We will gather at Arusha Planet Lodge. If you want to arrive a day early to get over jet-lag (recommended), that can be booked at additional cost through our local coordinator KatiKati Tours: https://www.katikatisafaris.com/

The lodge has a wooded lot, and e-bird reports 89 species from the grounds.

Arusha Planet Lodge: https://planet-lodges.com/lodges/arusha-planet-lodge/.

An early start for a full-day tour through Arusha National Park (Park entrance is 30 minutes from hotel). Spectacular views of Mt. Meru—one of the Rift Valley’s most beautiful mountains—rising above the forest. This park is small by African standards but includes a diversity of habitats including lakes and the only rain forest we will encounter. We will take an easy, 45-minute hike to a beautiful waterfall.

Highlights: Cape buffalo, plains zebra, Masai giraffe, bushbuck, waterbuck, dik dik, duiker, wart-hog, black-and-white colobus monkey, Sykes’s (blue) monkey, olive baboon, and a huge diversity of birds (e-bird reports 616 species). (A note on the wildlife-highlights in our itinerary: this is Nature so we can’t guarantee anything. Wildlife-spotting is hit-or-miss, but we include what we think to be likely sightings based on our previous visits to these sites.)

Day 3: Two- to three-hour drive to Tarangire National Park. This park is famed for its Baobab trees and offers wetland, woodland, and scrubland habitats. The drives between parks are truly a highlight of the trip, providing an overview of the landscape and their wildlife corridors between the parks. We pass through several towns, which offer insight into Tanzanian society. We arrive at the park in time for a morning game drive along the life-giving Tarangire River, where elephants and predators are most active. As the day warms, we venture into the iconic baobab-dotted landscape for incredible wildlife viewing and a scenic picnic lunch. After a late-afternoon game drive, we transfer to our camp for dinner.

Ever been in a ‘tent’ with a hardwood floor a kingsize bed, desk and en-suite bathroom?

Here’s your chance!

Conserve Safari Tarangire Tented camp :

https://www.conservesafari.com/conserve-safari-tarangire.

Highlights: lion, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, elephant, impala, dik dik, topi, plains zebra, Cape buffalo, olive baboon, vervet monkey, mongoose (several species), blue wildebeest, hippo, ostrich, the spectacular lilac-breasted roller, and many more birds (e-bird reports 421 bird species).

Days 4 and 5: Tarangire NP

Tarangire is a huge park, with many different habitats ranging from savanna with baobab to large wetlands and woodlands. Over two days we will explore the less-visited southern portion of Tarangire National Park, looking for leopards and other predators. Getting off the beaten track will increase our chances of seeing the shyer creatures.

Day 6: Tarangire and Drive to Serengeti National Park

After an early morning game drive and picnic breakfast in Tarangire, we head to the Serengeti. This is a four-hour drive, but there is plenty to see on the way, including the eastern escarpment of the African Rift Valley. We stop for views from the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater before entering Serengeti National Park by the Knob-Hill Gate. There's nowhere in Tanzania where you have a better chance of seeing big cats than in the Central Serengeti.  For the next two hours, we will do a game drive through unforgettable Serengeti landscapes.

Highlights: lion, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, elephant, impala, topi, Thomson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, plains zebra, Cape buffalo, olive baboon, blue wildebeest, leopard, cheetah, serval, hippo, secretary bird, three species of vulture, and a diversity of raptors (e-bird reports 519 bird species).

Days 7 and 8: Serengeti National Park

Full days of game-driving in the Serengeti (dawn to dusk), searching for the best wildlife sightings. ‘Serengeti’ means ‘Endless Plain’ in Swahili, and the Big Sky is overwhelming. We will be looking for herds of Wildebeest, zebra and Topi as they assemble for the Great Migration. These are not just incredible sights, but the sounds of thousands of wildebeest is unforgettable. And where there are big herds the predators won’t be far away.

An optional add-on of a hot-air-balloon ride (predawn until about 9:00 am) will be offered at $540 per person.

Day 9: Serengeti and Drive to Ngorongoro Crater

Early morning game drive in the Serengeti. After lunch, we transfer to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. There are amazing views from the hotel down into the crater. But don’t forget to look in the woodlands around the hotel for animals (especially birds) of montane woodlands that we won’t see anywhere else.

Full-day game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro is a special place and the first time you descend onto the crater floor is like no other safari experience in Africa. This is a world unto itself, one where we encounter some of the crater’s 600-strong population of hyenas, as well as critically endangered black rhinos. The elephants sport larger-than-average tusks, and more than 50 lions live in the crater. 

The crater walls make a wonderful backdrop for the huge diversity of wildlife. The forested walls and savanna floor contrast with shore birds and flocks of flamingoes in and around Lake Magadi, which provide a splash of color.

Highlights: black rhinoceros, lion, hyena, jackal, elephant, Cape buffalo, sacred ibis, yellow-billed stork, gray crested-crane, and many others (e-bird reports 636 bird species).

We transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport stopping along the way for lunch. Mount Kilimanjaro is often socked in with cloud, but it may be possible to get a decent view of it along the way. Services end at the airport.

Arrive Home on June 1^st.