Author: Kilimanjaro Budget Safaris

DAY 1: ARRIVE IN TANZANIA

Arrive anytime at Kilimanjaro International airport and transfer to Moshi or Arusha at Good Hotel with a swimming pool. BB

The rest of the day is free to relax and recover from your flight, laze by the pool or explore the town.

DAY 2: WALKING SAFARI IN ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

Full-day walking safari in Arusha National Park, You can easily start viewing wildlife populations like the giraffe, buffalo, zebras, and black and white colobus monkeys just after 30 minutes drive from Arusha city.

In the morning, we will collect you from your hotel in Arusha and take you to the Arusha National Park. The park has an incredible variety of fauna and flora, which cannot fail to impress. Hollywood also chose this region to film the movie “Hatari,” in which Hardy Kruger starred alongside John Wayne’s legendary. Your day trip will include a visit to the Ngurdo Crater. Buffaloes, you can see waterbucks, giraffes, warthogs, zebras, and baboons all year round and many different bird species. At the Momella Gate, an armed ranger will be waiting for you to accompany you on the walking safari that will give you the chance to experience the wildlife up-close. Only a few other national parks in Tanzania give you such an opportunity, and it is something that you should not miss.

You will take lunch at a picnic place, and in the afternoon, you will continue your tour in the safari vehicle through the Arusha National Park. After plenty of time allocated to observe the wildlife, we will take you back to Arusha.

Dinner and overnight at Mount Meru hotel. Bed, dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

DAY 3: GAME DRIVE IN TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK

Today we drive to Tarangire National Park for excellent game viewing. Tarangire is a small park that offers some excellent sights. Generally, in the dry seasons, Tarangire comes alive as the wildlife and birdlife congregate on the Tarangire River, a permanent water source. We spend the night in our lodge beautifully set outside the park with stunning views and a unique atmosphere. In the late afternoon, we make a short journey from the park to our special lodge.

Dinner and overnight at

Tarangire Sopa Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast, and Lunch.

DAY 4: FULL DAY HADZABE IN LAKE EYASI

Start early with your bushman guide to meet a group of resident Hadzabe people. Enjoy the Hadzabe Tour walking into the bush with the only hunter-gatherers remaining in the East African region. The Hadzabe speak a click-based language and move their encampments with the seasonal movements of the wildlife. Your guide is a member of the group and teaches you more about how they hunt, track wildlife, make fire, and even take honey from bee’s nests before introducing you to his people and explaining a little more about the customs way of life.

In the afternoon we travel to the Maasai market where you will have the opportunity to get the spectacular photos you want.

Hundred of Maasai gather each Thursday afternoon at the bustling Maasai market, where visitors have the chance to see their crafts and taste their food, including the famous Maasai BBQ. A larger, village-wide market occurs on the 22nd of each month.

In the afternoon, we drive straight to Ngorongoro Crater for the overnight.

Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast, and Lunch.

DAY 5: GAME DRIVE IN NGORONGORO CRATER

Today we visit the largest intact volcanic crater in the world, the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater. At more than 2,000 feet deep and 12 miles in diameter, the Ngorongoro Crater has one of the largest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Thirty thousand animals make their home in this crater, making it an ideal place for sightings of the ‘big 5′ – lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and leopard. We enjoy a game drive and picnic lunch in the crater, also known as the ’8th Wonder of the World’.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge: Bed, dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

DAY 6: GAME DRIVE IN SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

We head towards the Serengeti National Park. En route, there is an opportunity to visit Olduvai Gorge. Within this steep-sided ravine, Louis and Mary Leakey made some of the world’s most important archaeological discoveries in the 1950s. Here is a small museum, we can see evidence of our ancestors dating back 2.5 million years. After lunch, we drive into the Serengeti itself, and the rest of the afternoon is spent game viewing in the vast plains that are broken only by stands of acacia trees and the occasional kopje. In December, January and February, we will normally meet the migration with large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. There are always plenty of resident animals, such as giraffes, buffalo, and elephants, and many large predators such as lion, cheetah, and leopard. We return to our luxury lodge for the night.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge: Bed, dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

DAY 7: GAME DRIVE IN SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

We have another full day in this wonderful park, rising early to make the most of our time. Our guides will choose the best spotting locations for the time of year.

We can spend time at the Hippo pool watching these majestic animals laze about in the cool water happily living alongside the crocodiles, watch a big pride of lions, be in the middle of the migration, sometimes surrounded by wildebeest, sometimes by zebras, which travel with the wildebeest. We journey from the wide-open plains to the kopjes. These rocky volcanic outcrops provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals, and from the top, we can look out across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti. This diverse and interesting landscape will provide us with the ultimate in-game viewing.

