8-Day Tanzania Safari: Serengeti, Crater & Manyara

Overview

Tour highlights

• Three nights and two full days in the central Serengeti
• Elephant herds and baobabs in Tarangire
• A night on the Ngorongoro Crater rim
• Full-day crater floor game drive with picnic lunch
• Maasai village visit on the way to Ngorongoro
• Mto wa Mbu village and Lake Manyara on the last morning

1. Day 1 Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha Stay Luxury hotel in ArushaMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Your guide meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport for the transfer of roughly an hour to Arusha. After check-in, you sit down with our team for a full safari briefing: the route, what to pack in your day bag, and how game drives work. The rest of the day is yours to rest off the flight, walk in the hotel gardens or swim, with Mount Meru rising behind the town.

2. Day 2 Elephant Country in Tarangire Stay Mid-range tented lodge in the Tarangire areaMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   After breakfast, drive about two hours to Tarangire National Park. The park is known for its large elephant herds and for giant baobab trees that make even a bull elephant look small. In the dry months, animals gather along the Tarangire River, so expect zebra, giraffe, buffalo and impala, with a chance of lion and leopard. Birders will want binoculars ready all day. You reach your tented lodge in the late afternoon.

3. Day 3 Over the Highlands to the Serengeti Stay Luxury lodge or tented camp in the central SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Today you climb into the Ngorongoro Highlands, pausing at a viewpoint on the crater rim for your first look into the caldera. The road then drops onto the open grasslands and reaches the Serengeti at Naabi Hill Gate, where you stop for a picnic lunch. In the afternoon, drive past granite kopjes toward the central Serengeti, game viewing as you go, and settle into your lodge or camp for three nights.

4. Day 4 Full Day on the Central Plains Stay Luxury lodge or tented camp in the central SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   The central Serengeti holds wildlife all year, and it is well known for its big cats. Head out early, when lions are still active and cheetahs start scanning the plains. Your guide follows the action, so the day might mean waiting by a kopje for a leopard to move or tracking a herd of wildebeest and zebra. Lunch is at camp or a picnic in the bush, depending on where the game is.

5. Day 5 A Second Serengeti Day, at Your Pace Stay Luxury lodge or tented camp in the central SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   A second full day lets you go deeper or slow down. Some travelers spend it on one long drive with a packed lunch, others prefer a dawn outing, a rest at camp through the midday heat and a late-afternoon drive into sunset. Depending on the month, the migrating herds may be close by. Either way, the river valleys and rocky outcrops of the central plains keep producing sightings.

6. Day 6 Serengeti Morning, Ngorongoro Rim by Sunset Stay Luxury lodge or camp on the Ngorongoro Crater rimMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Enjoy one last morning game drive in the Serengeti, then start back toward the highlands, watching for wildlife along the way. In the afternoon, stop at a Maasai village to meet a family, see how their homes are built and learn a little about daily life with cattle. You reach your accommodation on the crater rim in time to watch the light fade over the caldera from the edge.

7. Day 7 The Ngorongoro Crater Floor Stay Mid-range lodge near Lake Manyara or KaratuMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   After breakfast, descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for a full day on its floor. The grasslands, swamps and soda lake support buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, hippo and lion, and the crater is one of the most reliable places in Tanzania to spot the rare black rhino. Lunch is a picnic on the crater floor. In the late afternoon, drive up and out, then about an hour down to your lodge for the night.

8. Day 8 Lake Manyara and Mto wa Mbu, Then Arusha Meals Breakfast, Lunch

   Spend your last morning near Lake Manyara. Choose a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, where the groundwater forest gives way to open shoreline with baboons, elephants, giraffes and water birds, or a guided bike ride or walk through Mto wa Mbu village, with stops at farms and local businesses. After lunch, drive about two hours back to Arusha or to the airport for your onward flight.

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