Details

Day 1: Meet and greet

Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport, where we will be waiting to meet you once you have cleared customs and transfer to your accommodation, where you will enjoy a wonderful dinner and a superb night’s rest and relaxation. This is your chance to really soak up the atmosphere and prepare for your adventure.

Dinner

Arusha Planet Lodge

Day 2: Arusha - Ngorongoro Highland

After breakfast, you will meet your guide for a short briefing before drive south of Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park, with the option to visit the culturally-diverse village of Mto wa Mbu set on the banks of the river of the same name, for a taste of tribal life in the African bush.

Enjoy a picnic lunch fabulous views of the lake, followed by afternoon wildlife viewing, soaking up the diverse flora and fauna of the park; there are some 350 species of birds alone. The park preserves a variety of animals like the gazelle, impala, buffalo, wildebeest, hyena, baboon, giraffe, hippo, and the famous tree-climbing lions. Late in the afternoon, we head off to Ngorongoro Highlands.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Ngorongoro Farm House

Day 3: Exploring Ngorongoro Crater - Central Serengeti

After early breakfast, we head off with a packed lunch to Ngorongoro and descend into the crater for an in-depth exploration of this distinctive ecosystem. Enjoy abundant wildlife viewing set against this impressive backdrop. This drive provides one of the best opportunities in Africa to view black rhino. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles; its magical setting and abundant wildlife never fail to enthrall visitors.

Another big draw is the dense population of predators, which includes: lions, hyenas, jackals, and small cats like the rare caracal. Picnic lunch will be served at one of the picnic sites on the crater floor, then off to the hippo pool near the Mandusi Swamp, Lake Magadi. This is a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner which is one of the main features of the crater, the lerai forest as well as other parts of the crater searching for different wildlife interactions in the area.

We then leave the crater and drive to the central east plain of the Serengeti via the Gol Kopjes. This area is a fragile habitat consisting of ethereal kopjes and short grass plains. Driving through the Gol kopjes is always a breathtaking experience with a vision of vast open plains and amazing wildlife, like gazelles and cheetahs. Late in the afternoon, we drive to your base for the next two nights.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Mawe Tented Camp

Day 4: Exploring Central Serengeti

After breakfast, a full day wildlife-viewing awaits on our way to Exploring the vast Serengeti and its endless plains. You can choose to break the day into two, by doing early morning and late afternoon drive through the central Serengeti.

The golden light of dawn invites amazing photographic opportunities, departing at first light with a picnic breakfast, in search of migration heard across the Central Serengeti. Areas that will be visited are the Retima Hippo pool, Maasai and sametu kopjes, and plains as well as Moru and Simba kopjes.

The Central Serengeti and Seronera river valley is home to a great diversity of wildlife due to its unique ecological niches as a transition zone where two distinctly different habitats, the plain and the woodlands merge and various species of wildlife from both habitats can coexist.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Mawe Tented Camp

Day 5, 6 & 7: Exploring Northern Serengeti

After breakfast, you will enjoy a wildlife drive en route to Northern Serengeti where you will have a chance to visit the Kogatende area (the northern part of Serengeti) where the Mara River is situated. The Northern Serengeti is home to a huge number of resident animals including lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, eland, black rhinos, and wild dogs.

This is also a wonderful time of year to witness one of three significant events that happen during the Great Migrations – the annual river crossings. Your days will be a combination of looking for good river crossings and other wildlife interactions along the Mara River, Wogakuria kopjes as well as the Lamai triangle. The Northern Serengeti and the entire Mara river area are truly awe-inspiring and will surely be one of the highlights of your safari.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Mara Katikati Camp

Day 8: North Serengeti – Arusha Bush flight and departure

Early breakfast at the camp and then leave the camp for Kogatende Airstrip with wildlife viewing en-route. Bush flight from Kogatende to Arusha. You will stop at a cultural heritage site for lunch and optional shopping and then drive to Ngarasero Mountain Lodge for a day room and early dinner before being transferred to Kilimanjaro Airport for your flight home.

Breakfast, Lunch

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Birding Safaris, Photographic Safaris, Walking Safaris, Wildebeest Migration, African Safari, Serengeti, Ngorongoro