Overview
| Accommodation | Confirmed together with you — see the Rates tab for general comfort levels we work with. |
|---|---|
| Meals | Full board on safari days; meals as specified for any city/beach nights, per your final itinerary. |
Day by Day (3 days)
TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK GAME DRIVES
Tarangire is best known for its giant baobab trees, some over a thousand years old, and for the largest elephant herds in northern Tanzania. The park is less crowded than the Serengeti, so you often have long sightings of animals all to yourself. You spend the day on game drives along the Tarangire River, the only permanent water source in the area during the dry season, where elephants, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffe, impala and eland gather in large numbers. Lions are often found resting in the shade of acacia and baobab trees, leopards are seen in the riverside trees and the park holds more than 500 bird species, including the colourful yellow-collared lovebird and the huge kori bustard. During the green season the migratory herds scatter across the plains outside the park, and the park becomes lush and quiet. Your guide takes a picnic lunch at a viewpoint above the river, where you can stretch your legs and watch the herds from a distance. Mid-morning and late afternoon are the best times for game viewing, as the animals move to the water and the light is soft for photography. The dry season from June to October brings thousands of elephants to the river, and herds of up to 300 are not unusual. In the green season the animals disperse across the wider ecosystem, but the scenery and the birdlife are at their best. You rest at an upscale retreat with elegant suites, a fine restaurant and staff who anticipate everything you need. Coming up tomorrow: Lake Manyara National Park game drive.
LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK GAME DRIVE
Lake Manyara is a compact park between the Rift Valley escarpment and a shallow alkaline lake. During the wet season more than 400 bird species are seen, including pelicans, storks, spoonbills and the large Egyptian geese. Blue monkeys and vervet monkeys live in the forest, and troops with young ones are often seen playing on the road. You can also add a canopy walk, a night game drive or a mountain-bike ride through the farms on the escarpment as an optional extra. Game drives here are short and varied, so you can fit them in before or after the drive to Karatu or the Ngorongoro highlands. The road starts in groundwater forest, where blue monkeys, vervet monkeys and large troops of olive baboons live among mahogany and fig trees, then opens onto grassland and the lake shore. Giraffes, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra and elephants are common, hippos wallow in the pools near the lake, and thousands of flamingos and pelicans gather on the shore when water levels allow. The groundwater forest at the park gate is fed by springs from the escarpment, so it stays green and cool even in the dry months. You overnight at a boutique lodge with a spa, an infinity pool and sweeping views over the landscape. Coming up tomorrow: Ngorongoro Crater descent and game drive.
NGORONGORO CRATER DESCENT AND GAME DRIVE
At dawn you drive down the steep crater road to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken volcanic caldera in the world, about 260 square kilometres across and 600 metres deep. About 25,000 large animals live on the crater floor, which has no fences, but the steep walls make most of them stay put all year. Mornings can be cool and misty at the rim, so bring a warm jacket. You search for black rhinos, one of the best places in Africa to see them, along with lions, spotted hyenas, elephants, buffalo, hippos and huge herds of wildebeest and zebra. Lake Magadi, the soda lake in the middle of the crater, attracts flamingos and the golden jackals that hunt along its shore. Maasai herders are allowed to graze their cattle in the conservation area, and you will see them with their herds on the rim and highlands. The crater floor holds roughly 25,000 large animals in a natural enclosure, so the viewing is concentrated and reliable throughout the year. Picnic lunch is at the hippo pool, and vehicles are limited to six hours on the crater floor so you must descend early.
Rates Per Person
The Overview tab explains the accommodation and meal options. Send us your dates and group size for an exact price.
Next: Inclusions →Inclusions
Included
- Private vehicle with your own driver-guide
- Park entry and conservation fees
- Accommodation as specified in your itinerary
- Meals as specified per day (full board on safari days)
- Airport pickup and drop-off
Excluded
- International flights
- Visa fees
- Travel insurance
- Tips and gratuities
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
Getting There
Tour Start & End
This trip starts in Ngorongoro Crater and ends in Lake Manyara National Park.
Airport Information
Kilimanjaro International Airport or Mwanza Airport is the most common arrival point for this trip.
Transfer Information
We meet you at the airport and handle every transfer between destinations throughout your trip.
Accommodation Before/After
Want an extra night in Arusha, Moshi or Zanzibar before or after your trip? Just ask and we will arrange it.