Day 1 – Arusha to Arusha National Park
Pick up at 8:30 AM from your Hotel in Arusha & depart for Arusha National Park. Walking with an Armed Ranger, you will have a picnic lunch and game drive in the Park. The park is at the base of Mount Meru, which is good for climbing. It has a range of habitats including forest – home to the black-and-white colobus monkey – and is excellent for birding. Several lakes often host flocks of flamingos. The park’s appeal is mainly its scenery. The habitat diversity spans from montane (mountain) rainforest to moist savannah to alpine moorland. Post the game drive, you will head back to your camp/lodge where a delicious dinner awaits you.
Day 2 – Arusha to Central Serengeti
Your safari will begin by 8 AM in the morning with a pick-up from your hotel at Arusha. With everyone aboard, you will head towards Serengeti National Park. The 240 Km drive will be covered in about 6hrs. The Serengeti means endless plains in the local African language and watching the grassland stretch out as far as the eye can see and eventually merge with the sky at the horizon is an absolutely breathtaking view. With an overall land area of 14,763 sq Km, It puts our notion about the distance to shame. The Serengeti also houses the glorious “Big 5” (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard). Along with the “Big 5”, a very pleasant sighting would be one of Africa’s most beautiful animals – The Impala. The Serengeti ecosystem supports the greatest remaining concentration of plains game in Africa. The legendary Serengeti National Park is the most renowned safari destination for its incredible population of lions and leopards. The central portion of the Serengeti – known as the Seronera area is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. In seronera, one must really look out for the many lion pride that thrive in this region. You must also look out for the Serengeti “Kopjes” which are massive boulders of granite standing in a sea of grass. They provide ample shelter to a large variety of flora and fauna. A picnic lunch will be done during the day-long game drives. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Day 3 – Central Serengeti
You can either have a relaxed breakfast and depart for full-day game drives around 9:00 AM with packed lunch and return back to the lodge late afternoon around 6:00 PM. Or you can depart at 6:00 AM on an early morning game drive. Later return to the accommodation for breakfast and relax for a bit and depart on an afternoon game drive with packed lunch. You will explore the central portion of the Serengeti National Park today. The legendary Serengeti National Park is the most renowned safari destination for its incredible population of lions and leopards. The central portion of the Serengeti – known as the Seronera area is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. During the off-season of the migration, one must really look out for the many lion pride that thrive in this region. The interactions and survival of these lion pride provide an excellent game-viewing experience with all year round. Along with a picnic lunch during the full-day game drive, the day will come to a close by around 5 PM. The long day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Day 4 – Central Serengeti to Ngorongoro
After breakfast, you will have a morning game drive in Serengeti National Park. Later depart for Ngorongoro Conservation Area with a picnic lunch. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest collapsed volcanic crater in the world and has fourteen kilometres of isolated natural beauty. Ngorongoro Crater is surrounded by a ring of extinct volcanoes and the floor, dotted with watering holes, shelters some 30,000 animals. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Day 5 – Ngorongoro Crater Tour (5 hours) to Arusha
On the last day of your safari, you will have an early start. Finishing up with a quick breakfast you will make an early descent at around 6:30 AM into the crater floor. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. It has a massive floor of about 260 sq km with a depth of over 2000 feet. The 5-hour game drive on the crater floor will show you a lot of animal action. Keeping the camera ready is definitely recommended. The African elephant, buffalo, Black rhino, Hippos, Hyenas, Cheetahs and Lions are found in plenty. Post the picnic lunch at the beautiful Hippo pool, you will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater. This is the last leg of your safari, with a 4hr drive left to Arusha. You will be dropped off at your preferred location in Arusha by 6:00 PM in the evening. With an incredible experience and loads of memories to cherish, this is the time you bid goodbye to your team.
Day 1 – Lunch & Dinner
Day 2 – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 3 – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 4 – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 5 – Breakfast & Lunch
Day 1 – Arusha to Arusha National Park takes about 1 to 1.5 hours (40 km)
Day 2 – Arusha to Central Serengeti takes about 7 to 7.5 hours (305 km)
Day 4 – Central Serengeti to NCA takes about 3 to 3.5 hours (151 km)
Day 5 – NCA to Arusha takes about 4 to 4.5 hours (154 km)
Note: These are estimated drive times. Because of the traffic, location of the accommodations, and several other factors, actual drive times may vary. Driving distances are approximate and do not account for exact places.
Day 1 – Arusha
Day 2 – Central Serengeti
Day 3 – Central Serengeti
Day 4 – Karatu or NCA