*n/a = not available. This tour is unavailable for solo travelers.
Explore northern Tanzania on a seven-day journey through Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. This safari combines time in the wildlife areas with six nights at Serena properties, beginning with a relaxed arrival in Arusha and ending with an overnight stay before your departure flight.
The journey introduces you to several different landscapes. In Tarangire, elephant families move between baobab trees, woodland and water sources. In the Serengeti, open plains and rocky outcrops provide habitats for grazing herds and predators. Ngorongoro brings another change of scenery, with a descent from the cool crater rim into grasslands, wetlands and woodland.
These Tanzania safari tours include two nights in the Serengeti, giving you an arrival game drive, a full day of exploration and a final morning outing. Your driver-guide will plan each wildlife drive around accessible routes, recent sightings and the time available. Animal encounters are never guaranteed, but allowing time to observe behaviour makes the experience rewarding beyond a checklist of species.
This itinerary can be adapted for couples, families and small groups seeking Tanzania holiday safaris with comfortable lodge accommodation. The proposed properties remain subject to availability, and the exact route should be reviewed before booking if your main aim is to follow the Great Migration.
Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, complete the arrival procedures and collect your luggage before meeting your driver in the designated meeting area. Your airport collection will be arranged around the flight details supplied when booking. After a welcome and assistance with your bags, begin the road transfer to Arusha Serena Hotel.
The journey offers an introduction to northern Tanzania, passing settlements, roadside businesses and stretches of countryside. On clear days, there may be views towards the surrounding mountains, although cloud cover often affects visibility. Your driver will take you directly to the hotel so you can settle in after your flight.
Arusha Serena Hotel sits beside Lake Duluti, away from the busiest parts of central Arusha. Its gardens and cottage-style accommodation provide a peaceful setting for your first night. Depending on your arrival time, spend the afternoon resting, enjoying the hotel grounds or sitting outside with a drink.
Later, meet your guide or representative for a safari briefing. Discuss the route, the next morning’s departure and what to keep within reach during game drives. This is also the time to confirm dietary requirements, luggage arrangements and any particular interests. After dinner, an early night is a sensible choice before the journey to Tarangire.
After breakfast, meet your driver-guide and leave the hotel at approximately 8:00 am. Travel towards Tarangire National Park, allowing around three hours for the journey, depending on traffic and road conditions. Along the way, the surroundings gradually change from the outskirts of Arusha to more open countryside.
At the park entrance, your guide will complete the entry procedures before beginning the game drive. Tarangire’s landscape includes baobab trees, acacia woodland, grassland and seasonal wetlands. The park is particularly associated with elephants, and watching a family feed or move together can become one of the most memorable encounters of the day. Its river corridors and other water sources support a wide range of wildlife.
Explore at a steady pace, looking for giraffes browsing among trees, zebras grazing in open areas and antelopes resting in the shade. Your guide will also search suitable places for predators. Lions and leopards occur here, but their movements, vegetation and resting habits can make them difficult to locate.
Around lunchtime, stop at a designated picnic site for your packed meal. Keep food secure and follow your guide’s advice around monkeys and birds. Afterwards, continue your wildlife drive, choosing routes that make the best use of the remaining time.
Leave the park later in the afternoon and travel to Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge. Check in, freshen up and enjoy dinner before settling down for the night. The lodge’s escarpment setting provides a change from Tarangire’s lower, warmer landscapes.
Enjoy an early breakfast before leaving for the Serengeti. Today involves a substantial road journey, so keeping the morning departure on schedule allows more time for wildlife viewing after entering the park. Travel through the agricultural highlands around Karatu before reaching the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Beyond the entrance, the road climbs into cooler highland surroundings. If visibility and timing allow, stop at a designated viewpoint overlooking Ngorongoro Crater. From above, the crater floor appears as a broad landscape enclosed by steep walls. This stop introduces the area you will explore later in the safari; there is no descent into the crater today.
Continue through the conservation area towards the Serengeti. The scenery changes as you leave the highlands and approach more open country. Road surfaces can be uneven and dusty, and journey times vary with weather, entry procedures and stops. Your guide will organise a packed-lunch break at a suitable designated location.
Once inside Serengeti National Park, begin wildlife viewing on the way to the lodge. Look across the grasslands for grazing herds and scan shaded areas and rocky outcrops for resting animals. Your first afternoon is an introduction to the park, with the route shaped by your arrival time and the distance remaining to your accommodation.
