Wildlife safari · Tanzania
Eight days from Nairobi through northern Tanzania, including the Serengeti from Lobo in the north to the Ndutu woodlands in the south, a full day in the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire, with Zanzibar as an option at the end.
The journey
Eight days from Nairobi through northern Tanzania, including the Serengeti from Lobo in the north to the Ndutu woodlands in the south, a full day in the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire, with Zanzibar as an option at the end.
Suggested accommodation
Serengeti
Ngorongoro
Lake Manyara
Tarangire
Arusha
Suggested accommodation is subject to availability. A property of a similar standard may be proposed where necessary.
Suggested accommodation
Serengeti
Ngorongoro
Lake Manyara
Tarangire
Arusha
Suggested accommodation is subject to availability. A property of a similar standard may be proposed where necessary.
Trip highlights
Your route
Nairobi → Arusha → Lake Manyara → Ngorongoro → Serengeti → Tarangire → Arusha → Nairobi
We will confirm the day-by-day sequence and overnight stops in your detailed proposal.
Schematic route · See the day-by-day programme for travel details.
Day by day
Day 1
After breakfast, depart Nairobi at 7:30am on the shuttle bus for Arusha. The road runs south across the Maasai plains to the Namanga border town, reached at about 10:30am, where immigration formalities are completed before continuing into Tanzania past Mount Meru. Arrive in Arusha in the afternoon and check in to your hotel for dinner and overnight, with the evening free to rest before the safari begins.
Day 2
After breakfast, depart Arusha for Lake Manyara with lunch en route, then enter Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive in the 4x4 Land Cruiser. The park is famous for its tree-climbing lions and for the large flocks of flamingo on its soda lake, and its groundwater forest is full of baboon, blue monkey, elephant and hippo, with the Rift Valley wall rising behind. Return for dinner and settle in for the evening.
Day 3
After breakfast, drive up to the Ngorongoro Crater rim and descend 2,000 feet (670 metres) to the floor with picnic lunches for a full day in the caldera. The crater is about 20 kilometres across and 300 square kilometres in area, the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world, and its resident populations include black-maned lion, rhino, buffalo, elephant and large numbers of grazing animals. Lunch is at the Ngoitokitok Springs picnic site. The day ends with dinner and time to unwind.
Day 4
After breakfast, leave Ngorongoro for Olduvai Gorge. Lunch is at the gorge museum, and afterwards you visit the sites where the remains of prehistoric humans were discovered by the archaeologist Dr Louis Leakey. Then continue onto the Serengeti plains, passing Seronera in the centre of the park and driving north to the Lobo area, with afternoon game drives along the way. Head back as the light goes for dinner and the night.
Day 5
Leave Lobo for Ndutu in the south of the ecosystem, game viewing through the central Serengeti en route and around the Ndutu woodlands, where leopard rest in the acacias and cheetah hunt on the surrounding short-grass plains. Great herds of buffalo, elephant, giraffe, eland, topi, kongoni, impala and gazelle sustain the park's lion prides, hyena clans and all three jackal species, and in the calving season the Ndutu plains fill with wildebeest. Come back for dinner and a quiet evening.
Day 6
After breakfast, depart for Tarangire National Park, arriving in time for lunch. The afternoon game drive in the 4x4 Land Cruiser explores what many consider Tanzania's most beautiful park for the concentration and abundance of its wildlife: dense vegetation, giant baobabs and the Tarangire River, which gathers elephant herds, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest in the dry season. Return in the evening for dinner and a restful night.
Day 7
After breakfast, a final game drive in Tarangire among the baobabs and along the river, where the morning light is at its best and elephant families come down to drink and dust-bathe. Then leave the park and drive back to Arusha with lunch en route, arriving in the afternoon. Check in to your hotel for dinner and overnight, with the evening free to explore the town's craft markets or simply rest after a week on safari.
Day 8
After breakfast, depart on the morning shuttle bus to Nairobi via the Namanga border, arriving in the evening for drop-off at the airport or your hotel. Alternatively, end the safari with a flight to Zanzibar for a few days on the coast; we can help book the flight and your accommodation on the island. Let us know which option you prefer when booking so the final day, and any airport transfer, is arranged accordingly.
In pictures
Your written quotation itemises every one of these for your dates, so you can compare it line by line with any other:
Most travellers also budget separately for the items below. Your quotation confirms which apply to this trip.
When to travel
Game viewing across Kenya and Tanzania is at its most reliable in the dry months, roughly June to October and again in January and February, when the grass is shorter and animals concentrate around permanent water. The long rains fall around April and May and the short rains in November; both bring green country, fewer vehicles and lower rates, at the cost of some unpredictability on the roads. There is no month in which this journey cannot run.
Read the full season guide →Who it suits
Pricing
On Request
Published catalogue reference rate. Confirm availability and the final quotation for your travel dates.
This itinerary can also be arranged privately in a 4x4 Land Cruiser on request. A private departure is quoted separately and confirmed with your dates and group size.
Free quotation
Tell us when and how many. We will reply with a written quotation for the 8-Day Safari - Arusha · Lake Manyara · Ngorongoro · Serengeti · Tarangire in the style you selected above, and adjust the pace, parks or accommodation if you would like something different.
4.9/5 from 31 traveller reviews on SafariBookings (opens in a new tab)Send the quick form or a WhatsApp message. It is free and commits you to nothing.
Our Nairobi team checks availability and sends a quotation stating the route, accommodation and exactly what is and is not included.
Change the pace, the style of accommodation or the parks. Ask anything before you decide.
Nothing is reserved or charged until you accept the quotation in writing.
Send your travel dates, party size and accommodation preferences. We will confirm availability and send a written quotation before you book.
Ask our team about adjustments to the itinerary, accommodation and pace. We will explain what is practical for your dates and confirm any price changes.
On Request. Ask us to confirm the quotation for your dates and group size.
Safari game drives use a 4x4 Land Cruiser. Your quotation will confirm whether your trip is private or shared and specify any separate transfer arrangements.
Before you choose
Read the destination guides alongside this itinerary to compare access, wildlife habitat and accommodation position. The named comfort option and written quotation confirm the actual overnight stays, meals and activities.
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