9-Day Incredible Safari + Cultural Experience

Welcome to Tanzania! Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK), you will be warmly welcomed by a representative from African Big Cats Safaris. You will then enjoy a comfortable private transfer to Mtoni River Lodge, located at the beautiful foothills of Mount Meru in Arusha.

Depending on your arrival time, you can relax at the lodge, enjoy the surrounding scenery, and prepare for the exciting adventure ahead. Arusha is an excellent starting point for exploring Tanzania’s famous northern safari circuit, offering beautiful views, welcoming hospitality, and a vibrant local atmosphere.

Your evening will be spent relaxing at the lodge as you prepare for your unforgettable Tanzania Safari Trip.

Main Destination: Arusha City

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Platinum Mtoni River Lodge

After breakfast, depart Arusha with your private safari guide and travel towards Sinya Private Wildlife Conservancy, located in Western Kilimanjaro near the Kenyan border and Amboseli National Park. This remarkable conservation area offers a unique combination of wildlife encounters, spectacular mountain scenery, and authentic Maasai cultural experiences.

During your two-night stay, discover approximately 600 square kilometres of beautiful wilderness, with breathtaking views of Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru, Ol Doinyo Longido, and Ol Doinyo Orok. The conservancy is particularly special because of its community-based conservation approach, which supports the traditional Maasai communities living in the region.

Enjoy exciting game drives across the open landscapes, searching for elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and other wildlife. You will also have opportunities to experience guided walking safaris accompanied by Maasai warriors, learning about traditional tracking skills, local plants, wildlife, and the relationship between the community and nature.

Cultural interactions provide an opportunity to learn about Maasai traditions, traditional clothing, ceremonies, and everyday lifestyles. Depending on availability, you may participate in or observe traditional cultural ceremonies.

Your Tanzania Safari Trip becomes even more meaningful through this combination of conservation, community tourism, and wildlife exploration.

Enjoy dinner and overnight accommodation at Kambi Ya Tembo Tented Camp.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Platinum Kambi Ya Tembo

After breakfast, depart Western Kilimanjaro and travel towards Tarangire National Park, one of Tanzania’s most beautiful wildlife destinations. Famous for its large elephant population, ancient baobab trees, and impressive landscapes, Tarangire offers excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing.

Upon arrival, begin your game drive in a comfortable 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof, allowing excellent views of the surrounding wilderness. Explore the park’s diverse habitats, including open grasslands, acacia woodlands, and the Tarangire River, which attracts wildlife, particularly during the dry season.

Look out for large elephant herds, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes, impalas, and other antelope species. With some luck, you may also encounter predators such as lions and leopards resting beneath the trees or moving through the grasslands.

Enjoy a delicious picnic lunch at a designated picnic site inside the park, accompanied by beautiful views of the African wilderness. Continue with an afternoon game drive before departing for Lake Burunge Tented Lodge.

Your day ends with dinner, relaxation, and an overnight stay surrounded by the peaceful atmosphere of Tanzania’s countryside.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Platinum Lake Burunge Tented Lodge

After breakfast, depart for Lake Manyara National Park, a beautiful and diverse wildlife destination located along the Great Rift Valley escarpment. Although relatively small compared to other northern circuit parks, Lake Manyara is famous for its remarkable variety of landscapes, wildlife, and bird species.

The park features lush groundwater forests, open grassy plains, acacia woodlands, and the shallow alkaline lake that gives the destination its name. Lake Manyara is particularly famous for its flamingos and more than 500 recorded bird species, making it an excellent destination for birdwatching enthusiasts.

During your game drive, look out for elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes, monkeys, and hippos. The park is also known for its unusual tree-climbing lions, which can sometimes be spotted resting on the branches of acacia trees.

Explore the beautiful lakeshore, where thousands of flamingos and other waterbirds gather depending on seasonal water conditions. Enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Great Rift Valley while your professional guide shares interesting information about the park’s wildlife and ecosystem.

After an exciting day of wildlife exploration and a picnic or lunch break as arranged, proceed to Karatu Simba Lodge for dinner and overnight accommodation.

This day adds another fascinating experience to your Tanzania Safari Trip, combining birdlife, forest scenery, and exciting wildlife encounters.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Platinum Karatu Simba Lodge

After an early breakfast, depart Karatu and journey towards the world-famous Serengeti National Park. Your journey takes you through Tanzania’s fertile highlands, where local communities cultivate crops such as wheat and maize. You will also pass through the beautiful Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with opportunities to admire its mist-covered forests and spectacular volcanic scenery.

Along the way, you may encounter baboons, elephants, and other wildlife inhabiting the forested landscapes. You will also enjoy breathtaking views of the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater before continuing towards the Serengeti.

Arrive in Serengeti around midday and begin exploring its magnificent wilderness. Serengeti National Park is renowned for its endless golden plains, diverse ecosystems, and extraordinary concentration of wildlife. Its landscapes include open savannah, rocky kopjes, river systems, woodlands, and seasonal wetlands.

During your afternoon game drive, look out for lions, elephants, buffaloes, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, and wildebeest. Depending on the season, you may also encounter migrating herds moving across the plains.

Later, proceed to Embalakai Serengeti Camp, located inside Central Serengeti, where you will enjoy dinner and an overnight stay.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Platinum Embalakai Serengeti Camp

Today is dedicated to exploring the magnificent wilderness of Serengeti National Park, one of Africa’s most celebrated wildlife destinations. After breakfast, depart for a full-day game drive across the park’s endless plains, discovering its incredible wildlife diversity and breathtaking natural beauty.

The Serengeti is home to enormous populations of plains game, including wildebeest, zebras, impalas, gazelles, and buffaloes. These herbivores attract numerous predators, making the park one of the best places in Africa to observe natural predator-prey interactions.

Keep your eyes open for lions resting around rocky kopjes, cheetahs scanning the grasslands, leopards hiding in trees, and hy

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Platinum Embalakai Serengeti Camp

After breakfast, depart for an exciting en-route game drive through the spectacular Serengeti National Park, where you may have the opportunity to spot the Big Five: lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard.

Continue your journey towards the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site formed millions of years ago. The crater is approximately 600 metres deep and covers an area of about 260 square kilometres. It is home to an incredible concentration of wildlife, making it one of Tanzania’s most rewarding safari destinations.

Arrive at the crater rim before lunch before descending into the crater for an unforgettable afternoon game drive. Look out for wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, elephants, lions, buffaloes and an extraordinary variety of birdlife, with more than 500 recorded bird species.

With a little luck, you may even spot the endangered black rhino grazing in the grasslands.

After lunch and an afternoon of spectacular wildlife viewing, ascend from the crater and drive to your lodge in Karatu for dinner and an overnight stay.

Main destination: Ngorongoro Crater

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Platinum Karatu Simba Lodge

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the lodge before checking out and beginning your drive back to Arusha.

Arrive in Arusha in time for a delicious hot lunch, marking the end of your unforgettable Northern Tanzania safari adventure.

In the evening, you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward flight home or your connecting flight to the beautiful island of Zanzibar for an extension of your holiday.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch included.

End of safari: Kilimanjaro International Airport