Day 1 - Flight to Tanzania
Begin your vacation to Tanzania by checking in for your overnight flight from London to Kilimanjaro, making a quick connection in Nairobi.
Includes meals on your flight.
Day 2 - Arusha
Arriving at Tanzania's Kilimanjaro Airport in the morning, you will be met and driven to Mt Meru Game Lodge in Arusha for the night. Take this opportunity to freshen up, relax, enjoy the hotel's tranquil gardens and take your time over a nice lunch.
You have the day here at leisure, perhaps to simply put your feet up or to explore the lodge's grounds. These also act as a sanctuary to orphaned or injured animals brought here for rehabilitation. Resident animals may include eland, ostrich, waterbuck, zebra and buffalo.
The more energetic and adventurous travellers amongst you may wish to take a taxi into the bustling town of Arusha where you will find curio markets, cafes, shops and restaurants. There is also a quaint and interesting Tanzanite museum showcasing the history of this precious and rare stone which is found only in Tanzania.
Includes breakfast and dinner.
Day 3 - Tarangire National Park
After breakfast you'll meet with your safari group and guide before departing for Tarangire National Park. It is about a two-hour drive through rural Tanzania, passing Maasai manyattas and numerous curios stands along the way. Your guide will be local to the area, and so knowledgeable about the villager's life and traditions - feel free to ask him plenty of questions.
Around mid-morning you will reach Tarangire's park gates and this is when your wildlife safari begins. Meander your way through this park which is famous for its abundance of elephants and imposing baobab trees before arriving at your hotel, the Tarangire Sopa Lodge, for lunch.
After freshening up and having a bite to eat you'll spend the afternoon exploring the park with your guide. Turn back towards the lodge as the light starts to fade and arrive in time for a sundowner drink on the terrace.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 4 - Lake Manyara National Park
A morning game drive takes you from the lodge, through Tarangire National Park to the exit. Leaving Tarangire behind around mid-morning it's only a 45-minute drive to reach Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. You'll aim to arrive for lunch and this is also where you will spend the night. The lodge is perched right on the edge of the Rift Valley Escarpment and the views of Lake Manyara and beyond are amazing. There might be time for a quick dip in the pool before you head out for an afternoon game drive.
Lake Manyara National Park, only a short 20-minute drive away, is relatively small at 330km2. Even so, it is a remarkably diverse and scenic wildlife park with open grassland alongside the lakeshore, dense forest near the park gate and patches of acacia woodland, all of which are overshadowed by the sheer cliff face of the Great Rift Valley Escarpment. The birdlife here is fantastic and wildlife viewing good - with plains game grazing on the short grass plains and elephants nibbling leaves from the acacia trees. Around dusk, you depart the park and head back to the safari lodge in time for dinner.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Days 5 & 6 - Serengeti National Park
Leaving Lake Manyara behind, you depart after breakfast and head towards the Serengeti National Park - arguably the best-known wildlife park in Tanzania. This is a stunning drive, from the hills of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where Maasai herd their cattle alongside zebra and wildebeest, to the flat grass plains of the southern Serengeti.
Continue on to the Serengeti Sopa Lodge, stopping to see any game you pass along the way, and arriving in time for a hot lunch. This is your base for the next two nights as you safari in the central Serengeti. This area of Tanzania supports an exceptional amount of wildlife thanks to the perennial Seronera River which draws abundant plains game and predators.
On your full day here you'll get up early and head out at first light; it is during these cooler hours when predators are most active and so when your chances of seeing cats hunting are best. Today you are likely to take a packed lunch with you so that you can stay out all day. This allows you to explore further reaches of the park, such as the Moru Kopjies where you will find some well-preserved Maasai rock paintings, as well as a good population of lion and cheetah.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Days 7 & 8 - Ngorongoro Crater
Today you will turn around and head south, driving through the Serengeti and parts of rural Tanzania on a trip lasting about three hours. Your destination is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, but en-route you will stop at Olduvai Gorge: an important archaeological site where early man was discovered. Look around the small but informative museum which explains the history of the excavation site and what has been discovered here to date.
Carry on until you reach the rim of the famous Ngorongoro Crater and your overnight accommodation, the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge. Situated right on the Crater's rim, this lodge offers spectacular views onto the Ngorongoro Crater floor, and you should arrive just in time for the subtle evening light - perfect for taking a few scenic shots.
After an early breakfast, depart the lodge with your group for a full day's safari on the Ngorongoro Crater floor. This self-contained ecosystem, proclaimed a World Heritage Site in 1978, is home to all of the 'big five' and is reported to have the densest population of predators in Africa.
Stop for a packed lunch at one of the picnic sites in the Crater. Then, after an afternoon of game viewing seeking out more of Tanzania's famed wildlife, head back up the 600m climb for your second night at the lodge on the Crater's rim.
Includes breakfast on your flight, lunch and dinner.
Day 9 - Flight to London
After an early breakfast, you'll leave the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge and drive back towards Kilimanjaro Airport. Stop in Arusha for lunch on the way and perhaps take the time to visit one of the street-side stalls to pick up a few souvenirs. You will arrive at the airport in plenty of time to connect onto your international overnight flight to London.
Includes breakfast. Dinner is provided on your international flight.
Alternatively, instead of returning straight home, you may wish to relax on a Tanzanian beach for a bit. If so then consider one of our tailor-made Expert Africa beach add-on holidays to Zanzibar, Pemba, Ras Kutani or the Mafia Archipelago. Call us to ask about this and to get a possible quote.
Day 10 - Arrive in London
Arrive into London in the morning after a fantastic action-packed safari vacation to four of Tanzania's top wildlife parks.
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