Arrival in Arusha
On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK) which caters to domestic flights, you will be met by an African Big Cats Safaris representative who will drive you to your accommodation in Arusha. Your overnight stay will be at Arusha Planet Lodge.
- Main Destination:
- Arusha (City)
- Accommodation:
- Mtoni River Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Exploring Arusha City + Albinism Centre
After an early morning breakfast, you will drive to one of the albinism centers in Arusha. People with albinism have serious vision issues—often they are considered semi-blind. This factor has repercussions in education as their teachers often do not realize that the students with albinism are unable to see the blackboard well enough to keep up with other students. Classmates and teachers alike treat them with scorn as it is assumed that they are inherently stupid. Few people with albinism complete secondary school and even fewer have the opportunity to attend college or university.
After that, you will visit one of the local markets and interact with the locals in Arusha before driving back to your hotel in Arusha for an overnight at Airport Planet Lodge.
- Main Destination:
- Arusha (City)
- Accommodation:
- Arusha Planet Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Arusha to Tarangire National Park
After breakfast, you'll depart for Tarangire National Park. The park is named after the Tarangire River which runs through it. This ‘river of warthogs’ is the only source of water for wildlife in the region during the dry season. In places, the vegetation is quite dense, including elephant grass, and acacia woodlands. The park is well known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffes, bushbucks, and hartebeests. These animals are closely followed by a range of predators, including lions and leopards. There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire National Park than anywhere else on the planet. Tarangire is the best place to see these gentle giants in their natural habitat —from the adorable calves up to the intimidating bulls. You will spend two nights at Lake Burunge Tented Lodge with all meals included.
- Main Destination:
- Tarangire National Park
- Accommodation:
- Lake Burunge Tented Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Lake Manyara National Park to Lake Eyasi
You'll have an early breakfast and thereafter drive to Lake Manyara National Park for a wildlife-viewing drive. Located beneath the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park offers varied ecosystems, incredible bird life, and breathtaking views. You'll continue a short drive to Lake Manyara National Park for wildlife viewing drives where your first encounter will be spotting large troupes of baboons. Lake Manyara National Park boasts a spectacular array of diverse terrain as well as plant and animal species. Established specifically to protect the elephant herds that have made the area renowned, the park provides an amazing wildlife experience. Elephants are not the only animals that Lake Manyara is famous for. Tree-climbing lions are occasionally sited. A packed lunch will be served at a picnic site. After lunch, you'll drive to Lake Eyasi for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Manyara National Park
- Accommodation:
- Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Lake Eyasi
After an early morning tea or coffee, you will depart for a guided tour visiting the bushmen tribe of the Hadzabe who live on hunting and gathering wild fruits and roots. You may want to go hunting with the bushmen. They subsist entirely off the bush and by bow hunting. Everything they use is made from local materials, including their bows which are strung with giraffe tendon, and their arrows which are coated in lethal poison. Their language resembles that of the Kalahari bushmen tribe (who were featured in the 1980 film ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’) with clicking noises used. After the hunt, you'll return to your lodge for a brunch. In the afternoon, you'll visit the Datoga tribe who are blacksmiths who make spears and other iron materials. Your dinner and overnight stay will be at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Eyasi
- Accommodation:
- Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, you'll drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and on to Serengeti National Park with wildlife viewing en route. Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequaled for its natural beauty and scientific value. It has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. Over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebras flow south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains every October and November and then swirl west and north after the long rains in April, May, and June. So strong is the ancient instinct to move that no drought, gorge, or crocodile-infested river can hold them back. Serengeti is truly home to the legendary great wildebeest migration. The Serengeti National Park is where safari-goers come to truly experience an African safari. In the late afternoon, you'll arrive at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay at Embalakai Camp.
- Main Destination:
- Serengeti National Park
- Accommodation:
- Embalakai Serengeti Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast, you'll drive out of the Serengeti and on to Ngorongoro Crater for a wildlife-viewing drive. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s most famous sites and is said to have the highest density of wildlife in Africa. Sometimes described as an ‘Eighth Wonder of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The crater has attracted an ever-increasing number of visitors each year. You are guaranteed great wildlife viewing in a genuinely mind-blowing environment. There is nowhere else in Africa quite like Ngorongoro! One of the best places in the country to see the endangered black rhinoceros, lions, herds of wildebeests, zebras, and the elusive caracals. The park is home to the entirety of the Big Five and is a particularly good place to see lions and cape buffalo year-round. A packed lunch will be served at a picnic site. In the late afternoon, you'll drive to Ngorongoro Highlands. Your dinner and overnight stay will be at Eileen's Tree Inn.
- Main Destination:
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Accommodation:
- Eileen's Trees Inn
- Meals & Drinks:
Karatu to Arusha
You will have a leisurely breakfast. Thereafter, you will drive back to Arusha for a hot lunch and last-minute shopping and re-packing. You'll transfer to the airport for your flight back home or a flight to Zanzibar.
- Main Destination:
- Arusha (City)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks: