5-Day Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Karatu Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Arusha → Tarangire National Park → Serengeti National Park → Ngorongoro Conservation Area → Karatu → Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha

1. Day 1

   Arusha to Tarangire

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Arusha to Tarangire, driving south-west from Arusha through Maasai grazing country. Once you reach Tarangire there is time to check in before heading out among rolling country of ancient baobabs, seasonal swamps and the year-round Tarangire River. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes large elephant herds, zebra, wildebeest, eland and a notably rich birdlife. In the dry season the Tarangire River draws wildlife from a wide area, and the park is famous for its baobab-studded landscape. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. Dinner is served at your Tarangire camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

2. Day 2

   Tarangire Area to Serengeti

   The day opens in Tarangire Area with a morning departure for Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, depending on movement and conditions on the day. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Serengeti.

3. Day 3

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   The whole day is given to Serengeti, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. Your route takes in vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, with your guide reading recent movement to decide where to spend time. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, though wild sightings are never guaranteed. The scale of the plains rewards a full day, with time to work several areas rather than rushing between them. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. Dinner and overnight are again at your Serengeti camp or lodge.

4. Day 4

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro / Karatu

   The day opens in Serengeti with a morning departure for Ngorongoro / Karatu, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. Once you reach Ngorongoro / Karatu there is time to check in before heading out among a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. This is good country in which to look for lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. The evening is spent at your Ngorongoro / Karatu accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

5. Day 5

   Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Ngorongoro Crater for the drive to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. Once you reach Arusha there is time to check in before heading out among northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. You are dropped at your Nairobi hotel or the airport in the late afternoon.