15-Day Luxury Fly-In Honeymoon & Zanzibar Beach

Overview

Tour highlights

• Three nights on a coffee farm near the crater
• Private full day on the Ngorongoro Crater floor
• Cheetah country on the eastern Serengeti plains
• Three nights near the Mara River in the far north
• Light-aircraft flights instead of long drives
• Sunsets from Zanzibar’s west coast

1. Day 1 Touchdown and a Coffee-Country Night Stay Country lodge on a coffee plantation near ArushaMeals Dinner

   Your driver is waiting at Kilimanjaro International Airport, and the transfer to your lodge takes well under an hour. The lodge sits on a working coffee plantation east of Arusha, a calm first stop after a long flight. If you land early, there is time to see a little of Arusha town; if not, take a walk through the gardens, have a swim or simply sleep. Your safari guide collects you in the morning.

2. Day 2 Up Into the Karatu Highlands Stay Luxury farm lodge near KaratuMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   After breakfast, meet the guide and private vehicle who stay with you for the highland part of the trip. The road crosses the Rift Valley floor and climbs to Karatu, a farming town on the slopes below the Ngorongoro Crater. Your lodge is set among forest, coffee and gardens, with views over the surrounding hills. Spend the afternoon settling in; the air is cooler up here, and evenings often end beside a fire.

3. Day 3 The Crater at Your Own Pace Stay Luxury farm lodge near KaratuMeals Breakfast, Picnic lunch, Dinner

   Set off early for the Ngorongoro Crater, the huge volcanic caldera at the heart of the conservation area. With your own vehicle there is no fixed schedule: stop at any sighting for as long as you like. The floor holds buffalo, zebras, wildebeest, lions, hyenas and elephants, and it is one of the best places in Tanzania to look for black rhino. Lunch is a picnic on the crater floor before the climb back to the lodge.

4. Day 4 Farm, Forest and a Slow Afternoon Stay Luxury farm lodge near KaratuMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Today has no game drive, and that is the point. Depending on where you stay, the lodge can arrange a coffee tour that follows the bean from the bush to the roaster, a guided walk through the forest above the farm, or a visit to a nearby village to see rural life in the highlands. Longer outings, such as a guided walk up toward the crater rim, can be arranged too. Or spend the day reading in the garden.

5. Day 5 Fly to the Eastern Serengeti Stay Luxury tented camp in the eastern SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   A final farm breakfast, then a drive to the Manyara airstrip for a light-aircraft flight to Seronera in the central Serengeti. A guide meets you on the runway for the transfer to camp, which looks out over open grassland in the east of the park. Unpack, have afternoon tea, and head out on your first Serengeti game drive as the heat eases. The plains stretch to the horizon in every direction.

6. Day 6 Following the Cats Stay Luxury tented camp in the eastern SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   The eastern Serengeti is known for predators, and cheetahs do well on its short-grass plains. Leave early, when cats are most active, and let your guide read the tracks and the alarm calls of gazelles. Return for a late breakfast or take food with you and stay out. Midday is for the pool and a nap; in the afternoon, elephants or buffalo sometimes pass within sight of camp.

7. Day 7 Plains, Kopjes and a Campfire Stay Luxury tented camp in the eastern SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Choose the rhythm of your last full day in the east. Some couples go for a long drive with a picnic under an acacia; others split the day into a dawn outing and a sunset one. Granite kopjes break up the grassland and often shelter lions, hyraxes and birds of prey. In the evening, gather around the camp’s fire and trade stories of the day’s sightings before dinner.

8. Day 8 North to the Mara River Country Stay Luxury tented camp in the northern SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   After breakfast, your guide takes you back to Seronera for a short flight north to the Kogatende airstrip. A new guide meets you there for the drive to your camp in the far north of the park, a remote area of rolling hills and riverine woodland. The landscape feels quite different from the eastern plains, and far fewer vehicles travel this far. Your first afternoon drive explores the area around camp.

9. Day 9 Watching the River Stay Luxury tented camp in the northern SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   The northern Serengeti lies on the migration route, and from about July to September the wildebeest herds pass through, crossing the Mara River at several points near camp. A crossing can mean hours of waiting followed by sudden chaos, with crocodiles in the water. Outside those months, the north is still rewarding, with resident lions, elephants, giraffes and hippos, and very few other people.

10. Day 10 A Dawn Balloon Option, Then Rest Stay Luxury tented camp in the northern SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

    If you want to add one splurge, this is the morning for it. A hot air balloon flight can be booked from your northern camp, which sits closer to the launch site than the eastern one; you float over the plains at sunrise and land for a champagne breakfast in the bush. It is an optional extra at additional cost. Otherwise, sleep in, then head out for a final afternoon drive.

11. Day 11 From the Bush to the Indian Ocean Stay Luxury beach resort on Zanzibar’s west coastMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

    Say goodbye to the camp team and return to Kogatende for your flights to Zanzibar. A driver meets you at the island’s international airport and takes you to your resort, which lies along a long beach on the west coast. Because this shore faces west, the sun sets over the water, and the tides here generally allow swimming throughout the day. Spend the evening doing nothing more than watching that first sunset.

12. Day 12 Sand, Shade and Salt Water Stay Luxury beach resort on Zanzibar’s west coastMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

    After two weeks of early starts, let today be completely unplanned. Swim before breakfast, find a lounger in the shade, and order lunch when you feel like it. The resort’s water-sports center lends snorkeling gear and runs beach games, and it can arrange diving lessons if you want to try. Late afternoon is the best time for a walk along the shore, when fishermen bring their boats in.

13. Day 13 Reefs, Spices or Stone Town Stay Luxury beach resort on Zanzibar’s west coastMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

    If you want to see more of the island, today works well for an outing. Popular choices include a boat trip to snorkel around Mnemba Atoll, a fishing trip, a Swahili cooking class, or a day in Stone Town, Zanzibar’s old quarter and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Closer to home, stroll through the resort’s spice garden. These outings are arranged on request.

14. Day 14 A Last Sail at Sunset Stay Luxury beach resort on Zanzibar’s west coastMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

    Keep the final full day gentle. A spa treatment, a long swim and an afternoon with a book are all good choices. As evening comes, consider a sunset cruise on a dhow, the wooden sailing boat that has worked this coast for centuries; the west-facing shore makes it a fine place to watch the light go. A quiet dinner by the water ends the honeymoon’s last night.

15. Day 15 Homeward Bound Meals Breakfast

    Enjoy breakfast and one more look at the ocean. At the agreed time, your driver collects you for the transfer across the island to Zanzibar’s international airport for your flight home. If your flight leaves late in the day, let us know before you travel so we can ask the resort about a late check-out. Our team remains on call until you are on your way.

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