7-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

   After breakfast you leave Arusha and travel on toward Tarangire, driving south-west from Arusha through Maasai grazing country. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through rolling country of ancient baobabs, seasonal swamps and the year-round Tarangire River. Look for large elephant herds, zebra, wildebeest, eland and a notably rich birdlife as the light softens through the afternoon. In the dry season the Tarangire River draws wildlife from a wide area, and the park is famous for its baobab-studded landscape. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Tarangire.

2. Day 2

   Tarangire to Lake Manyara

   The morning starts in Tarangire, from where you continue overland to Lake Manyara, driving west from Arusha past Maasai settlements and the escarpment wall. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through 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. Dinner is served at your Lake Manyara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

3. Day 3

   Lake Manyara Area to Serengeti

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Lake Manyara Area for the drive to Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into 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. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Serengeti.

4. Day 4

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   A full day in Serengeti allows you to explore well beyond the areas reached on a short visit. 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. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Serengeti.

5. Day 5

   Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Ngorongoro Crater

   The day opens in Ngorongoro Conservation Area with a morning departure for Ngorongoro Crater, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes 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. Dinner is served at your Ngorongoro Crater camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

6. Day 6

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro

   After breakfast you leave Serengeti and travel on toward 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.

7. Day 7

   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. Arrival back is normally in the afternoon, with a drop-off at your hotel or the airport.