Fly to Tanzania
Your overnight flight to Tanzania.
Tanzania Up Close: Culture, Safari and the Great Migration
Two days among Tarangire's elephants, a morning in a Maasai village and a class at a local school, the Ngorongoro Crater, and then north to the Mara River while the herds are crossing.
- 12 days
- 3
A twelve-day dry-season journey from Tarangire through the Ngorongoro Crater to the northern Serengeti, timed for the Mara River crossings.
The journey at a glance
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Day 01
Fly to Tanzania
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Day 02
Arrival near Arusha
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Day 03
Tarangire National Park
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Day 04
Tarangire National Park
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Day 05
Village day, then the Ngorongoro rim
Ngorongoro Crater
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Day 06
Ngorongoro Crater
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Day 07
Oldupai Gorge to the Serengeti
Serengeti National Park
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Day 08
Central Serengeti
Serengeti National Park
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Day 09
North to the Mara River
Serengeti National Park
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Day 10
Northern Serengeti
Serengeti National Park
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Day 11
Fly to Arusha and home
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Day 12
Arrive home
Best months for this journey: July, August, September, October
Day by day
Arrival near Arusha
A Carnivores Safaris representative meets you outside Kilimanjaro International Airport and drives you to your hotel on a working coffee farm outside Arusha. The chalets face the coffee, each with a private deck looking out over old indigenous trees. This is an arrival day, so no meals are included.
Good to know: Overnight: Lake Duluti Lodge.
Tarangire National Park
Drive south-west to Tarangire, less than two hours from Arusha and often passed over for the Serengeti. The Tarangire River is the only permanent water in the area, so animals travel long distances to reach it: elephant, wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, eland, gerenuk, lion and leopard. Spend the day between Silale Swamp, the open country called Little Serengeti and the river bed, with lunch in the park.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Angata Tarangire Camp.
Tarangire National Park
Morning and afternoon game drives in Tarangire.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Angata Tarangire Camp.
Village day, then the Ngorongoro rim
After breakfast, visit a Maasai village as the community begins its morning, then Lucas Mhina Primary School, where most pupils are Maasai children, to sit in on classes and talk with teachers and students. Walk through Mto wa Mbu and have lunch cooked by a local family. In the afternoon drive up to the Ngorongoro rim, arriving at your lodge for sunset.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Lion's Paw.
Ngorongoro Crater
Descend into the crater for a morning game drive. Grass and water are there all year, so zebra, gazelle, wildebeest, elephant, warthog and rhino stay, and lions with them. Picnic lunch on the crater floor, then back to the lodge in time for sunset.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Lion's Paw.
Oldupai Gorge to the Serengeti
Leave the highlands for the Serengeti, stopping at Oldupai Gorge, where an on-site talk explains the work of Louis and Mary Leakey and the early human fossils found here. Lunch at the gorge, then a game drive into the Serengeti, reaching camp for sunset.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Land of Nature Safari Camp.
Central Serengeti
Leave at 6am with a picnic breakfast for a hippo pool, arriving as the hippos return to the water after a night of grazing. Then follow the Seronera River, which holds water all year and draws lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena as well as elephant and giraffe. Lunch and a rest at camp, then an afternoon drive that ends with a sundowner.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Land of Nature Safari Camp.
North to the Mara River
Move north to the Serengeti near the Kenyan border and the Mara River. Between August and October the wildebeest and zebra are here, and with luck you will see them cross the river, where crocodiles and hippos wait.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Maramara Tented Lodge. Optional: a balloon flight over the northern Serengeti.
Northern Serengeti
A full day exploring the northern Serengeti, following the herds and watching the river.
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Overnight: Maramara Tented Lodge.
Fly to Arusha and home
After a slow breakfast, game drive to Kogatende airstrip for the 1.5-hour flight to Arusha. Lunch in Arusha and a day room, then the drive to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight home.
- Breakfast, Lunch
Arrive home
You arrive home.
What is included
Included
- Accommodation and meals as listed in the itinerary, with three meals a day on safari days
- A private 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof (up to six seats) and your driver-guide
- Your guide team, with a contact number answered 24 hours a day
- Government taxes and levies, and your departure transfer
- Flying Doctors emergency evacuation cover while you are on safari
- Park and crater fees, and fees for village visits
- Drinking water during the safari
Not included
- International flights
- Tips for guides and lodge staff
- Visa fees and travel insurance
- Drinks, alcoholic and soft, other than drinking water
- Laundry
- Personal spending such as souvenirs, phone calls and extras at lodges
- Anything not listed in the itinerary
Places on this journey
Other ways to see these places
Make it yours
Every journey can change: more nights where you love it, a different camp, a beach extension. Tell us what matters and we will shape it with you.
Priced to your dates
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