7 Day Tanzania Safaris

Day 1: Tarangire National Park (B, L, D)

After breakfast you will drive to the Tarangire National Park for a full day game drive.

Tarangire is one of Africa’s little-known gems and should be on the itinerary of all lovers of wilderness and solitude. Its name originates from the Tarangire River that crosses through the park and is the only source of water during the dry season.

Tarangire’s landscape is incredibly diverse with a mix that is not found anywhere else on the northern safari circuit. It is dotted with ancient baobab trees, which the Maasai people believe are the first tree in creation, and large termite mounds. The dry season sees the harsh sun suck the moisture from the landscape, baking the earth a dusty red while the wet season brings dense bush and luscious high grasses.

Famous for its large elephant population, it is also home to zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, waterbuck, baboons, dwarf mongoose, impala, buffalo, antelope and fringe-eared oryx. Predators include lion, cheetah and leopard. The swamps are shared by flocks of birds; green wood hoopoes, lovebirds, tallish herons, white bellied go-away birds and giant kingfishers. On drier ground you will find the kori bustard and the heaviest of the flying birds; the ostrich.

In the late afternoon you will drive to your lodge in Manyara where you will have the opportunity to enjoy sundowners by the pool and watch the sun set over the horizon.

Overnight & Dinner– Marera Valley Lodge, Karatu ( 1 double room)

Day 2: Lake Natron (B, L, D)

Today you will travel to the wild and remote Lake Natron which is situated at the base of Africa’s only active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai and is known as the Mountain of God to the local Maasai people. The area around Lake Natron contains some of the most harsh and amazing scenery in Africa and is utterly breathtaking.

Together with your Guide, you will be accompanied by a local Maasai Guide and walk up to the Engero Sero Waterfalls. Winding up through the shady gorge you will reach a beautiful natural swimming pool surrounded by steep rock walls showered by cascading spring water where you will have the opportunity to swim.

Overnight & Dinner – Lake Natron Tented Camp, Lake Natron ( 1 double room)

Day 3: Lake Natron (B, L, D)

Lake Natron is one of the most alkaline lakes in the world and home to millions of tiny crustaceans. The lake is a haven for literally thousands of flamingos and it is one of the most important flamingo breeding grounds on earth. It is the landscape rather than the animals that is the attraction here and the area around the lake is dry, desolate and hauntingly beautiful.

After breakfast you will walk out across the baked mud to the shores of the great Soda Lake. From here, you can look back at the memorising view of Oldoinyo Lengai standing tall amongst the rolling hills and flat plains. Its ash-grey colour will remind you that this is still an active volcano.

After lunch, you will travel back to Karatu.

Overnight & Dinner– Marera Valley Lodge, Karatu (1 double room)

Day 4: Serengeti National Park (B, L, D)

Today after breakfast you will travel to the Serengeti National Park which is one of Africa’s premier game parks. Driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area toward the Serengeti National Park you will begin to experience the vastness of this territory and marvel at the multitude of animal and bird life while cruising through this acacia spotted savannah.

You will Visit Olduvai Gorge which is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world for early human evolution. The site is significant in showing the increasing developmental and social complexities in the earliest humans. Here you will enjoy free time to discover the museum before continuing to the Serengeti

The Serengeti is Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Serengeti is a year-round destination and each season has its own special highlight with the most famous being the annual wildebeest migration, a once in a lifetime experience.

You will game drive enroute before arriving into the Serengeti in time for a half day game drive.

Overnight & Dinner– Osero Tented Camp, Serengeti National Park (1 double room)

Day 5: Serengeti National Park (B, L, D)

Today you will venture deeper into the world-famous Serengeti on a full day game drive.

Overnight & Dinner– Osero Tented Camp, Serengeti National Park (1 double room)

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater (B, L, D)
Today you will be rewarded with a full day game drive in the stunning Ngorongoro Crater which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 and is one of the only places on earth where mankind and wild animals co-exist is harmony. The Ngorongoro Crater is famous for Africa’s best game viewing as there is an ever present abundance of wildlife due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor.

Upon arrival at the Crater’s rim you will descend 610 metres into the Crater where your safari truly begins. Spot the endangered black rhino as well as wildebeest, buffalo, zebra,

eland, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelle and of course, giant tusked elephants. The Crater also has the largest known population of lions and you will also find leopards and cheetahs as well as scavengers such as spotted hyenas, jackals and rare wild dogs. Over 500 species of birds have been recorded within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and these include white pelicans and flamingos.

In the late afternoon you will drive to Karatu where you will spend the night.

Overnight & Dinner– Marera Valley Lodge, Karatu (1 double room)

Day 8: Lake Manyara National Park (B, L)

Today you will visit the Lake Manyara National Park for a full day game drive. Stretching along the base of the Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is home to giant fig trees, acacia woodlands, mahogany trees and grassy flood plains. The contrasts of this area are simply breathtaking with its open plains, huge escarpment, Soda Lake, dense woodlands, and distant volcanic peaks coming together in an area best described by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.

Animals such as large buffalo, wildebeest, giraffes, mongoose, dik dik and zebra herds congregate on the grassy plains while the narrow belt of acacia woodland is home to the legendary tree-climbing lions and tusked elephants.

Lake Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s bird life with more than 400 species being recorded. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large waterbirds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks.

In the late afternoon you will return to Arusha for your final evening.

Overnight – own arrangement