"If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa."
John Hemingway
9
Days
LODGE & TENTED CAMP SAFARI
June 2019 - March 2020 / August 2020 - March 2021 / Jan - March 2022 / June - December 2022
Jan - March 2023 / June - December 2023
This is a 9-day lodge & tented camp safari to Tanzania's northern circuit. We are with you from airport pick-up until your departure from Kilimanjaro International Airport at the end of your safari. Accommodation is a mix of mid-range eco-lodges and luxury tented camp within and outside the national parks. We take a short flight from Arusha airport to Seronera airstrip in central Serengeti. A licensed safari guide/driver takes your group to unforgettable game drives through the heart of the East African savanna aboard a 4-wheel drive Land Cruiser with a roof hatch, air-conditioning, refrigerator and USB charging ports. This safari package covers four major points of interest in the northern circuit -- Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, and Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. This is definitely a magical experience that will stay with you for a very long time. Karibu Tanzania!​
​
DAY 1 - ARRIVAL IN ARUSHA
​
Pick-up from Kilimanjaro International Airport in Moshi and followed by a safari orientation and welcome dinner. Your group spends the night in an eco-lodge in Usa River, which is about 40 minutes from the airport and steps away from Arusha National Park. On a clear day a beautiful view of Mt. Meru, Tanzania's second highest mountain, greets you in the morning.
​
​
DAY 2 - ARUSHA TOWN AND FLIGHT TO SERENGETI
​
We leave the lodge at around 11:00 am and drive for about an hour to Arusha town where we'll have lunch before we proceed to Arusha airport. After lunch we take a chartered flight to Serengeti National Park. The flight is about an hour long, flying above picturesque Masai land and villages, and we land in Seronera airstrip in the mid-afternoon. A professional safari guide/driver meets us at the airstrip and takes your group to an afternoon game drive in central Serengeti. We reach camp at around 6:00 pm, a perfect time to unwind after a long journey and enjoy the sunset from the tented camp's veranda. We stay in a luxury tented camp in central Serengeti for two nights.
DAY 3 - SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
​
Whole day game drive in either the western corridor or northeastern corridor of Serengeti (depending on the season). After a quick coffee we leave camp early in the morning to revel at the beauty of the northern savanna at dawn. We eat both picnic breakfast and picnic lunch prepared by the tented camp chef under the acacia trees in the bush. We return to the tented camp before 6:00 pm.
​
DAY 4 - SERENGETI, MAASAI VILLAGE, AND NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA
​
After a quick hot drink, we go for an early morning game drive around central Serengeti. Back to the lodge for late breakfast and preparation for departure. The drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area is about two hours, which is a game drive experience on its own since we are passing Ndutu plain. Starting in December thousands of migratory wildebeests and zebras settle in Ndutu to prepare for calving season in February. But wildlife is present in this area all year round. After we enter Ngorongoro Conservation Area we make a side trip to a Maasai village for a local cultural experience and to take a glimpse of how the semi-nomadic Maasai tribe live. You may take photos with the Massai people and/or purchase handcrafted items made by local artisans. We then proceed to a lodge along the Ngorongoro crater rim and spend the night there.
​
Optional activity in the morning: Hot air balloon ride with Miracle Experience. This is a spectacular way to experience Serengeti aboard a state-of-the-art hot air balloon. It's an experience like no other. This is an optional activity for $599. It may seem pricey but worth every penny and the best value for money experience in the bush. A lavish bush breakfast follows the ride. If you opt for this activity, you leave camp at around 5:15 am and the group will meet you at around 10:30 am. Advanced booking with hot air balloon operator required. You may visit www.miracleexperience.co.tz or read reviews about it at Tripadvisor for more information.
​
DAY 5 - NGORONGORO CRATER DESCENT
​
After a quick hot drink we go to an early morning game drive down Ngorongoro Crater, a protected UNESCO world heritage site and known as the Eden of Africa. It is the world's largest intact caldera and the best place to see the Big 5 (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros). We eat a picnic breakfast by the hippo pool in between game drives. After we ascend the crater we eat a hot lunch in a lodge in Karatu town. We also stop by Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater viewpoints for pictures. We stay in a lodge in Manyara for two nights.
