Classic Tanzania Safari

Welcome to Tanzania! You’ll be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel.

Drive this morning to Tarangire National Park, replete with huge baobabs and a great diversity of wildlife including giraffe, buffalo, and zebra. Predators like lion, leopard, and cheetah are also present. Most notably, over 5,000 elephants migrate through the park each year. From your camp on the edge of the park, it’s possible to go on bush walks with a Maasai guide. You’ll enjoy a full day of game driving on your second day.

The Maasai are well-known for their elaborate beadwork and this morning you will have the chance to try it under the watchful eye of women from a local beading co-op. Departing Tarangire, you’ll visit the bustling market of Mto Wa Mbu near Lake Manyara. This lively market is where farmers and herdsmen from all over the region gather to sell their produce and livestock.

After lunch, continue to your remote permanent tented camp set on the banks of Lake Eyasi. Relax and cool off in the pool and enjoy sundowners by the nightly fire in preparation for your encounters with the Hadza tomorrow.

Today is an adventure! Head out at dawn to find the nomadic Hadza living nearby. Once located, you might be lucky to be asked to join them on their daily bow-and-arrow hunt. Your local guide will help you to learn about their ancient hunting methods still in use today. The Hadza are one of the oldest, true aboriginal people of Africa who continue to live as their ancestors have for millennia.

In the afternoon visit the Datoga, who are skilled silver and metalsmiths. They hand-forge spear points and arrowheads for sale at the local market, supplementing their pastoralist lifestyle. Many still wear traditional goatskin attire and remain nomadic at certain times of the year.

Depart this morning from the arid shores of Lake Eyasi bound for Karatu, the coffee farming region on the slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater. Your lodging for the next two nights will give you the opportunity to tour a working coffee plantation and enjoy the exceptional locally-grown and roasted coffee. Locally raised produce and livestock means fresh and abundant meals prepared by the in-house chef. Relax by the pool this afternoon – you have an exciting day tomorrow!

An early morning today, with a packed picnic lunch, gets you to the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken, non-water filled caldera in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wildlife is prolific throughout the year due to the permanent availability of grass and water. At nearly 20 miles across, you’ll find black-maned lions, highly endangered black rhino, wildebeest, zebra, elephants, hippo, and hyena. There are even flamingoes! Spend as long as you’d like exploring the floor of the crater or make a plan with your guide to spend the afternoon hiking in the nearby highlands or checking out Maasai villages.

Drive to the endless plains of the Serengeti. Depending on the time of year, this may mean heading to the southern, central, or northern parts of the park. Stop en route at the Olduvai Gorge, where Mary Leakey discovered remains of the earliest hominids. Your next few days are spent exploring one of the most wildlife productive ecosystems and sanctuaries in the world. Upwards of 1.5 million wildebeest and a third as many zebra trace an annual and unending circuit through the greater Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. In February-March, they concentrate around Lake Masek in the south, where the calving season takes place. This draws predators like lion, cheetahs, and hyenas. In April – August, the herds move north, passing through the central and western Serengeti and heading towards the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Depending on the month, your Kati Kati Tented Camp moves to be located in the optimal location for viewing the great herds.

Bid farewell to the wildlife of the Serengeti as you board your scheduled flight back to Arusha. You’ll have a day room to rest, freshen up, and enjoy lunch before connecting to the international airport for your departing flight.