Reach Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge later in the day. After checking in, enjoy time to freshen up before dinner. Your guide will discuss the following morning’s departure and whether a full-day outing with a picnic lunch is the most practical option.
Today is devoted to exploring the Serengeti without the need to move to another lodge. Depending on the agreed programme, leave after breakfast or arrange an earlier start with a packed breakfast. Cooler morning conditions can bring animal activity, although worthwhile sightings can happen at any time.
Your guide will select routes based on recent sightings, road access and the areas within a practical distance of the lodge. Explore grasslands, woodland edges and rocky outcrops, looking for lions, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and antelopes. Cheetahs and leopards may also be encountered, but finding them requires suitable conditions and patience.
Allow time to stay with an interesting sighting. Watching elephants feed, a lion pride interact or birds gather around a water source can reveal more than quickly moving between animals. Your guide will explain what you are seeing and help you notice smaller details, including tracks, calls and changes in animal behaviour.
A packed lunch allows you to remain out for much of the day. Stop at a designated picnic area before continuing the afternoon drive. If the migration herds are within reach, the route may focus on them. If they are farther away, spend the day enjoying resident wildlife rather than attempting an impractical journey across the park.
Return to the lodge later in the afternoon, with time to relax before dinner. Review the day’s sightings with your guide and discuss the plan for the final morning in the Serengeti.
After breakfast, head out for a final morning game drive in the Serengeti. This provides another opportunity to revisit productive areas or search for wildlife you have not yet encountered. Morning light can be particularly rewarding for photography, while the cooler air may encourage animals to move before resting later in the day.
The length of the outing will depend on the onward transfer. Your guide will plan a sensible route that includes wildlife viewing while keeping enough time to reach Ngorongoro. This is a morning safari followed by travel, rather than another full day inside the Serengeti.
Later, begin the journey towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, carrying a packed lunch. Watch the landscape change from open plains to higher ground as you approach the crater region. The road can be rough in places, so expect a slower pace than on the main tarmac roads.
Arrive at Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge and settle into your room. Depending on arrival time and visibility, enjoy the surrounding scenery from the lodge’s designated guest areas. The evening is best kept relaxed, with dinner followed by rest before the early crater descent.
Your guide will confirm breakfast arrangements, departure time and what to carry the next morning. Keep a jacket within reach, as the crater rim can be cold, especially early in the day.
Rise early for breakfast before travelling to the crater descent route. Staying near the rim reduces the morning approach compared with starting farther away, although entry procedures and road conditions still affect the schedule. As you descend, watch the landscape open below you.
The crater floor contains grassland, woodland, wetlands and lake habitats, each supporting different wildlife. Ngorongoro’s concentration of animals and its distinctive landscape contribute to the conservation area’s UNESCO World Heritage status.
Follow permitted roads in search of wildebeests, zebras, buffaloes, gazelles, lions and hyenas. Hippos may be seen in suitable wetland areas, while elephants sometimes appear near woodland and marshes. Your guide will also search for black rhinos, but these endangered animals can be distant, partly hidden or absent from the areas visited.
Spend time watching how the habitats fit together. Grazing animals use the open areas, waterbirds gather around wetlands, and predators move between resting places and feeding opportunities. Binoculars are useful, especially when animals are too far away for a clear view with the naked eye.
Enjoy a packed lunch at a designated picnic site, with timing adjusted to the day’s progress. After completing the crater visit, ascend to the rim and begin the road journey back to Arusha. This is a full day combining wildlife viewing with a substantial transfer, so arrival at the hotel may be later in the afternoon or evening.
Check in at Arusha Serena Hotel for dinner and your final overnight stay. Having this night in Arusha allows you to prepare for departure without combining the crater visit and airport check-in on the same day.
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before preparing for your onward journey. No game drive is scheduled today, allowing the transfer to be arranged around your flight. Depending on departure time, spend the morning relaxing, packing or enjoying the gardens before check-out.
Your driver will collect you at the agreed time for the journey to Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha Airport. These are separate airports, so your flight details must be confirmed before the transfer is scheduled. Allowance will be made for traffic and the airline’s required check-in time.
Lunch is included in the proposed programme and can be served before departure or arranged as a packed meal where practical. The exact arrangement depends on your flight time and should be confirmed in advance. For very early departures, breakfast arrangements may also need to be adjusted.
Travellers continuing to Zanzibar can connect with a separately arranged domestic flight. The beach extension, flight and airport transfer should be booked together to ensure that the safari finishes at the correct airport.
