Six Days of Tanzania Wildlife: Parks and Plains

When you arrive in Arusha, your guide will meet you. After an introductory lunch, we begin our Tanzania safari with a drive to the Ngorongoro Highlands and the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (or similar) , where you check in for the night.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site and part of an international biosphere reserve. It covers approximately 300 sq km and is about 19 km across. The crater floor lies 600 meters below the rim (which is over 2200 m.a.s.l), and it shelters an abundance of wildlife including black rhino, lion, cheetah, buffalo, elephants, and a plethora of antelope species.

We go down to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater today for a full-day exploratory game drive. Lunch is a picnic, served in the crater. Late in the afternoon we climb back up to the rim and our lodge for dinner and the night.

Following breakfast we go to Olduvai Gorge, a renowned archeological site known for some of humankind’s earliest remains. We then continue our Tanzania Safari to the world-famous Serengeti National Park, reaching our lodge, the Serengeti Serena or similar, in time for lunch. This afternoon brings our first game drive safari in this wildlife haven. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Serengeti National Park is also a World Heritage Site and spans over 14700 sq km of prime African wilderness. It in fact forms a single ecosystem with Kenya’s neighboring Masai Mara Game Reserve, and takes a central part in the annual wildebeest migration, which circles between the two (the Masai Mara is in Kenya).

The whole day goes to a game drive safari in the Serengeti – for many people the highlight of a Tanzania safari. So that we make the most of this African wonderland, we bring picnic lunches again and stop to eat them at midday. Dinner and the night at a lodge in Serengeti.

Following breakfast, we drive to Lake Manyara, essentially a soda lake that forms part of the Great Rift Valley. We check in at the Lake Manyara Serena or similar in time for lunch, then go out for an afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

The park is famous for its tree-climbing lions, and 77 % of it is covered by the soda lake. Migratory birds are strongly attracted to the lake, which makes it an ornithologist's dream.  The mix of habitats, including swamp, savanna and dense jungle, supports an equally varied range of African wildlife, such as buffalo, elephant, leopard, baboon, impala, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich and hippo. The national park lies only 125 km from Arusha, so it is the final stop on this Tanzania safari.

Following breakfast, we drive back to Arusha and arrive in time for lunch at a restaurant, which concludes our Tanzania safari.