Day 1 – Tarangire National Park (L, D)
In the morning you will start your safari with a drive to the Tarangire National Park. The park, roughly the size of Luxemburg, covers an area of approximately 2,600 km². The landscape of savannah, seasonal swamps and giant baobab trees is home to Masai giraffes, buffaloes, hartebeest, eland, fringe-eared oryx, the weird-looking long-necked gerenuk and over 550 species of birds. But it is the elephants, Tarangire is famous for and the park, where herds of up to 300 animals roam, is probably one of the best places in East Africa to see them and to get close to these giant creatures. After an extensive game drive, you will arrive at a campsite inside the park, where you will spend the night in a tent.

Day 2 – Lake Manyara National Park (B, L, D)
After breakfast you will drive to the smaller Lake Manyara National Park. The park is known for its over 400 bird species, primate-filled forests and grassy plains. A large area of the park is covered by the alkaline Lake Manyara, which is home to colonies of flamingos and other water birds. Apart from elephants, you might also spot giraffes, hippos, wildebeests, impalas and teeming groups of noisy monkeys and baboons in the forests near the lake. In the afternoon, after an extensive game drive, you will travel to the small multi-cultural village of Mto wa Mbu, on the outskirts of Lake Manyara National Park. You will camp at a campsite where you can relax at the pool or bar.

Day 3 - Serengeti National Park (B, L, D)
Today you will continue to the lush highlands where crops such as wheat, corn and coffee are grown. While travelling through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area you might stop for a breathtaking view over the Ngorongoro Crater before continuing to the Serengeti National Park. Serengeti means “endless plains” in the language of the Maasai and you will see the grassland savannah stretching to the horizon. Bizarre rock formations called kopjes dot the grassy landscape where predators are often seen. Depending on the season you will witness the migration of thousands of animals for which this park is famous for. You will arrive at your campsite in the Seronera Valley in central Serengeti in the late afternoon. After supper, you will fall asleep to the sounds of the African bush.

Day 4 – Serengeti National Park (B, L, D)
The whole day will be spent on a game drive in the Serengeti. The areas that you visit will depend upon where the migrating herds are (predators usually follow closely behind the trekking animals). During the short rainy season in November and December, the herds move from the hills in the north to the plains in the south. During the longer rainy season from April to June, they return up north. The yearly trek is determined by the rainfalls and the location of the herds might vary from year to year but your guide will know where to find the animals and where to see them best. Apart from wildebeests and zebras, you might also spot predators such as lions, leopards and cheetahs. You will spend another night at a campsite in the Seronera area.

Day 5 – Ngorongoro Conservation Area (B, L, D)
After breakfast, you join another game drive in the Serengeti National Park. This morning you might spot animals you haven’t seen yet. The Serengeti is also home to the Big Five – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard – and today you might be able to see all the members of this group. After lunch at a picnic site, you will drive in the direction of the Ngorongoro Crater. As soon as you have reached the edge of the crater, the caldera opens up before you. Over 25,000 animals live in this approximately 20 km wide crater. You will spend the night at a campsite directly on the crater’s edge with fantastic views over the caldera.

Day 6 - Arusha (B, L)
Rise and shine! After breakfast at daybreak, you drive down into the crater. Inside the world’s largest caldera, you will see a diversity of wildlife ranging from black rhinos, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, lions and leopards to elephants and mountain reedbucks in the forests on the slopes. You might also see buffaloes, spotted hyenas, rare wild dogs and some of the more than 500 bird species in the area. After an intensive game drive and a picnic lunch, you will leave the caldera in the afternoon and travel back to Arusha where you will arrive in the early evening.

Accommodation Own Arrangements / Post tour accommodation can be booked through Getaway Africa

Tour departure point
Please ensure you arrive at the departure point at least 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
7.00am Meru Mbega, Momella Road
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 624 664
http://www.mt-meru.com/mbega.html

Tour ending point
Meru Mbega, Momella Road
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 624 664
http://www.mt-meru.com/mbega.html

Arrival / Departure
Please be sure to arrive 1 day before your tour is due to depart. This will avoid any unforeseen problems. We also highly recommend that you book your flights to depart the day after the tour officially ends to allow for delays and changes.

Pre and Post Tour Accommodation
If you require accommodation before or after your tour we can arrange this for you. We can also arrange airport transfers – contact your travel agent to make these bookings.

Onward Travel
This tour can be linked with a number of our other routes, including our small group 6 day Tanzania Beach tour which explores the magical island of Zanzibar.  Additional small group safaris to Kenya, such as our 06 days Kenya Beach and 6 Day Kenya Safari can also be added.

Partaking in an adventure tour in Africa involves covering hundreds if not thousands of kilometres and our tours are as much about this journey as they are about the destinations we visit. Use your time during these drives to talk to your fellow travellers, have a drink and take note of the world passing by your window. Some roads you travel on will be smooth and easy while others could take up to an hour to cover 1 kilometre. There is just no telling what could happen with the road, weather, traffic and other conditions that may exist that will either increase or decrease the amount of time you spend on the road so take your watch off, put your iPad away, turn off your phone and just relax. An average day could take anything from 5 to 14 hours, it all depends on the day… and that’s only an “average”!