DAY 6 - LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
​
After breakfast we go on a game drive to Manyara National Park, a haven for bird watchers and the setting of the earliest Tarzan films. It is known for flamingos and the more than 400 species of bird that inhabit it.Visitors may also see leopards, lions, elephants, vervet monkeys, dik-diks, gazelles, hippos, giraffe, impala, zebras and other wild animals. And if you get lucky, you may see tree-climbing lions lounging on acacia trees. Ernest Hemingway once described it as "the loveliest I have seen in Africa." We eat lunch in a picnic site overlooking the lake. We exit the park at around 4:00 PM and drive back to our lodge in Manyara. Along the way we pass by the town of Mto wa Mbu for some souvenir shopping.
DAY 7 - TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
​
Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania and famous for its high density of elephants and baobab trees. During the dry season (June to November) visitors could expect large herds of zebras, buffalo, elephants and wildebeest congregating along the Tarangire River. But wildlife viewing is good all year round even during the wet season. Tarangire is beautiful anytime of the year with its picturesque landscape dotted with baobab trees and termite mounds. Resident animals include giraffe, waterbuck, bushbuck, dik-dik, impala, eland, gazelle, vervet monkey, mongoose, baboon, lion, leopard, and cheetah. The park is haven to bird watchers being it home to more than 500 species of birds. We spend a whole day game drive in Tarangire and exit the park at around 4:00 pm. We drive 2.5 hours to our lodge in Arusha town.
DAY 8 - OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES, RELAXATION, AND PRE-FLIGHT PCR TESTING
​
Cost of optional activities not included in the package, but we could arrange them for you. You may go souvenir shopping at the Massai market, public market in Arusha town, or a jewelry shop for Tanzanite stones and jewelries. You may also take guided village walk to the waterfalls, hike around Lake Duluti, horseback riding through coffee farms and villages, massage at the spa, or simply relax in the lodge.
DAY 9 - OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES AND DEPARTURE FROM ARUSHA
​
Another day to indulge in optional activities like souvenir shopping, painting with local artists, getting spa services, joining coffee walks, etc. After a farewell dinner we drive to Kilimanjaro International Airport, which is about an hour from Arusha town, for your evening flight back to the US.
END OF SAFARI
PACKAGE COST (depending on group size) - Please send inquiry for more information
This package is inclusive of airport transfers from/to Kilimanjaro International Airport, all park fees and duties, meals and non-alcoholic beverages, all ground transportation, flight from Arusha airport to Seronera airstrip on day 2, and 8 nights accommodation in lodges and tented camps.
​
OTHER COSTS
-
Round-trip international airfare to Tanzania
-
Tourist visa (you can get upon arrival) - $100 for US citizens, $50 for citizens of other countries
-
Tips to safari driver (about $20/day per group)
-
Rapid Antigen test upon arrival to Tanzania ($10 but might have been lifted already by the time of your travel)
-
PCR test before flight back to the US ($80 but might have been lifted already by the time of your travel)
-
Laundry service, alcoholic beverages, optional tips to servers and ground crew
-
Cocktails, dinners and optional activities on days 9, 10, and 11.
-
Optional travel insurance
-
Optional hot air balloon ride with Miracle Experience for $599
-
Kilimanjaro National Park
-
Materuni Waterfalls and Coffee Walk
REQUIRED:
​
-
Valid passport (and photocopy of picture page)
-
Visa (you may get upon arrival for $100 for US citizens and $50 for citizens of other countries
-
A picture ID (e.g. driver’s license) other than passport
-
Driving in the parks is allowed between 6 am and 6 pm only.
-
The speed limit in the parks is 50km/h and 25km/h in the Ngorongoro Crater.
-
Animals always have the right of way.
-
Never feed animals. It will upset their diet and lead to an unnecessary dependence on people.​
