TOUR OVERVIEW
In this 7 Days tour we will cover the 6 most popular destinations in Tanzania - Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Materuni Falls. Tour starts and ends at Arusha. With our experienced driver guides, it will be a trip of a lifetime.
TOUR ITINERARY
DAY 1
Arusha to Arusha National Park. Game drives and walking tour in the park
Today our safari begins! Your guide will pick you up from your hotel in or around Arusha between 8 to 8:30 AM and take you to Arusha National Park. This is a scenic park with a decent number of animals. The park is at the base of Mount Meru and has a range of habitats including forest – home to the black-and-white colobus monkey – and is excellent for birding. Lakes here often host flocks of flamingo. The park's appeal is mainly its scenery. After short game drives, we explore the park on foot where you might come across giraffes, buffalos and other animals from a distance. Post the game drive, you will head back to your camp/lodge where a delicious dinner awaits you.
DAY 2
Transfer from Arusha to Tarangire. Game drives in Tarangire for rest of the day
We start at around 7:00 AM from Arusha and drive to Tarangire National park with packed lunch boxes. Tarangire gate will be about 2.5 hours drive away. Once we reach the park, we start game drives here. Tarangire National park is known for its majestic baobab trees that dot the landscape, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. The Tarangire River is the centerpiece of this park which is famous for some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa. Here you may see lion, leopard, cheetah, lesser kudu, buffalo, Oryx, eland, giraffe and zebra. We will have a lunch break at a picnic scenic picnic spot. Post lunch, we will continue with game drives till around 5:00 PM or so and after the game drive, we will drive to accommodation. Dinner and overnight at this lodge.
DAY 3
Game drives at Lake Manyara National park
After a good nights's rest, finish your breakfast and get ready by around 8:30 AM. Depart to Lake Manyara National Park with a picnic lunch for a full day game drive. As you enter the national park, lush forests of Acacia and Mahogany trees begin to set the mood for what is waiting ahead. The game drive will go on till around 5:00 PM or so with a small break for picnic lunch. During the game drive watch out for buffaloes, giraffes, impalas, baboons and the blue monkeys. Another spectacle of Lake Manyara National park is the tree climbing lions, however spotting them is a game of luck. In the right season, you can see the shoreline turning pink with millions of flamingos flocking there. Post the game drive, you will head back to your lodge to reach before 6:00 PM where a delicious dinner awaits you.
DAY 4
Transfer to Central Serengeti for afternoon game drives
After breakfast, we checkout from hotel around 9:00 AM and head towards Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. After driving for about couple of hours, we Leave Ngorongoro highlands behind, and descend into dusty plains of Ngorongoro while passing next to Maasai villages. Around 1:00 PM, we reach the gate of the Serengeti National Park. After lunch, we check into park and head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti's species. We do an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park till around 5:30 PM. The long day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
DAY 5
Full Day game drives in Central Serengeti
We depart around 8:00 AM after breakfast, with packed lunch boxes for full day game drives that last for about 8-9 hours in Central Serengeti. We return to camp around 5:30 PM. Optional add-on tours this day: Balloon Safari in the morning ($540 per person) or Walking safari for 3-4 hours ($45 per person sharing or $60 for solo client) in Central Serengeti.
DAY 6
Morning game drives in Central Serengeti and transfer to Ngorongoro/Karatu
After early breakfast, we depart at around 6:30 AM and will have game drives till around noon in Central Serengeti. Later depart for accommodation in Karatu, crossing Ngorongoro conservation area.Optional add-on tours this day: Maasai Village tour ($25 per person) or Olduvai gorge museum visit ($35 per person) in Ngorongoro on the way from Serengeti
DAY 7
Ngorongoro crater tour (5 hours) and afternoon transfer to Arusha
After an early breakfast, descend to the crater floor for game drive(5 hours). You can expect to see lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, hyenas, Jackals, rhinos and many birds. The birds seen here include eagle, vulture, flamingos in the Crater Lake, storks, giant vulture,and many more. Post the picnic lunch at the beautiful Hippo pool, you will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater. With a 3.5 hr drive left to your accommodation in Arusha, the day will come to a close. This is also the last day of our tour! Bid goodbye to your guide with lots of good memories. Hotel in Arusha can be arranged at extra cost.
DAY 8
Visit to Materuni falls, chagga tribe and coffee plantation tour and drop at Arusha or Kili airport
After breakfast, around 8:00 AM we start the 2 hour drive to Materuni which is located under the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival, you will do a 35 minutes hike to the waterfalls. If weather is clear, we might get decent views of Mt Kilimanjaro this day. Make sure to wear good boots as the trail can be often muddy. The pool at the bottom of the waterfall is a good place for a refreshing swim after the hike. 25-minute hike back from the waterfalls afterward you will join a local tribe with whom you will a enjoy delicious Swahili/Chagga lunch. After lunch, you will explore the coffee-making process and get to processes your own cup of coffee. Later you will be driven either back to the hotel in Arusha or to the airport. With an incredible experience and loads of memories to cherish, our tour comes to an end. Hotel in Arusha can be arranged at extra cost.