Transport

4WD

Meals

A key facet of our responsible approach to tourism is that we encourage our groups to eat in local restaurants that prepare locally grown food. We give customers choice as to their meals and do not use rather bland and impersonal hotel restaurants or all- inclusive options 7 Breakfasts 7 Lunches 6 Dinners

Others

All accommodation, activities and meals that are shown in the itinerary are included in the total cost of your trip You will also receive a complimentary transfer to and from the airport if you arrive on day 1 of the trip and depart on the last day and have provided your international flight information.

Guide

Tour Leaders are quite simply the glue that holds our tours together. They are chosen for their travel experience and people skills and are thoroughly trained by Explore, widely acknowledged as some of the best training in the industry. A Tour Leader’s ultimate aim is to ensure everyone is well looked after and have a fantastic trip. They are there to ensure that the tour logistics run smoothly, that health and safety is adhered to and provide comprehensive briefings at the beginning and throughout the tour.

Accommodation

4 nights in lodges. 3 nights at campsites.

Not included:

Insurance

Travel Insurance is not included

Optional

Optional experiences are available on this tour for an additional cost.

Flights

International flights not included in the tour cost

Others

Any visa costs, spending money and tips are not included in the trip price. You can also book extra nights’ accommodation at the beginning and end of the trip and the cost of this accommodation along with any transfers would be quoted separately.

Start planning your experience

Day 1 Day 1: Join Trip In Arusha
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Join Trip In Arusha

The trip begins in Arusha. For those arriving on time our Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 4pm for the welcome meeting and for those that wish, there is the chance to go out for dinner. There are no other activities planned today, so you are free to arrive in Arusha at any time. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you’ll need to arrive into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which is around 75 minutes’ drive. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up. Food is served at the lodge throughout the day until 11pm. If you arrive early today you may wish to go into Arusha, a small Tanzanian city with a food and craft markets and a natural history museum. From the lodge you can reach Arusha by taxi or local minibus, just ask at reception for assistance. Alternatively, you may wish to relax by the pool or find a shady spot in the gardens after your long journey.
Day 2 Day 2: Drive To Manyara National Park; Afternoon Game Drive
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Drive To Manyara National Park; Afternoon Game Drive

This morning we head south-west to Lake Manyara National Park for our first game drive. This drive takes us through villages and towns, where busy markets and locals in traditional, bright dress line the route. On arrival at our lodge we will have lunch and a short while to take in the view over the floodplains below, before heading out on our first game drive. Lake Manyara is nestled at the bottom of the Great Rift Valley and for a national park only 330 sq km, it is the perfect introduction to a variety of habitats, ecosystems and wildlife. The various habitats of lush forests, acacia woodlands, grassy floodplain and volcanic peaks are home to prey and predators, as well as over 400 species of birds! After our game drive, we return to our lodge to enjoy a sundowner and watch the changing lights on the plains below. Please note that drones are not permitted in any Tanzania National Park without a permit, please refer to the equipment section of the trip notes for more information.
Day 3 Day 3: Visit Olduvai Gorge, One Of The Most Important Paleoanthropological Sites In The World; Enter The Serengeti National Park For A Game Drive To The Camp
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Visit Olduvai Gorge, One Of The Most Important Paleoanthropological Sites In The World; Enter The Serengeti National Park For A Game Drive To The Camp

Today we have a long but rewarding journey into the world famous Serengeti National Park. The scenery and views are spectacular as we travel around the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and transit through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We pass several Masai homesteads before arriving at Olduvai Gorge, where in 1959, anthropologists Dr and Mrs Leakey discovered the remains of an almost intact human skull named ’Nutcracker Man’. It was here at this important prehistoric site, together with other startling discoveries, that have contributed to the furthering understanding of early human development. Olduvai Gorge and the fossils that it contains give a unique insight into the role this part of the world played in human evolution. We’ll enjoy a packed lunch in the courtyard of the Olduvai Gorge visitor centre, before walking around the interactive, timeline museum to learn more of this fascinating place. A local guide will then talk us through the ages of the gorge whilst we look out over the valley below. Later today we will enter the Serengeti at Naabi Hill Gate. Serengeti is a Masai name that means the ’endless grass plains’ and it is through these plains interspersed with granite outcrops that we travel to our lodge. Once in the Serengeti we’ll move slowly through the park, keeping a close eye out for game as we head to the central Seronera area. Our Serengeti camp provides a warm welcome and a true sense of adventure. Sleeping under canvas, the sounds of nature filter through ensuring a true Serengeti experience.
Day 4 Day 4: Full Day Safari In The Serengeti National Park
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: Full Day Safari In The Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti covers almost 15,000 square km in area and is Tanzania’s oldest, and arguably, greatest park. Famed for the awe-inspiring spectacle of the annual migration, it offers some of the best game viewing in Africa. We will travel through various different habitats from dry, dusty savannahs to long grasses and mud pools. Prey and predator can be found in the park, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffe and buffalo, as well as over 500 species of bird. This day is guaranteed to be exciting, and binoculars and cameras need to be at the ready! We’ll take a packed lunch with us but timings and location will depend on the wildlife movements for the day. We’ll return to our accommodation this evening in time for ’Bush TV’, also known as a bonfire and the opportunity to enjoy a local beer whilst watching the sun go down. The sheer vastness of space, under a starry sky, generates a liberating feeling of being in the wild that would be difficult to find anywhere else.
Day 5 Day 5: Game Drive To Depart Serengeti National Park Before Driving To Our Accommodation Near The Ngorongoro Conservation Area
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Game Drive To Depart Serengeti National Park Before Driving To Our Accommodation Near The Ngorongoro Conservation Area

