$3,575 to $3,794 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Arrival and Transfer to Ngare Sero Lodge
Arrival and Transfer to Ngare Sero Lodge
Our driver meets you at the arrivals exit of Kilimanjaro International Airport and drives you to Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge on the forested slopes of Mount Meru, about an hour away. The grounds are built around a clear lake fed by cold springs that bubble up in the forest; trout and freshwater crabs live in it, and herons hunt along its edges. Settle in by the 30-metre pool, framed by bougainvillea and jacaranda, or walk the forest paths before dinner, which can be served in a pavilion by the lake.
- Main Destination:
- Arusha (City)
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Tarangire National Park in the Green Season
Tarangire National Park in the Green Season
After breakfast, your private guide collects you for the drive to Tarangire (about 3 hours). In the green season, after the short December rains, Tarangire’s baobabs come into full leaf, and their large white flowers open at night to be pollinated by fruit bats. These trees store water in their trunks, which is why elephants sometimes gouge the bark in dry spells, leaving deep scars you’ll notice on older baobabs. Elephants, zebras, buffaloes and giraffes move through the woodland along the Tarangire River, and lions follow the grazers. After a picnic lunch and an afternoon game drive, continue to Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge near Karatu (about 2 hours). Its Coffee Corner is run by young people from Karatu training in hospitality, who also prepare tomorrow’s lunch boxes. Dinner and overnight at Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge.
- Main Destination:
- Tarangire National Park
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge
Wildlife in Tarangire NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Magadi, Ndutu Plains
Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Magadi, Ndutu Plains
Leave early, around 6:30, to reach the crater floor in the quiet morning hours; the drive to the crater floor from your lodge takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. In the green season, the crater floor is at its most vivid. Look for buffaloes, lions and black rhino on the grasslands, and for the pink edges of Lake Magadi, the shallow soda lake at the centre of the caldera, where lesser and greater flamingos often gather. Lunch is a picnic on the crater floor. In the afternoon, climb back to the rim and drive west across the highlands and down onto the open plains of Ndutu, where the migrating herds spend the rainy months (about 3 hours). Dinner and overnight at Tanzania Bush Camp Ndutu, a seasonal camp of ten tents that is set up here only from December to April.
- Main Destination:
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
-
Tanzania Bush Camps - Ndutu Mobile Camp
Wildlife in Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Full Day in Ndutu Following the Calving Herds
Full Day in Ndutu Following the Calving Herds
A full day among the herds. Wildebeest and zebras come to Ndutu because its short grass grows on volcanic ash from the Ngorongoro highlands and is unusually rich in minerals, ideal for nursing mothers and growing calves. At the peak of calving, usually from late January to mid-March, thousands of calves are born every day. The timing is no accident: with so many births packed into a few weeks, predators can take only a fraction of the newborns, and each calf is on its feet within minutes and running alongside its mother within hours. That concentration draws lions, cheetahs, hyenas and, with luck, leopards, servals or caracals, and the open plains make it easier to watch them at work. Lunch is a picnic on the plains or a hot meal at the camp's restaurant tent, splitting the full day into two game-drives. Dinner by the campfire and overnight at Tanzania Bush Camp Ndutu.
- Main Destination:
- Ndutu (Southern Serengeti NP)
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- Tanzania Bush Camps - Ndutu Mobile Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Morning at Lakes Ndutu and Masek, Bush Flight to Zanzibar
Morning at Lakes Ndutu and Masek, Bush Flight to Zanzibar
An early game drive takes you to Lake Ndutu and neighbouring Lake Masek, two shallow soda lakes fringed with acacias, where animals come to drink. It was on Lake Ndutu’s western shore in 1973 that archaeologists found the Ndutu skull, a partial cranium of an early human some 400,000 years old, along with stone tools. Your guide then drops you at the Ndutu airstrip for the late-morning light-aircraft flight to Zanzibar (about 2.5 hours). The luggage allowance is 20 kg per person in a soft bag, including the 5 kg carry-on. On arrival, our driver meets you at Zanzibar Airport for the drive of about 50 km to Alladin Zanzibar, a small adults-only beach hotel in Matemwe on the island’s northeast coast. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
- Main Destination:
- Ndutu (Southern Serengeti NP)
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- Alladin Zanzibar
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Free Day on Zanzibar
Free Day on Zanzibar
A day with nothing on the schedule. After four early safari starts, sleep in and take a slow breakfast at the hotel’s Sultan Restaurant. Matemwe is a quiet stretch of white sand beside a traditional fishing village, and the northeast coast has some of the strongest tides on the island: at low tide the sea retreats far across the reef flats, at high tide it comes right back to the beach. Check the tide times to plan your swims, and spend the hours in between by the pool or with a massage at the spa. In the evening, the rooftop Sky Bar looks out over the ocean and the fishermen’s dhows. Breakfast, dinner and overnight at Alladin Zanzibar.
- Main Destination:
- Zanzibar Island (Tanzania Beaches)
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- Alladin Zanzibar
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Free Day on Zanzibar
Free Day on Zanzibar
A free day by the ocean. Matemwe is the closest beach to Mnemba Atoll, which lies just offshore and is one of Zanzibar’s best places for snorkelling, so if you’d like to see the reef, this is the day we recommend for it. Boat trips to the atoll leave directly from the hotel beach; the water around Mnemba is clear, with coral, turtles and reef fish, and dolphins are sometimes seen on the way, though sightings are never guaranteed. Back on shore, the afternoon is yours for the beach, the pool or the 24-hour gym. Breakfast, dinner and overnight at Alladin Zanzibar.
- Main Destination:
- Zanzibar Island (Tanzania Beaches)
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- Alladin Zanzibar
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Free Day on Zanzibar
Free Day on Zanzibar
The last full day on the island. If you’d like to see more of Zanzibar, we recommend a day in Stone Town, the island’s old quarter and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about an hour’s drive away. Its narrow lanes show centuries of Swahili, Arab, Indian and European influence, best seen in the carved wooden doors of the old merchant houses. On the way, a spice farm is worth a stop: Zanzibar has been called the Spice Island since it became one of the world’s main sources of cloves, and you can see nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper growing and taste them fresh. Or simply spend one more slow day by the sea. Breakfast, dinner and overnight at Alladin Zanzibar.
- Main Destination:
- Zanzibar Island (Tanzania Beaches)
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- Alladin Zanzibar
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Departure from Zanzibar
Departure from Zanzibar
Breakfast is included on your last morning, so there is time for one more slow meal by the ocean before you leave. Standard check-out is at 10:00. If your flight is later in the day and you would like to keep your room longer, let us know in advance and we will arrange a late check-out with the hotel, subject to availability and at extra cost. Our driver collects you from the hotel and takes you to Zanzibar Airport. The pick-up time depends on your flight: for international departures, plan to leave the hotel about 4 hours before take-off; for domestic flights, about 3 hours before.
- Main Destination:
- No major destination visited
- Activities:
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
