Accommodation: Arusha Coffee Lodge – plantation rooms, Serengeti Migration Camp – safari tents, Serengeti Under Canvas - safari tents, Ngorongoro Crater Lodge – stone and thatch rooms

Destinations: Arusha, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area – Northern Safari Circuit, Tanzania

Activities: Game drives, guided nature walks, birding, bush dining, sundowner cocktails.

Arrive: Dar es Salaam International Airport
Depart: Dar es Salaam International Airport

What to expect from this 8 day Wonders of Tanzania Safari:

An 8-day fly-in luxury safari through Tanzania, exploring two of the most famous parts of the northern Tanzania safari circuit, the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater.

You will stay in luxury camps throughout and your mobile campsite in Serengeti moves according to the forecast movements of the Great Migration, so you are assured of quality game viewing. You will be accompanied by highly knowledgeable guides throughout your stay that will help you experience the most out of your Tanzania safari.

Day 1: Arusha

Located in the northern highlands of Tanzania, beneath the peaks of Mt Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro, is Arusha the safari capital of Tanzania. Arusha’s location near the major national parks makes it an ideal location for the start of your exciting Tanzania vacation.

On your arrival into Arusha, you will be met at the airport and transferred to Arusha Coffee Lodge. Arusha Coffee Lodge is situated in acres of Tanzania’s largest coffee plantantion. This boutique hotel lodge has been designed around the farms’ original colonial plantation homes and together with luxurious accommodation and fine dining is a popular place to relax.

Laze around the swimming pool, enjoy sundowners and delicious meals during your stay. 18 plantation houses are lavishly furnished with a spilt level living room and a private and spacious verandah. The bathroom is spacious with a bath tub and shower.

Day 2 - 4 : Serengeti

After breakfast, you will board a light aircraft to the northern area of the Serengeti, Lobo airstrip, where your private driver will meet you. Enjoy a game drive en-route to the camp (camp is about 45 minute from the airstrip) on your Tanzania vacation

Serengeti Migration Camp has a fantastic location in the northern Serengeti. Around July-August you can usually see the Great migration here as it heads north; then around November you have a good chance of seeing it heading south. So either way, the huge herds of wildebeest make this an exciting Tanzania safari camp to visit.

Serengeti Migration Camp is a tented camp, tucked in amongst a group of kopjes in northern Serengeti. The camp has a colonial feel, yet it is also very open and rustic. The twenty tented rooms at Serengeti Migration Camp are comfortable, spacious and stylish. Each sits on a raised wooden platform and has its own private deck with a 360º view of the Serengeti. Facilities include a split level lounge, cigar bar, a sun deck and swimming pool all perched amongst the rocky outcrops overlooking the vast and rugged landscapes.

Activities centre on exploring the Serengeti by 4WD. Serengeti Migration Camp has three resident guides and they will escort you on morning and an afternoon game drives. There is also an option of a full day safari with a packed lunch. This will give you the chance to explore further and deeper into the park.

This northern area of the Serengeti is especially exciting to visit during the months of July and August, and around November, when the great migration is likely to be in the area. Also being quite far north in the Serengeti, there is a definite lack of other Tanzania safari vehicles in the area, so you will have the luxury of being on safaris undisturbed.

Day 4 - 6 : Serengeti - Serengeti Under Canvas

Serengeti Under Canvas is made up of several different semi-permanent camps. These luxurious tented camps move around the Park year round, bringing you within reach of the Great Migration and exploring remote corners of the Serengeti with excellent resident game. Using only private campsites, these migratory camps are intimate and exclusive.

The two tented camps located within the Serengeti National Park tend to be in the south of the park from January to May, and then they move to the north of the park for June to December. Each camp consists of six large, luxury tents with en-suite bucket showers which are open to the sky, and separate flush toilets. The tents have high-quality fixtures and fittings, including Indian rugs and percale linens. A stylish dining and lounge tent where you'll be served delicious food on silver and drinks in crystal glasses completes the intimate camping.

There is no running water or electricity, but there are gas lamps and each tent has battery-operated lighting and a torch is supplied. (There is a power outlet -220v AC- in the vehicles which can be used to charge camera batteries.)

Game drives explore the endless plains of the Serengeti in the early morning and late afternoon in open 4x4 safari vehicles. Cocktails are served around a blazing fire, upon your return from the afternoon game drive. Dine under the stars on a delicious bush meal cooked on the open fire. After dinner, indulge in decadent desserts, served with tea, coffee or cognac. Reminisce about your adventurous day in the African bush around a glowing campfire.

Day 6 - 8: Ngorongoro Conservation Area

This morning you will fly from the Serengeti to the Lake Manyara airstrip. Arrive at Manyara airport mid-morning, where a guide will meet and drive you through the countryside to the border of the Ngorongoro Crater. You will spend two nights at the opulent Ngorongoro Crater Lodge.

Occupying a spectacular spot right on the rim of the Crater, the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is based on traditional Maasai manyattas (homesteads) from the outside and a grand stately home from the inside. Antiques, guild mirrors and African art complement each other beautifully in this contemporary lodge.

The Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is actually split into three different smaller lodges. The North and South Lodges have twelve rooms each and the Tree Lodge has only six rooms. Each lodge has their own individual lounge and dining areas.

The stone-and-thatch rooms are dotted along the hillside, all looking out over the Ngorongoro Crater. Every room has its own 'butler' – who is responsible for looking after you during your stay. All the bedrooms are decorated with rich colours, chandeliers and wood-panelled walls. A fire place is lit in the evenings by your personal butler.

During one of your days here, head into the Crater with one of the excellent and knowledgeable Tanzania safari guides. The vehicles are closed-sided safari vehicles with pop-top roofs – designed for game viewing. Though games drives in the Crater are the main reason to stay here, there are interesting and beautiful walks around the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This usually involves a short drive, where you will meet up with a park ranger. Together with your guide you will all set off for a gentle 2-3 hour walk.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, established in 1959, is a area where pastoralism, conservation and tourism co-exist in carefully managed harmony. The centrepiece of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater which is a caldera. The Crater floor is a natural sanctuary for thousands of animals and many species of insects and birds. Lush highlands surround the Crater, falling away to the tawny plains and alkaline lakes of the Great Rift Valley.

Day 8: Return Flight to Arusha

Depart after an early breakfast for your return flight to Arusha. You will be dropped off at your hotel or the Arusha airport for your onward arrangements.

Included:

Not Included: