lake Manyara National Park which lies approximately 1.5 hours (126km/80 miles) west of Arusha along a newly surfaced road, close to the ethnically diverse market town of Mto wa Mbu. Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy. You will do a game drive in the morning, followed by a lunch picnic. In the afternoon, we continue the game drive and finally we will reach our lodge, the Kirurumu Tented Camp, set high on the edge of the Great Rift Valley (or a camp of similar standard if not available*)
Day 3: Ngorongoro Conservation Area
After breakfast we depart to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and have and early lunch at the Sopa Lodge. In the afternoon we drive to the Nainokanoka Masaai village and hike up to the rim of the Olmoti Crater. This crater is very interesting for walking safaris off the beaten track and you can still experience the rare sense of pure nature and peace, found only in remote, pristine places. In the evening we hike down to the base again and return to the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge for dinner and overnighting (or to a lodge of similar standard if not available*). The Sopa Lodge is built high on the rim of the famous Ngorongoro Crater and you can have amazing views over and into the crater - the perfect setting for a well deserved sundowner.
Day 4: Ngorongoro Conservation Area
After breakfast we descend down to the ground of the famous Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive. The crater (610 metres deep and 260 km squared) is a microcosm of East African scenery and game. Scenic grandeur and stunning views are the hallmark of this wonder of the world. There are 25,000 larger animals within the crater itself, mostly zebra and wildebeest. However, this is undoubtedly the best place to see black rhinos in Tanzania as well as prides of lion that include the magnificent black-maned males. There are lots of colourful flamingoes and a variety of other water birds around the soda lake on the crater floor. The crater is home to more than 100 species of birds which cannot be found in the Serengeti. We will have lunch at the hippo pool picnic site, and later ascend to the rim and have dinner and overnight at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge (or at a lodge of similar standard if not available*).
Day 5: Serengeti National Park
After breakfast we depart for the Serengeti National Park with lunch boxes. We arrive at the Serengeti in the afternoon and will do a game drive in Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park. The Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 gazelles join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa. We will have dinner and overnight at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge (or at a lodge of similar standard if not available*).
Day 6: Serengeti National Park
After an early breakfast, we explore the early morning wildlife. We will have lunch at the lodge and then continue our observations at midday time and in the afternoon. We have dinner and overnight again at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge (or at a lodge of similar standard if not available*).
Day 7: Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, depart for the Northern part of Serengeti, “But there is more to Serengeti than large mammals. Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies. A full 100 varieties of dung beetle have been recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland, to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills. Picnic lunch. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Lobo Wilde Life Lodge (or at a lodge of similar standard if not available*).
Day 8: Olduvai Gorge, Karatu
After breakfast, we will visit the Olduvai Gorge. This place is commonly referred to as "The Cradle of Mankind". It is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world and has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution. We proceed to Karatu where we will have dinner and overnight at Gibb’s Farm (or at a lodge of similar standard if not available*), surrounded by coffee plantations.
Day 9: Lake Eyasi
After breakfast, we will first have a walk through a coffee plantation, and then we will drive to Lake Eyasi. Lake Eyasi is a salt lake located between the Eyasi escarpment in the north (an ancient fault line that is part of the Rift Valley system) and the Kidero mountains in the south at an altitude of around 1000 metres. The area is hot and dry and home to the Hadzabe bushmen, who are believed to have lived here for nearly 10,000 years. We meet the Hadzabe people in the afternoon and learn about their lifestyle which still centers on hunting and gathering traditions. We will have dinner and overnight at Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp (or at a camp of similar standard if not available*) .
Day 10: Tarangire National Park
After breakfast we meet the Hadzabe people again and accompany them when they do hunting. Then we depart for the Tarangire National Park. During the hot and dry season, the Tarangire River shrivels to a shadow of its wet season self. But still it is choked with wildlife. Thirsty animals have wandered hundreds of parched kilometres knowing that here, always, there is water. Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It's the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem. We will have a picnic lunch in the park, do an afternoon game drive, and have dinner and overnight at the Tarangire Sopa Lodge (or at a lodge of similar standard if not available*) .
Day 11: Tarangire - departure
Before sunrise we do an early morning game drive in the Tarangire National Park. After breakfast at the lodge, we depart for Arusha and have lunch at the Heritage Culture Centre in Arusha, a new architectural landmark. From there, we transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
