9-Day Luxury Honeymoon Safari
Northern Serengeti Central Serengeti Ngorongoro Tarangire
From, per person$7,262
Tanzania safari
9-Day Crater, Serengeti & Rubondo Island Safari
Overview
Chimpanzees are not the first animal most people link with a Tanzania safari. Yet on Rubondo Island, a national park in the southwest of Lake Victoria, a habituation project is slowly getting the island’s chimps used to quiet human visitors, and joining a tracking walk with a guide, a researcher and a ranger is the closing chapter of this luxury journey.
Before the lake, you cover the northern classics. A night at a five-star hotel in Arusha is followed by the Ngorongoro highlands and a game drive on the crater floor, then three nights in a mobile tented camp in the Serengeti that relocates through the year to stay near the migrating herds. Charter flights carry you west to the island and, at the end, back to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Tanzania Tourism Safaris uses luxury hotels, lodges and tented camps throughout. Meals and local drinks are included on every full day, and game drives are in a 4×4 Land Cruiser. The trip can run with a single guest, so it works for solo travelers as well as couples and small groups.
Tour highlights
- Chimpanzee tracking on Rubondo Island
- Game drive on the Ngorongoro Crater floor
- Three nights in a Serengeti mobile tented camp
- Boat outings on Lake Victoria
- Charter flights to the island and back
- Luxury lodging, meals and local drinks included
Day by day
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Day 1 Arrival and a Five-Star Night in Arusha Stay Luxury hotel in ArushaMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
You are met at Kilimanjaro International Airport and driven to Arusha, a trip of roughly an hour. Your hotel for the night is a five-star property with a pool, a fitness room and several places to eat, a comfortable base for getting over the long flight. Use the afternoon to rest, swim or walk in the gardens, and enjoy an easy dinner before the safari begins tomorrow.
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Day 2 Highlands Drive and the Ngorongoro Crater Stay Luxury lodge in the Ngorongoro highlandsMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Set off after breakfast for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a drive of nearly three hours that climbs from the Rift Valley into cool, forested highlands. Descend into the crater for a game drive among buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and hippo, with a chance of lions and black rhino. If you wish, add a visit to a Maasai village before continuing to your lodge in the highlands near the crater.
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Day 3 Onward to a Mobile Camp in the Serengeti Stay Luxury mobile tented camp in the SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Leave the highlands for the Serengeti, where your camp moves between the southern and northern parts of the park during the year to stay close to the migration. The tents are roomy, with their own showers and flush toilets, but only canvas separates you from the night sounds of the plains. Depending on where the camp is pitched, the transfer is either a drive with game viewing along the way or a short charter flight.
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Day 4 Following the Herds Stay Luxury mobile tented camp in the SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Spend the day on game drives from camp, shaped by the season. In the south, roughly December to March, wildebeest graze the short-grass plains and most calves are born around February. In the north, from about July to October, the herds gather near the Mara River. Lions, cheetahs, leopards and hyenas are rarely far from the herds. Return to camp for dinner and a seat by the fire.
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Day 5 Big Cats and Open Savanna Stay Luxury mobile tented camp in the SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A second full day lets you slow down. Your guide might spend the morning with a pride of lions, then search a line of riverside trees for leopard, or scan open ground for cheetah hunting in the cooler hours. Take a picnic lunch to stay out longer, or come back to camp to rest through midday. Evenings are spent around the campfire, comparing notes on the day’s sightings.
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Day 6 Charter Flight West to Rubondo Island Stay Luxury tented camp on Rubondo IslandMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After a final morning drive in the Serengeti, board a light aircraft for the flight west to Rubondo Island in Lake Victoria. Much of the island is forest, running right down to the shoreline. Settle into your tent overlooking the lake, then take a gentle walk near camp or simply watch the light change over the water from your veranda. Dinner tonight comes with the sounds of the forest around you.
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Day 7 Tracking Chimpanzees in the Forest Stay Luxury tented camp on Rubondo IslandMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Start early with your guide, a researcher and a park ranger to look for the island’s chimpanzees. Because the habituation work is still underway, the chimps are not yet fully used to people, so sightings are never certain and the walk can take several hours through thick forest. Wear long pants and sturdy shoes. In the afternoon, rest by the pool or join a guided nature walk.
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Day 8 Lake Victoria by Boat and on Foot Stay Luxury tented camp on Rubondo IslandMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Spend the day as you choose. A trip in a traditional dhow along the shore is a relaxing way to look for hippos, crocodiles and water birds, and with luck a sitatunga, the shy antelope that lives in swampy ground at the water’s edge. A game drive on the island or a forest walk with a guide are other options. Finish with a quiet drink as the sun sets over the lake.
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Day 9 Flight to Kilimanjaro and Departure Meals Breakfast, Lunch
Enjoy a last breakfast looking out over Lake Victoria before the short drive to the island’s airstrip. Your morning flight takes you east to Kilimanjaro International Airport, where the safari ends. From there you can connect to your international flight or continue your travels in Tanzania, perhaps with a few days on the beach in Zanzibar or a climb on Kilimanjaro.
Prices by season
Per person in US dollars. The price depends on when you travel and how many travelers share the trip.
| Season | 1 traveler | 2 travelers | 4 travelers | 6 travelers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low season 1 Mar – 31 May | $16,653 | $11,102 | $10,354 | $10,076 |
| High season 1 Nov – 20 Dec and 6 Jan – 29 Feb | $17,529 | $11,689 | $10,899 | $10,606 |
| Peak season Now 1 Jun – 31 Oct and 21 Dec – 5 Jan | $19,477 | $12,985 | $12,110 | $11,785 |
Tour price includes
- Charter flights between destinations, including to and from Rubondo Island
- Airport meet and greet with private transfers
- Eight nights in luxury hotels, lodges and tented camps
- Breakfast daily, plus lunches, dinners and local drinks as listed
- Game drives in a 4×4 Land Cruiser (up to 7 travelers)
- English-speaking local guides
- All activities in the itinerary, including chimpanzee tracking
- National park and conservation area fees and taxes
Tour price excludes
- International flights
- Tanzania visa fees
- Travel insurance
- Souvenirs and other personal spending
Questions about this safari
Will I definitely see chimpanzees on Rubondo?
No sighting can be promised. The island’s chimps are still being habituated, which means they are wary of people and can be hard to find in the forest. Your tracking walk follows the research team’s latest information, and the island has plenty else to see, including sitatunga, birds and life along the lakeshore.
Where is Rubondo Island, and how do I get there?
Rubondo Island is a national park in the southwest of Lake Victoria, in northwestern Tanzania. Most safari travelers reach it by light aircraft. On this trip, the charter flight from the Serengeti to the island and the flight from the island back to Kilimanjaro International Airport are both included.
Where in the Serengeti is the mobile camp?
The camp is set up in different parts of the Serengeti during the year, generally in the south in the green season and in the north in the dry months, to stay close to the wildebeest. We confirm its location for your dates, which also decides whether you reach it by road or by air.
Before you go
Where you will go
Parks on this safari
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