6-Day Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

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

1. Day 1

   Arusha to Tarangire

   You leave Arusha after breakfast and head for Tarangire, driving south-west from Arusha through Maasai grazing country. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across rolling country of ancient baobabs, seasonal swamps and the year-round Tarangire River. This is good country in which to look for 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Tarangire.

2. Day 2

   Tarangire Area to Lake Manyara

   You leave Tarangire Area after breakfast and head for Lake Manyara, driving west from Arusha past Maasai settlements and the escarpment wall. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across groundwater forest, open floodplain and an alkaline lake beneath the Rift Valley escarpment. There is the possibility of seeing elephant, baboon troops, hippo, giraffe and large numbers of waterbirds including flamingo, depending on movement and conditions on the day. Manyara is known for its groundwater forest fed by springs at the base of the escarpment, and for lions that are sometimes seen resting in trees. The evening is spent at your Lake Manyara accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

3. Day 3

   Lake Manyara Area to Serengeti

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Lake Manyara Area bound 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. Look for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra as the light softens through the afternoon. 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 at your camp or lodge in Serengeti.

4. Day 4

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   An unhurried full day in Serengeti gives your guide room to follow whatever the morning turns up. You travel through vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, working the areas your guide judges most productive on the day. Species commonly associated with the area include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra. 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.

5. Day 5

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro

   The day opens in Serengeti with a morning departure for Ngorongoro, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. Look for lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen as the light softens through the afternoon. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Ngorongoro.

6. Day 6

   Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across 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. The day ends with a drop-off in Nairobi at your hotel or the airport.