5 Days Tarangire, Lake Natron and Ngorongoro Safari in Tanzania.

Enjoy Your Breakfast

Enjoy your breakfast which starts from 7:00 AM. Your safari guide will arrive at the hotel and inform the receptionist that he is waiting for you. After meeting up with your driver, you will travel to Tarangire National Park, and around 10:00 AM you will already be on your first game drive.

Travel Briefing

On your safari today, wear long sleeve light clothes, take repellents, wipes, and maybe soap and lotion or jelly if your skin is sensitive to apply strange oil and jelly. Take your camera, binoculars into your day pack to use on the game drive, but these can also be rented or bought in Arusha if you didn’t bring one. It’s essential to pack warm clothes for this travel as evenings and nights can be chilly. Simple shoes might be better, but open shoes are also fine.

Road Trip: Arusha to Tarangire

From your hotel in Arusha, we have a 120 km road trip westward to the Tarangire Entrance Gate. On the road, expect to see kids in groups walking to school, then you will cross the Arabica coffee plantations while enjoying the comfort of your vehicle.

Following are plains dotted by acacia trees along the way to Tarangire where pastoralist families, the Maasai herdsmen, lead their cattle to green pastures every day.

Safari in Tarangire National Park

Today we’ll be heading out to your first Tanzanian national park, the magnificent Tarangire National Park. Tarangire is one of the most famous national parks for its elephant migration in the country. Expect to encounter herds of giant African elephants slowly migrating across the plains and perhaps visiting the Tarangire River to drink.

You will be amazed by the funny troops of baboons and blue monkeys that visit the picnic site and steal food from you. You might even be lucky enough to meet predators like lions, cheetahs, or leopards.

A colorful variety of wildlife can be found around the Tarangire River including buffaloes, warthogs, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, and sometimes predators trying to hunt their prey.

While safely staying inside your 4x4 custom Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, which will offer you picturesque views with your camera on hand across the scattered forest dotted by giant baobabs, your expert guide might opt for a visit to the lush Silale swamps, home to various bird species, hyenas, elephants, and buffalo.

Depending on the season, let us scan the Lamarkau swamp areas looking for kudu, gazelles, and other small animals that find their habitats in the Tarangire swamplands. Let’s also extend our visit to the Grusi swamplands; perhaps today you might spot warthogs, zebras, and other mammals attracted to this area as they come to drink.

Attention, in Tarangire as in other parks, small animals deserve your attention. Tarangire is home to a variety of amazing small animals including mongoose, the small unrelaxing animal that never stays still for your captures.

It’s so easy to be mesmerized by the power and majesty of an elephant or the elegance of the giraffe. Do not be shy to ask your guide to find you an agama lizard, especially a male one who changes color in front of you according to the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as ‘pimbi’, an insignificant-looking creature of around 30cm in length, which is astonishingly related to the elephant!

After the game drive safari, we will drive to your accommodation located in Lake Natron, a few hours from Tarangire, for dinner and overnight.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be served at your hotel in Arusha, lunch will be a picnic in Tarangire. Your dinner will be at your stay in Lake Natron. Drinking water will be provided by your driver guide during the travel and by the hotel with the meal.

Ngare Sero Waterfall and Lake Natron

In the morning, you will head over to Ngare Sero Waterfall in the gorge of a rift valley. This trekking is very light and relaxing, but at some point, you will be crossing a river, so it is better to wear flip-flops or sandals.

Then you will be transferred to Lake Natron, where you can take photos of the magnificent Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano, walk along the shore, and stick around for lunch. Later, you will finish the safari and get to your lodge.

Optional Activities in Natron

We can organize a trekking to Ol Doinyo Lengai for an extra fee. But be aware that this trekking is rather difficult and requires good physical training.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be served at your accommodation in Lake Natron, lunch will be a picnic in Tarangire. Your dinner will be at your stay after excursions. Drinking water will be provided by your driver guide during the travel and by the hotel with the meal.

Ngorongoro Crater Safari

On this day, it is best to leave the hotel as early as possible so you can see the variety of animals that are only active during the morning hours. Breakfast will be packed in lunchboxes specifically for this purpose. At 6:30 AM, you will set off for Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and after about an hour, you will already be inside the crater.

Ngorongoro is one of the most famous and interesting of Tanzania's national parks because here you can find the greatest number of different animal species per square kilometer. You will have the chance to see buffalo, elephants, lions, wildebeests, zebras, hippopotamuses, and feline species such as caracals and servals. The luckiest travelers might even see a rhinoceros, an animal whose numbers are rapidly declining.

By lunchtime, you will arrive at the lakeside, where you will be offered lunchboxes. After lunch, the safari will continue, ending in a few hours with a transfer to Serengeti National Park.

On your travels, you will also visit a memorial dedicated to two West German researchers, Bernhard and Michael Grzimek. It is to them we have to thank for Northern Tanzania National Parks having survived till our times in its current natural state. You can read their full story in the book "Serengeti Shall Not Die," which can be found on Amazon.com for USD 10–25.

In the evening, you will be transferred back to the hotel in Arusha. After the game drive safari, we will drive to your accommodation in Arusha for dinner and overnight.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be served at your hotel in Natron, lunch will be a picnic in Ngorongoro. Your dinner will be at your stay in Arusha. Drinking water will be provided by your driver guide during the travel and by the hotel in the room.

A Free Masai Boma and Cultural Handcrafts

We provide a free visit to the Maasai boma and to handcrafts and souvenirs shopping after the safari. After the game drive in Ngorongoro crater, we will visit the Maasai boma to experience Maasai culture at a glance, followed by a visit to the handcraft shopping area. You can experience the drawings, handcrafts, and other souvenirs and maybe pick your choice to buy.

Rest in the Hotel and Transfer to the Airport

Note: Hotel check-out is at 11:00 AM. In case you need a late check-out because of an evening flight, you have the option to extend your hotel stay till 6:00 PM for an extra fee.

Zanzibar Beach Holidays | Cultural Excursion | Birding | Post Safari Extension

After your exhilarating time on safari, you may want to extend your Tanzanian holiday with time on Zanzibar’s wonderful beaches. Please contact us for details.