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The complete northern circuit with four nights in the Serengeti
Nine days is a proper safari. You have time for every park in northern Tanzania and four nights in the Serengeti, split between the central plains and the north (or Ndutu, depending on the migration). There is a cultural afternoon in Mto wa Mbu, a rest morning, and time for a balloon flight. Mid-range lodges and tented camps throughout.
Dry season and the Mara River crossings: the best game viewing, book early
Short rains: quieter parks, lower prices, lush scenery
Holidays and the calving season on the southern plains
Warm, end of the calving season, good value
Long rains: green and very quiet, our lowest prices
Your driver meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport (about 1 hour) or Arusha Airport and takes you to your hotel. Your guide stops by for a short briefing about the safari ahead. The rest of the day is free to rest after your flight.
After breakfast drive about 2.5 hours south-west from Arusha to Tarangire National Park. Tarangire is elephant country, with herds of up to several hundred along the Tarangire River, ancient baobab trees, tree-climbing pythons and over 500 bird species. Game drive through the day with a picnic lunch in the park.
A game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, at the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment: groundwater forest full of baboons and blue monkeys, hippo pools, flamingos on the soda lake and, with luck, the lions that rest in the acacia trees. Continue up the escarpment to Karatu in the afternoon. On the way, a guided walk through the farms and markets of Mto wa Mbu village.
Private transfer between Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport and your hotel in Arusha or Moshi, one way, for up to 4 people with luggage.
One more night in a mid-range Arusha hotel with breakfast, per person sharing a double room.
About one hour aloft at sunrise over the central Serengeti, followed by a champagne bush breakfast. Booked through a licensed balloon operator; flights depend on the weather.
Visit a Maasai boma to meet a family, see traditional dances and learn about daily life. The fee goes to the village.
Flight from Arusha or Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar, transfers, three nights in a Nungwi beach hotel on half board and Zanzibar visitor insurance. Per person sharing.
Tell us your dates and party size — we'll confirm availability and send a clear quote.
Drive from Karatu up through the Ngorongoro highlands, stopping at the crater viewpoint, and down onto the short-grass plains to Naabi Hill Gate. Game drive into the central Serengeti, where lion, cheetah and leopard are seen year round, arriving at camp for sunset.
A full day of game drives in the central Serengeti, with an early start when the predators are most active and a picnic lunch under an acacia. The Seronera valley is famous for big cats: lion prides on the kopjes, cheetah on the plains and leopard in the sausage trees along the river. Optional sunrise hot air balloon flight.
Drive north through the Lobo hills to the Kogatende area. From July to October the herds gather on the banks of the Mara River, and crossings, with crocodiles waiting in the water, are the most dramatic wildlife event in Africa. Crossings cannot be predicted, so we spend the day following the herds along the river.
From July to October the herds gather on the banks of the Mara River, and crossings, with crocodiles waiting in the water, are the most dramatic wildlife event in Africa. Crossings cannot be predicted, so we spend the day following the herds along the river.
A long but beautiful drive back through the Serengeti and up into the highlands to the crater rim, with game viewing all the way. Overnight in Karatu.
Leave Karatu early and descend 600 m into Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On its 260 square kilometre floor you can see black rhino, lion, elephant, hippo, hyena and thousands of wildebeest and zebra in a single day. Picnic lunch by the hippo pool, then climb out in the afternoon. Drive back to Arusha (about 3 hours) for your evening flight.