Hopefully, we will see all of the simple games; elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lions, and if you are lucky, the elusive leopard and cheetah and huge amounts of interesting bird life, from the elegant secretary birds to the flightless ostrich. We return to our luxury lodge for the night.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge: Bed, dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

DAY 8: SERENGETI TO LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

We depart from your tented camp in Serengeti and proceed to Lake Manyara National Park. Although small in size, this park is one of the most diverse reserves in the country. Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park. At the backdrop is the wall of the Great Rift Valley, before which lies the groundwater forest, areas of open grassland near the lake foreshore, and the Soda Lake. We enjoy a picnic lunch in this area, consisting of open grassy areas, hot springs, dense woodlands, and steep mountainsides. Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise that has more than 350 species of bird. The park is also famed for its unique and elusive tree-climbing lions.

In the late afternoon, we drive back to Arusha.

Dinner and overnight at Serena Safari Lodge: Bed, dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

DAY 9: ARUSHA TO KILIMANJARO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Depending on your flight schedule and departure point, you will be transferred to the airport to connect your flight for further travel.

This 3-day safari adventure takes you on a whirlwind tour of the Serengeti National Park, focusing on abundant wildlife viewing. Day 1 features a scenic drive and afternoon game drive in the Serengeti, followed by an overnight stay at Jambo campsite. Day 2 offers a choice of relaxed or early morning game drives, exploring the central Serengeti’s rich wildlife habitats around the Seronera River. You’ll spend the night at Simba campsite. Day 3 includes a morning game drive en route to the Ngorongoro Crater for a spectacular afternoon viewing of the crater’s diverse wildlife. The tour concludes with a scenic drive back to Arusha.

DAY 1: arusha to serengeti national park.

Your safari will begin at 7AM in the morning with a pick up from your hotel in  Arusha. With everyone aboard, you will head towards Serengeti National Park. The 240 Km drive will be covered in about 6hrs. The Serengeti, means endless plains in the local African language and watching the grassland stretch out as far as the eye can see and eventually merging with the sky at the horizon is an absolutely breathtaking view. With an overall land area of 14,763 Sq Kms, It puts our notion about distance to shame. The Serengeti also houses the glorious “Big 5” (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard). Along with the “Big 5”, a very pleasant sighting would be one of Africa’s most beautiful animals – The Impala. The Serengeti ecosystem supports the greatest remaining concentration of plains game in Africa. The legendary Serengeti National Park is the most renowned safari destination for its incredible population of lions and leopards. The central portion of the Serengeti – known as Seronera area is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. In seronera, one must really look out for the many lion prides that thrive in this region. You must also look out for the Serengeti “Kopjes” which are massive boulders of granite standing in a sea of grass. They provide ample shelter to a large variety of flora and fauna. A picnic lunch will be done during the day long game drive itself. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.

DAY 2: full day central serengeti.

You can either have a relaxed breakfast and depart for full day game drives around 9:00 AM with packed lunch and return back to the lodge/camping late afternoon around 6:00 PM. Or you can depart at 6:00 AM on an early morning game drive. Later return to accommodation for breakfast and relax for a bit and depart on an afternoon game drive with packed lunch. You will explore the central portion of the Serengeti National Park today. The legendary Serengeti National Park is the most renowned safari destination for its incredible population of lions and leopards. The central portion of the Serengeti – known as Seronera area is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. During the off season of the migration, one must really look out for the many lion pride that thrive in this region. The interactions and survival of these lion pride provide an excellent game viewing experience all year round. Along with a picnic lunch during the full day game drive, the day will come to a close by around 5PM. The long day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.

Day 3 – Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater Tour (4 hours) to Arusha

Enjoy early breakfast and meet your guide to depart to Ngorongoro Crater located in the Ngorongoro Conservation area (Ngorongoro) with en-route game drive and picnic lunch. You will reach the crater by noon where you will have lunch. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. It has a massive floor of about 260 sq kms with a depth of over 2000 feet. The 5-hour game drive on the crater floor will show you a lot of animal action. Keeping the camera ready is definitely recommended. The African elephant, buffalo, Black rhino, Hippos, Hyenas, Cheetahs and Lions are found in plenty. You will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater by evening. This is the last leg of your safari, with a 4hr drive left to Arusha. You will be dropped off to your preferred location in Arusha. With an incredible experience and loads of memories to cherish, this is the time you bid goodbye to your team.

End of Tour