Your adventure begins with an early morning pickup from your hotel in Arusha, Moshi, or Kilimanjaro Airport. After meeting your guide, you set off on a scenic drive to Tarangire National Park, a two-hour journey that takes you through rural villages and open plains.

Upon arrival, you’ll enter a park famous for its large elephant herds and majestic baobab trees. As you traverse the savannah, you’ll see giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, and predators like lions and cheetahs. During the dry season, animals gather along the Tarangire River, making it one of the best places for concentrated game viewing.

You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch in the park and continue with afternoon game drives. By evening, you exit the park and head to your budget lodge or tented camp in Mto wa Mbu or Karatu, where dinner awaits.

After breakfast, you drive to Lake Manyara National Park, a lush green gem located at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. The park is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including hippos, elephants, giraffes, and the famous tree-climbing lions. Bird lovers will be enchanted by the sight of flamingos and other waterbirds gathering around the soda lake.

After a relaxed morning game drive and picnic lunch, you continue towards the legendary Serengeti National Park. The road winds through the scenic Ngorongoro Highlands, where Maasai herders can be seen tending their cattle, before dropping into the endless plains of the Serengeti.

As you enter the park, the vastness is breathtaking. The evening drive to your camp may already reward you with sightings of lions or cheetahs stalking the plains. You spend the night in a budget tented camp or campsite in the central Serengeti, surrounded by the sounds of the wild.

Today is a full day dedicated to exploring the Serengeti, one of Africa’s greatest wildlife sanctuaries. You set off early in the morning to catch predators at their most active, often hunting in the cooler hours of the day. The central Seronera area is particularly rich in wildlife, with leopards in the trees, prides of lions resting in the grass, and cheetahs sprinting after gazelles.

After a picnic lunch in the bush, you continue exploring deeper into the plains. Depending on the season, you may also encounter the Great Migration, a breathtaking natural spectacle where millions of wildebeest and zebras move in search of fresh grazing.

As the day winds down, you return to camp for dinner and an overnight stay. Falling asleep to the distant roar of lions is an experience you’ll never forget.

After breakfast, you enjoy a final morning game drive in the Serengeti, maximizing your chances of seeing any animals you may have missed. With luck, you might spot hyenas scavenging, elephants moving in family groups, or a solitary leopard disappearing into the trees.

Later, you begin your journey towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, driving across rolling highlands with scenic views of the vast plains behind you. On the way, you can stop at a Maasai village (optional, extra cost) to experience their traditional lifestyle.

You spend the night at a budget lodge or camp near the crater’s rim, preparing for the next day’s descent into this natural wonder.

After an early breakfast, you descend into the Ngorongoro Crater, a spectacular natural amphitheater teeming with life. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to more than 25,000 large animals, including the rare black rhino, massive bull elephants, and prides of lions. The crater floor is one of the few places in Africa where you can see the Big Five in a single day.

You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch at a scenic spot near the hippo pool, then continue your game drive across the crater floor, marveling at its dense wildlife and breathtaking scenery. In the afternoon, you climb out of the crater and begin the drive back to Arusha, arriving in the evening where your safari ends.