Trips

Arusha

Welcome to Tanzania! Your adventure begins in Arusha, your gateway to the incredible national parks of Tanzania. On arrival to Kilimanjaro Airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. There will be an important welcome meeting here at 6pm this evening, where you will meet your local leader and the rest of your small group. Nestled on the woodland slopes of Mount Meru in the heart of a traditional coffee farm, your hotel offers fantastic views of Lake Duluti. If you arrive with time to spare, you may like to visit the Natural History Museum or head to the Ngaramtoni Market for some exceptional handicraft shopping. After your meeting, join your leader and fellow travellers for a short walk to the shores of the lake, where you will find chairs and lamps set up for a private welcome dinner. Toast to the beginning of a new adventure and enjoy your stunning surroundings.

Tarangire National Park

After breakfast, take a walk to the Tengeru farmers’ market for a look at local life. Watch traders and buyers haggle over the prices of a colourful array of fruits and vegetables – your leader will pick up some seasonal fruits for you to try yourself. Drive on to Tarangire National Park, dotted with soaring baobab trees and varied wildlife. The area experiences its own small-scale migration, as animals travel from Tarangire to Lake Manyara in search of water and grass. Your accommodation here is a permanent tented camp in the heart of the park with wonderful views of the Tarangire River. During the migration periods, you may be lucky enough to witness zebras, wildebeest and elephants passing by the veranda of your tent – a true African bush experience. In the afternoon, set out into the park for a four-wheel drive (4x4) game drive in search of wonderful wildlife. You will also have the option to arrange a night-time game drive – this is one of the few parks where this is possible and it must be booked at least 1 day in advance.

Ngorongoro Highlands

Rise early for a thrilling 4x4 game drive. Tarangire National Park is populated with elephants, herds of cape buffalo, gazelles, Burchell’s zebras, giraffes and warthogs. Their predators also roam the park – look out for lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, jackals and even African wild dogs. If you look to the skies you’ll see the park’s abundant array of birdlife. Return to your camp for breakfast, then continue your journey to the Ngorongoro Highlands. Arrive at your lodge, located in the verdant Marera Valley. Here you’ll enjoy cosy cottages with a veranda and fireplace, a beautiful swimming pool and organic gardens. This afternoon, you may like to relax poolside, or perhaps head out for an optional bike ride, village walk or coffee tour. Speak to your leader for tips on how to get the most out of this wonderful area.

Serengeti National Park

Today you will make your way to the wide-open plains of the Serengeti. Travel through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, skirting the mighty volcanic Ngorongoro Crater. Arrive at the 'Endless Plains' of the Serengeti; they span some 14,700 square kilometres, but their main claim to fame is 3 million or so animals. The game most likely to be seen in the Serengeti are the wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, lion, cheetah, warthog, hyena, hippo and ostrich. This afternoon, head out on a 4x4 game drive in the southern regions of the Serengeti for your first look at the park’s unbelievable wildlife. In the evening, retire to your feature stay accommodation – a permanent tented camp in the central Seronera part of the park. With no fences, this magnificent eco-friendly camp allows you to really connect with your wild surroundings without sacrificing modern comforts. Each tent boasts a four-poster bed and en suite bathroom, and the gorgeous lounge area and dining tent are the perfect spots to gather with your fellow travellers. If the weather allows, tonight you will enjoy a private bush dinner under the stars to a soundtrack of the wild Serengeti.

Serengeti National Park

The interactions between the many species of the Serengeti plains often provide some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the world. You may like to spend the morning game viewing on a hot air balloon safari over the great plains. Hot-air ballooning in East Africa can be an unforgettable experience and we strongly recommend booking this extra activity prior to departure if you're interested. Enjoy a full day of 4x4 game drives in the magnificent Serengeti. Watch the landscape change within the park from the vast treeless central plains to thick scrub and forest in the north. Linking these areas is the savannah, punctuated by acacia trees and magnificent rock outcrops. Start at sunrise with a morning game drive, then return to the camp in the middle of the day to escape the midday sun. Take some time to relax and enjoy a meal, then when it’s cooled down and the animals are more active, set out again for an afternoon game drive. Pull up in the park and enjoy a refreshing 'sundowner'; an iconic part of traditional safari life. Dating back to the great safaris of the 1920’s, there’s no better way to finish up an exciting day of wildlife viewing than gathering for drinks and nibbles while watching the sun go down. Return to camp in the evening for dinner.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

This morning you will depart the Serengeti National Park and travel back to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area; one of Africa's most beautiful nature reserves and the world's largest intact caldera. Within this crater lies every type of ecosystem, including riverine forests, open plains, freshwater and alkaline lakes. The scenery is awe-inspiring as you descend almost 600 metres down to the crater floor. Within its 300 square kilometres lies a remarkable concentration of wildlife, so on your game drive you may see some, or all, of the 'big five' creatures that rule here, including the highly endangered black rhinoceros. On the crater floor, grassland blends into swamps, lakes, rivers, woodlands and hills. The Maasai are permitted to water their cattle at the permanent lake and can be seen leading their animals in and out of the crater. Enjoy a bush picnic lunch on the crater floor before continuing with your game drive. In the evening, retire to your unfenced permanent camp on the Eastern side of the Ngorongoro Crater’s rim – this privileged location allows you to spend more time out exploring this spectacular World Heritage site.

Ngorongoro Highlands

Enjoy a morning at leisure. You may like to arrange an optional nature walk around the crater rim. Depart from the camp with a local guide and ranger, discover more unique flora and fauna and meet local Maasai Boma living around the area. Speak to your tour leader if you would like to arrange this exciting activity. Depart the camp and return to your lodge in the Ngorongoro Highlands. Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool, or speak to your leader about the other activities available.

Arusha

This morning, depart the lodge and make the drive back to Arusha. You should expect to arrive back in Arusha by lunchtime, at which point your adventure comes to an end. Please do not book any international flights departing before 6pm this evening to allow for any unexpected delays. If you would like to extend your stay in Arusha, additional accommodation can be booked in advance (subject to availability).