Day 1: Arusha City – Tarangire National Park
On this day, you can choose to go to Tarangire National Park or Lake Manyara National Park. Depending on the time of year, each of these parks5 offers a different safari experience. Your guide can advise you as to which is best to visit during your safari.
If Tarangire National Park is your choice, you’ll depart from Arusha after breakfast for the approximately two-hour drive to Tarangire National Park. Along the way, you’ll pass bustling Masai villages and the vast open plains that have become synonymous with images of Africa. Dinner and overnight will be at Lake Manyara
Day 2: Tarangire or Lake Manyara Area – Serengeti National Park
Today, you will set out on your journey through the lush highlands where corn, coffee, and wheat grow, to travel to the Serengeti National Park. Serengeti, named by the indigenous Masai people, means “endless plains”, which is easy to see once the grassy savannah stretches out before you with no end in sight.
The landscape is dotted by kopjes, bizarre rock formations, on which predators often are found surveying the region in search of their prey. The Serengeti is home to the largest animal migration in the world and depending on the season you will be able to witness thousands of wildebeest and zebras trekking through the Serengeti in search for food. Overnight at Serengeti
Day 3: Full day game drive at Serengeti National Park
Today, you will explore the Serengeti National Park. Your guide will take you closer to where the migrating herds are to be found. During the short rainy season in November and December, the herds make their way from the hills in the north to the plains of the south, returning north during the longer rainy season from April to June.
Their exact location differs yearly as they migrate according to the rainfalls, but your guide will know where you will be able to see them best. Lurking close by you might even spot some leopards, cheetahs, and lions. Overnight at Serengeti
Day 4: Serengeti National Park – Ngorongoro Conservation Area
After an early breakfast, you will head out for another game drive in the Serengeti. You might be able to spot the “big five”: lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard before embarking on your journey to the Ngorongoro Crater. The animals roam freely through the unfenced reserves offering you an uninterrupted game viewing experience.
Arriving at the edge of the crater, you will have your first glimpse of what awaits you the following day: glistening streams, open grassland, and an infinite amount of animals. You will spend the night at Ngorongoro.
Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater – Arusha
Early in the morning, you will head down the forested slopes into the crater on a steep and narrow path. The crater floor is covered in open grassland with the occasional acacia tree and two small wooded areas. Teaming with wildlife, you will be able to see many animals in a short period of time and might even be able to tick the “big five” off your list.
Other animals present in the crater area include wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, warthogs, hippos, and more than 500 species of birds. You will spend the entire morning exploring the park and after a picnic lunch in the crater, you will return to Arusha where you will arrive by early evening.
