The Grand Safari — Southern Tanzania to Northern Tanzania

On arrival at Julius Nyerere International Airport, a representative briefs you on the trip ahead, then transfer to the Chelsea Hotel.

Stay Chelsea Hotel Meals Dinner

After breakfast, travel to Nyerere. Following lunch and leisure, a 4 p.m. boat safari on the Rufiji River gives views of hippos, crocodiles and water birds along the park borders and community villages.

Stay Nyerere Green Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

A full-day game drive with picnic lunch explores this massive sanctuary. The park boasts Tanzania's largest elephant population, with chances to spot lions, buffalo, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, zebras, baboons, impala, wild dogs, greater kudu and rare sable antelope.

Stay Nyerere Green Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

An early morning walking safari guided by armed rangers allows close observation of tracks, plants and smaller wildlife often missed from a vehicle. After breakfast, departure to Mikumi with evening arrival.

Stay Camp Bastian Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After early breakfast with a packed lunch, a full-day safari through Mikumi's woodlands, seasonal swamps and open grasslands, focused on the two legendary water holes — Mkata and Chamgore — where giraffes, zebras and elephants gather to drink.

Stay Camp Bastian Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After early breakfast with a packed lunch, an 8–10 hour overland journey through Baobab Valley and the Southern Escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, arriving at Ruaha in the late evening. A sunset game drive en route introduces the wilderness.

Stay Ruaha Hilltop Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Full-day game viewing along the Great Ruaha River with its hippos and crocodiles, plus lions, leopards, hunting dogs, waterbuck, impala, giraffe, warthog, eland, zebra and elephants. An evening night game drive from 8 p.m. to midnight reveals nocturnal activity.

Stay Asanja Ndembo Ruaha Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

A morning walking safari at 07:30 (3–4 hours) with two ranger-guides. After returning for a shower and lunch, an evening sunset game drive through the park's unspoiled landscape.

Stay Asanja Ndembo Ruaha Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, travel to Dodoma, Tanzania's capital, with lunch in Iringa. The journey passes through sheen highland of the Iringa Region and colourful villages.

Stay La Stanar Hotel Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Breakfast, then departure with a packed lunch toward Tarangire via Kondoa, visiting the Kondoa Rock-Art Sites. The Kondoa region was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2006 for its rock art. Packed lunch at the site; arrival at Tarangire in the evening.

Stay Tarangire Safari Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

A full day in Tanzania's fifth-largest national park (2,600 sq km, established 1970). Numerous baobabs characterise the landscape, and the Tarangire River draws plains migrants in the dry season.

Stay Tarangire Safari Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

An early morning game drive in Tarangire, then a late breakfast. Afternoon departure to Mto wa Mbu Village where a local guide walks you through an African farming village, a school, church, market and banana brewery. The 2-hour activity shows how the town works day to day.

Stay Ngorongoro Farm House Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, a 600 m descent into the crater for a full-day game drive. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world's most densely crowded African wildlife areas with an estimated 30,000 animals including wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo and elephants, plus predators — lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and leopards. Picnic lunch on the crater floor, then ascend to the rim.

Stay Ngorongoro Serena Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, departure with game viewing en route, stopping at Olduvai Gorge, boasting a history dating back to the dawn, where anthropologists discovered the skulls of 'Nutcracker Man' and 'Handy Man.' An evening game drive in the Serengeti follows.

Stay Kati Kati Tented Camp Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Early morning game drives around Seronera from 6 a.m., then full breakfast. A midday drive to the north Serengeti Lobo area passes the Grumeti River with good resident games throughout the year. Non-migrating elephant, buffalo, gazelle, zebra, lion, leopard and cheetah appear year-round. Evening game drive to the accommodation.

Stay Lobo Wildlife Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Travel to the far northern Serengeti (Wogakuria area) with a game drive en route — giraffes, buffalo and elephants are typical. An afternoon game drive follows lunch. The wildebeest migration appears in this area from August to October, depending on rainfall patterns, and the Mara River provides the migration with its most challenging obstacle.

Stay Lobo Wildlife Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, travel to Lake Natron with scenic views of Ol Doinyo Lengai and possible zebra, giraffe and other wildlife sightings en route.

Stay Lake Natron Tented Camp Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

An early 1–2 hour hike to a nearby waterfall through beautiful landscapes with multiple river crossings, then hot lunch and rest. Evening exploration with a local guide walking the shallow, muddy lake floor to observe flamingos, most active at sunset when feeding.

Stay Lake Natron Tented Camp Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, departure to Arusha via bumpy paths through remote Maasai areas with views of Ol Doinyo Lengai, the mountain of God, possibly seeing zebra and giraffe. A stop at a Maasai village for cultural learning about one of the best-known pastoralist communities in East Africa.

Stay Kibo Palace Hotel Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

A relaxation day after the long trip, with an optional afternoon city tour and shopping in the city centre, then transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport based on flight time.

Meals Breakfast & Lunch