Tarangire, Ngorongoro & the Serengeti

Your Tanzania Northern Circuit safari, day by day

Eight unhurried days on a Tanzania Northern Circuit safari, with two nights in every park so the best light is never spent driving. Every day is in a private 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof and a window seat for everyone, a dedicated English-speaking driver-guide throughout, and all park and Ngorongoro Crater fees — among the highest in Africa — already included in your price.

Day 1 — Arrive in Arusha

You land at Kilimanjaro International Airport, where our representative meets you and your private 4×4 takes you the short way to the Arusha Serena Hotel, set on the forested shore of Lake Duluti beneath the slopes of Mount Meru. There is nothing on the schedule but rest — the gardens, the lake, an unhurried dinner — so you reach the parks tomorrow over the jet lag rather than through it.

Overnight: Arusha Serena Hotel · Dinner.

Day 2 — Arusha to Tarangire

After breakfast you set out for Tarangire National Park, reaching the lodge in time for lunch. Tarangire is the quiet giant of the circuit — known for big elephant herds and the ancient, swollen-trunked baobab trees that give the park its silhouette, and far less crowded than the names that follow. Your afternoon game drive eases you into the rhythm of the bush, with the first elephants coming down to the river as the light softens.

Overnight: Tarangire Sopa Lodge · Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 3 — A full day in Tarangire

A full day in the park, morning and afternoon, worked around the Tarangire River where the game concentrates in the dry months. Beyond the elephants there are lion, giraffe, zebra and more than 500 recorded bird species; your driver-guide reads the park for you and times the day to the animals, returning to the lodge over the midday heat. These are national-park drives — vehicles stay on the tracks and you share the best sightings with others — but the game is abundant and the pace is yours.

Overnight: Tarangire Sopa Lodge · All meals.

Day 4 — Tarangire to the Ngorongoro highlands

You climb out of the rift and up into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, arriving for lunch at your lodge on the crater rim. The view from the Ngorongoro Serena — straight down into the caldera, 2,000 feet below — is one of the great sights of any safari, and the afternoon is yours to take it in. An optional visit to a Maasai village can be arranged if you would like to add it.

Overnight: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge · All meals.

Day 5 — Down into the Ngorongoro Crater

After an early breakfast you descend the crater wall with a packed lunch for a half-day game drive on the floor — a hundred square miles ringed by 2,000-foot walls, holding lion, elephant, buffalo, the endangered black rhino, and flamingos on the soda lake, in one of the densest gatherings of wildlife on earth. The crater is popular, especially mid-morning, and your guide works the timing to stay ahead of the crowds where the tracks allow. In the late afternoon you climb back to the rim and your lodge.

Overnight: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge · All meals.

Day 6 — Ngorongoro to the Serengeti

You cross into the Serengeti, and the drive itself becomes a game drive as the plains open out around you, with a bush lunch along the way. An optional stop at Olduvai Gorge, where some of the earliest human remains were found, can be added. You reach the Serengeti Serena in the late afternoon, with time to settle before dinner.

Overnight: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge · All meals.

Day 7 — A full day in the Serengeti

A full day on the plains, morning and afternoon. The Serengeti is the stage for the great migration, but it rewards any season — resident lion prides, cheetah on the open grass, leopard in the riverine trees along the water. If you would like, a sunrise hot-air balloon safari over the plains, followed by a bush breakfast, is among the finest add-ons in Africa (quoted separately).

Overnight: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge · All meals.

Day 8 — Fly to Arusha and depart

After a last morning in the park you transfer to the Seronera airstrip for your scheduled light-aircraft flight back to Arusha, trading the long drive for a short hop over the plains (soft bags only, 15 kg per person). Lunch is at the Arusha Coffee Lodge before your transfer to Kilimanjaro International for the flight home.

Breakfast and lunch.

What your price includes

Your rate covers all accommodation as listed with meals on safari, the private 4×4 and driver-guide throughout, private 4×4 airport transfers, every game drive including the crater floor, and all park and Ngorongoro Crater fees. International and domestic flights, the Tanzania e-visa, travel insurance and optional extras sit outside the rate — we quote those separately so the number you see is close to the number you pay.