SERENGETI & NGORONGORO CLASSIC
HIGHLIGHTS
DAY BY DAY
Arrival in Arusha
Welcome to Tanzania. Your guide meets you at Kilimanjaro Airport with a smile and your name on a sign. The drive to Arusha takes an hour through villages and coffee plantations — your first glimpse of rural Tanzania. Overnight at a quiet lodge on the edge of town. Dinner on your own tonight; tomorrow, your safari begins.
Tarangire National Park
After breakfast, you head south toward Tarangire. By mid-morning, you're inside the park, and the baobab trees rise like ancient monuments. Elephants move in herds of thirty or more. Your guide knows where the lions rest during the heat of the day. Picnic lunch under an acacia tree. By late afternoon, you reach your lodge overlooking the Tarangire River. Sundowner on the terrace. Dinner at 7pm.
Serengeti Central Plains
The drive to Serengeti takes five hours, but you won't notice. You stop at Ngorongoro Crater rim for photos that will fill your phone. Descend into the Serengeti through the highlands — the landscape opens into endless grassland. By afternoon, you're on your first game drive. Your guide spots a cheetah on a termite mound scanning for prey. You arrive at camp as the sun sets. Canvas tent, hot shower, three-course dinner under stars.
Full Day Serengeti
You wake before dawn. Coffee and biscuits, then out into the plains while the light is gold. Lions are most active now. By 9am, you've seen a pride with cubs, a leopard in a tree, and wildebeest stretched to the horizon. Return to camp for lunch. Afternoon drive takes you north toward the Mara River — migration season means crossings. If the herds are moving, you position the vehicle and wait. When it happens, it's chaos: thousands of wildebeest plunging into the current.
Serengeti to Ngorongoro
Morning game drive on your way out of Serengeti. You stop at Olduvai Gorge — the "Cradle of Mankind" — for a brief museum visit. By afternoon, you reach the crater rim. The view stops everyone. 600 meters straight down into a caldera that holds 25,000 animals. Your lodge sits on the edge with floor-to-ceiling windows. Dinner with the crater spread out below.
Ngorongoro Crater Floor
Descend at first light. The crater floor is a world unto itself: flamingos on the soda lake, black rhino in the bush, lion prides that never leave. Your guide knows the ranger network — if there's a leopard sighting, you'll hear about it. Picnic lunch by the hippo pool. You spend the whole day down there, ascending only as the afternoon light fades. Back to the lodge for your last night.
Return to Arusha & Departure
After breakfast, you drive back to Arusha. Lunch at a local restaurant (our treat), then transfer to the airport for your evening flight. Your guide shakes your hand and says "Karibu tena" — welcome back. You're already planning your return.
Quick Facts
What's Included
- ✓Private 4x4 safari vehicle
- ✓Professional English-speaking guide
- ✓All park fees and permits
- ✓Accommodation in luxury lodges
- ✓All meals during safari
- ✓Bottled water daily
- ✓Airport transfers
Not Included
- ✗International flights
- ✗Tanzania visa ($50)
- ✗Travel insurance
- ✗Personal expenses
- ✗Tips for guide and lodge staff
- ✗Optional activities