Tanzania Lodge Safari Itinerary

Day 1: Arusha – Lake Manyara

Travelling time: 2½ hours

Distance: 130 km

Pick up from an agreed point in Arusha at 08:00 am to start your Tanzania lodge safari for Lake Manyara where you will arrive at lunch time. As you arrive drive into the park for afternoon game drive. The Manayara national park is one of Tanzania’s most diverse wildlife areas with an area of about 329 km² where 231 km² is covered by the shallow soda lake of Manyara. The park’s diverse environment attracts a wide variety of animals, including elephants and the elusive tree climbing lion. The presence of blue green algae in the soda lake attracts large flocks of flamingos.

Dinner and overnight at Country Lodge Karatu /Bougainvillea Lodge / Octagon Lodge

Day 2: Lake Manyara – Serengeti Plains

Travel time: 6 hours

Distance: 205 km

After breakfast continue with the Tanzania Lodge safari towards Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful upper and lower lands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  Arrive Serengeti National park and continue with game drives in its endless plains rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. Proceed to Seronera the central Serengeti area which is richest in wildlife habitats and featuring the Seronera River which provides a permanent source of water to the area. The presence of the river attracts a huge variety of animals which at large represent all the species found the Serengeti. Arrive for lunch and after lunch continue with the afternoon game drive till evening when you will drive back to the camp. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Heritage Camp.

Day 3:  Game viewing in the Serengeti Plains

Today you early morning you will opt to go for game drive or float in a Hot Air Balloon which will be offered on extra cost. Floating above the untouched African bush, spotting wildlife while enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages.

After the Balloon Safari you will go for breakfast which followed by game drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which rounds into the plains south of the Seronera River. This is the best place where you will have a high possibility to see Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings. You will also visit the Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites. This nicely designed centre offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. The centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby kopje. We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the centre in the shade of the giant acacia trees.

In the afternoon we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lion and some formidably large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons – including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink!

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Day 4: Serengeti Plains – Ngorongoro crater

Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours

Distance: 145 km

After breakfast at the lodge do we depart to Ngorongoro Conservation area. We will stopover at Olduvai Gorge, boasting with a history dating back to the dawn of time. It was here, that the anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of ‘Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.

We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch we will descend over 600 meters into the crater to view wildlife for a half day’s safari tour. Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park, is it’s dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually been seen here.

Dinner and overnight at Rhino Lodge .

Day 5: Ngorongoro crater – Arusha

Travel Time: 4 hours

Distance: 190 km

Enjoy breakfast, after which we will transfer back to Arusha. Upon arrival in Arusha will we have lunch and then we will end our African safari adventure. The group should tip the guide around $20 a day. You will be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.

It is possible to have an additional half day game drive at Ngorongoro conservation area if you are not restricted to an early departure time from Arusha, please note additional cost will apply.

Please note this itinerary is subject to change with or without prior notice according to local conditions / park rules. The order of places visited could also be changed according to the guide’s decision.

The departure dates for all our African safaris, tours, travel and other trekking packages are totally flexible according to your own personal needs. Please contact us for further and more detailed information, as well as information on our photographic packages, safaris, tours, travel and other trekking packages into Tanzania.