Discover Tanzania Safari – 8 Days
Overview
8 Days, 7 Nights safari
2 nights in Arusha 1 night in Tarangire 1 night in Lake Manyara 2 nights in Serengeti and 1 night in Ngorongoro (Karatu)
With visits to five of the Northern Circuit’s natural wonders, these eight days are certain to leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.
You start in Arusha National Park, which has earned the nickname “Tanzania in miniature” for its diverse landscape, and then head west to Lake Manyara, where wildlife goes about its daily business against the spectacular background of the Rift Valley escarpment and on the shores of the lake itself.
You will have an entire day of game drives in the Serengeti, allowing you to experience the breathtaking and diverse landscapes of this well-known location.
You’ll constantly be on the hunt for the best wildlife encounters before traveling to another Tanzanian treasure, the unparalleled crater of Ngorongoro, where you’ll be searching for black rhinos.
Then, you complete our safari in Tarangire National Park, another gem of the Northern Circuit known for its large elephant herds and recognizable baobab trees.
Tour Itinerary
After your long flight, you'll be relieved to spend your first night in comfort at your hotel in Arusha. Your Bughez Travel representative will welcome you at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, and drive you to your hotel in Arusha so you can unwind after your long flight. Your adventure has begun!
Meal Plan: Full Board
Overnight at Planet Lodge.
After breakfast, it will take you 40 km to travel to Arusha National Park from your accommodation in Arusha. Once you get there a park ranger will be with us as you select a route based on what the little but Lovely Park has to offer today and how far you might wish to walk. Your park ranger may show the aardvarks' deep burrows or describe how one acacia tree sends out a warning smell to nearby acacias.
Be on the lookout for zebra, duiker, giraffe and hippo. The black-and-white colobus monkey is a favorite in this park, while in the skies, egrets and sacred ibis can often be observed. Even the trees have a story to tell. You might meet the aptly named strangler fig, which sucks the life out of other trees. You might encounter warthog and buffalo, often seen together, with the former possessing a good sense of sight and hearing, while the buffalo relies on smell to alert to impending danger. A perfect symbiosis. You might also have the chance to visit one of the park’s picturesque waterfalls, such as Talulusia, as it plummets 30 meters down to a rocky base. After our walking safari, you will enjoy our well-earned lunch, before embarking on our afternoon game drive.
After your day’s activities in Arusha National Park, we will return you to your hotel in Arusha, so you can relax, enjoy your dinner and get a good night’s rest.
Meal Plan: Full Board
Overnight Arusha— Planet Lodge
After breakfast, you drive 130 kilometers from Arusha to Lake Manyara for game drive. Your eyes will be opened to the variety of colors and characteristics of Tanzania as you travel; you may even see some Maasai shepherds moving their goat flocks to fresh pastures.
On arrival, you continue in your vehicle to cover the highlights of this scenic park. Set against the rugged Rift Valley escarpment, and characterized by its shimmering lake, Manyara is rich in vegetation and the wildlife that thrives here. Enjoy the tranquility as majestic pink flamingos wade elegantly, picking out a meal of algae from the shallow, alkaline waters. On land, Manyara’s terrain is compact, yet boasts differing environments such as diverse forests fed by waters seeping from the nearby escarpment. Monkeys are abundant, but look out too for the lions, giraffe, warthog and grumpy Cape buffalo who all call this park ‘home’. Hold your nose when we reach the hippo pool, because these big lumps smell!
You take lunch at the Lake Manyara picnic sites, before setting out on a further game drive. The eventful day comes to an end with dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Meal Plan: Full Board
Overnight Manyara (Karatu) - Marera Valley Lodge
After breakfast, with your packed lunch boxes for the Serengeti as your destination and your mind filled with wonderful memories of Manyara, we set out on (222km) journey to the Serengeti. On the way, you will be enchanted by the colors of everyday Tanzanian life, the different faces of the tribesmen, their herds, and the bustle of the transport, the vibrant roadside stalls and markets. Soon, however, the human habitation gives way to the Serengeti plains.
At long last! The Serengeti, Tanzania's unmatched wonder, will serve as the backdrop for the wild animal performances that will take place over the next days. Your game drive here combines the known with the unknown, the certainty that you will be amazed with the uncertainty of exactly what you will see and when. Changing light, a changing cast of animal actors, ensuring that at every turn there is a new experience. Take some great pictures, but don't forget to simply take a moment to breathe deeply and soak in the unadulterated beauty of nature.
Meal Plan: Full Board
Overnight Serengeti: Serengeti Pure Tented Camp
After breakfast, you’ll have a full day of discovery, a chance to enjoy the varied landscapes of the Central Serengeti. The Seronera River weaves its way through the Serengeti, providing waters for all species of wildlife. You will also see the distinctive rocky outcrops, the famous kopjes which characterize the Serengeti landscape. Kopjes are very hard and often granite. They have been aged at maybe 600 million years old and created even before the earth’s surface was pushed up from the ocean. Lions and other cats frequent these stony places and they are also home to snakes and hyraxes. Slowly weathering in wind and rain, they are peeling off in layers, which you may see on close inspection. The eventful day comes to an end with dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Meal Plan: Full Board
Overnight Serengeti: Serengeti Pure Tented Camp
After breakfast, depart with a packed lunch and drive to Ngorongoro Crater (160 kms) for full day game drive in the crater floor. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. It has a massive floor of about 260 sq kms with a depth of over 2000 feet. The 5-hour game drive on the crater floor will show you a lot of animal action. Keeping the camera ready is definitely recommended. The African elephant, buffalo, Black rhino, Hippos, Hyenas, Cheetahs and Lions are found in plenty. Post the picnic lunch at the beautiful Hippo pool, you will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater. You will drive to Karatu town for dinner and overnight.
Meal Plan: Full Board
Overnight at Ngorongoro Farm House
Early-breakfast, and thereafter with your packed lunch boxes drive south to Tarangire National Park ( 200kms) for full day game drive. Tarangire is big. It reaches as far as the eye can see to the south when you stand at the park's entrance.
This extraordinary park, also known as the "Elephant Garden," is home to sizable herds of these powerful animals. But Tarangire is also home to buffalo, lion, wildebeest, zebra and gazelle and the park can rival Serengeti for sheer animal densities. What might you see today? Perhaps a solitary male lion stretched out beneath a tree, perhaps a trio of male cheetah enjoying some lazy bonding-time in the sun. Maybe some graceful Grant’s gazelle or zebra bounding away from the road or a couple of giraffes munching happily from the choicest acacia branches. In the late afternoon before sunset you’ll end your game drive and drive to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Meal Plan: Full Board
Overnight Tarangire: Lake Burunge Tented Lodge
After breakfast, drive to Arusha Coffee Lodge for lunch and thereafter transfer to the Airport for your outbound flight. The total journey could take approximately covering the 175 kms to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
End of the tour.
Note: These are estimated kilometers. Driving distances are approximate and do not account for exact places.
Safari Inclusions
- Park Fees (for Non-Residents).
- Concession/ Camping Fees.
- Daily game drives while on Safari.
- A professional driver/ guide.
- 4x4 Land Cruiser with pop up roof
- All Taxes and VAT.
- Meals as per itinerary.
- Drinking water while on safari (1.5 liters’ per person per day).
Safari Exclusions
- International flights.
- Any activities not mention in the itinerary
- Airport Transfers (Unless mentioned otherwise).
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour (Unless mentioned otherwise).
- Tips.
- Personal Items (Souvenirs, Travel Insurance, Visa Fees, etc.).
- Government imposed increase of Taxes and or Park Fees.