We’ll make one last early morning game drive as we retrace our route back to Naabi Hill Gate and back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We will pass various settlements en route and the Masaai can often be seen herding their livestock or working the land in the surrounding fields. In the late morning, we’ll arrive at our accommodation is located. The central farmhouse remains a working farm and coffee plantation, built in colonial style and is set amongst beautiful gardens. This afternoon will be free to enjoy the lodge or take the late afternoon walking tour of the planation with a local villager to learn more about their life and produce grown on the grounds.
Day 6 Day 6: Early Morning Game Drive In Ngorongoro Crater In Search Of The Big Five
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Early Morning Game Drive In Ngorongoro Crater In Search Of The Big Five

This morning we will have a very early start to make our way to the crater where we will we descend from the upper rim, driving down a steep track that drops a staggering 600m to the grassy plain, lake and marshes of the basin floor below. The crater provides a unique wildlife spotting experience and is home to the Big Five. Among the animals to watch out for are elephant, lion, cheetah, buffalo and rhino. The perennial marshes teem with birdlife. The crater itself, technically classed as a caldera, owes its existence to the violent fracturing of the Rift Valley over a period of some 15 million years. At one time a volcano occupied this spot that then became extinct and collapsed into the empty magma chamber beneath it leaving only the gigantic natural basin which is now considered a veritable ’Garden of Eden’. After our half day game drive in the crater today, we drive to our lodge in Tarangire Nationpark and the late afternoon will be at leisure to relax after the early start.
Day 7 Day 7: Drive To Tarangire National Park, Home To Some Of Tanzania’S Largest Elephant Herds; Afternoon Game Drive
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: Drive To Tarangire National Park, Home To Some Of Tanzania’S Largest Elephant Herds; Afternoon Game Drive

Today we leave our accommodation continue our journey further into Tarangire National Park. One of the most striking features of the park are the majestic old baobab trees with massive silvery trunks and gourd-like fruit that dominate the skyline. Tarangire has the greatest concentration of wildlife outside of the Serengeti ecosystem and is part of a larger ecosystem that extends further south into the Masai steppes. The permanent water sources in the park result in Tarangire being home to the largest elephant populations in Tanzania, where during the dry season over 300 elephants can be seen digging for water in the riverbeds. The park is also home to the shy fringed eared oryx and the gerenuk antelope that are not seen in other parks. Today we will enjoy an afternoon game drive, before travelling to our camp. The evening will be spent relaxing in this spectacular location and enjoying a traditional evening meal.
Day 8 Day 8: Trip Ends At Kilimanjaro Airport
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Trip Ends At Kilimanjaro Airport

Departing Tarangire this morning we will drive for four hours to Arusha where we’ll stop for a lunch break before departing Kilimanjaro International Airport, this is where our trip ends. The earliest your flight can depart is 5pm. If you are going on to Zanzibar to join the Zanzibar Island Extension, your flight will depart either Arusha Airport or Kilimanjaro Airport and you will be dropped off in Arusa Airport before the group stop for lunch or in the afternoon if departing from Kilimanjaro Airport. The earliest your flight to Zanzibar can depart is 12.45pm from Arusha or 5pm from Kilimanjaro Airport. Please speak to one of our reservations team about assistance booking flights.

8 days tour

Serengeti Wildlife Experience

This tour includes:

Not included:

Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip Serengeti Wildlife Experience

Day 1: Join Trip In Arusha

Day 2: Drive To Manyara National Park; Afternoon Game Drive

Day 3: Visit Olduvai Gorge, One Of The Most Important Paleoanthropological Sites In The World; Enter The Serengeti National Park For A Game Drive To The Camp

Day 4: Full Day Safari In The Serengeti National Park

Day 5: Game Drive To Depart Serengeti National Park Before Driving To Our Accommodation Near The Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Day 6: Early Morning Game Drive In Ngorongoro Crater In Search Of The Big Five

Day 7: Drive To Tarangire National Park, Home To Some Of Tanzania’S Largest Elephant Herds; Afternoon Game Drive

Day 8: Trip Ends At Kilimanjaro Airport

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