11 days Northern Safari & Zanzibar — Honeymoon
Six days through the northern parks, then five on the coast. Built for two, with the pace slowed at both ends and the flight between them arranged.
Honeymoon & Wildlife
Honeymoon — Northern Tanzania & Zanzibar
Six days of safari and six on the island, with a rest day at the start — built for people who have just done a wedding and need the pace easy.
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At a glance
- Destinations
- Lake Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Stone Town · Menai Bay
- Best for
- Honeymoon, Wildlife safari, Beach & marine
- Travel style
- Luxury · Drive, Fly-in, Ferry/boat
- Activity level
- Easy — most of the day is spent in a vehicle or on a boat
- Best time to travel
- June to October usually balances the northern game drives with Zanzibar beach time; January and February are a greener safari alternative. The Menai Bay sailing day depends on sea weather and tides, and migration viewing needs a separately positioned route.
- Start and end
- Starts in Arusha, ends in Zanzibar
Why this journey
- A recovery day in Arusha before the safari starts
- Manyara, the Serengeti and the crater over four days
- A flight from Kilimanjaro straight to the island
- Safari Blue — a full day sailing the sandbanks off Fumba
- Two free days on the coast with nothing scheduled
Day by day
Thirteen days that begin with a day doing nothing in Arusha, which sounds like a waste and is not. Then the northern parks at an unhurried pace, a flight to Zanzibar, and six days that include exactly two organised excursions.
Day 1 — Arrival
On landing at Kilimanjaro International Airport, guests meet their driver-guide and a company representative for a briefing, then transfer to Arusha.
Stay Lake Duluti Serena Hotel Meals Dinner
Day 2 — A relaxation day in Arusha
Recover from the flight with a relaxed day in Arusha town. The guide offers a city tour and afternoon shopping.
Stay Lake Duluti Serena Lodge Meals Dinner
Day 3 — Arusha Town to Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast, drive 130 km on paved road to Lake Manyara for morning game viewing. After a picnic lunch, afternoon game drives continue. The park hosts tree-climbing lions, hippos, elephants, zebras, buffalo, giraffes, monkeys and roughly 350 bird species including various hornbills.
Stay Lake Manyara Serena Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4 — Lake Manyara to Serengeti National Park
Game viewing en route to the Serengeti, the best-known wildlife sanctuary globally, unequalled for its natural beauty and scientific value. An afternoon game drive showcases great herds of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles and lion prides.
Stay Serengeti Serena Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5 — Full day game drive at Serengeti National Park
Depending on timing, visitors may encounter the Great Wildebeest Migration. Year-round the park displays resident lions, elephants, leopards, giraffes, zebras, primates, hippos, rhinos, antelopes and numerous birds. Guides coordinate with other safari drivers to locate hidden animals.
Stay Serengeti Serena Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 6 — Serengeti, Olduvai Gorge and Ngorongoro Crater
An early sunrise game drive precedes a return for brunch, then a visit to Olduvai Gorge where the Leakeys discovered Australopithecus, Homo habilis and Homo erectus remains, in a dramatic landscape shaped by Great Rift Valley tectonic forces. The day concludes at the Ngorongoro crater rim.
Stay as listed on the page — Serengeti Serena Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7 — Ngorongoro Crater tour, Kilimanjaro Airport, Zanzibar
After breakfast, descend to the crater floor for game drives. The Big Five inhabit the crater alongside zebras, hippos, wildebeest, hyenas, flamingos, geese, storks and various kingfishers. Lunch at the Ngoitoktok Swamp hippo pool. Afternoon drives lead back to the rim, then to Kilimanjaro or Arusha airport for the flight to Zanzibar. Evening: Forodhani Gardens for spices and seafood.
Stay Tembo House Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 8 — Zanzibar Stone Town tour and Prison Island
After breakfast, a half-day city tour through Old Stone Town's narrow streets, visiting the House of Wonders, the Palace Museum (People's Palace), Dr Livingstone's House and the Arab Fort, plus the bustling market, winding alleys, ornately carved doors, cathedrals and mosques. After lunch, a private boat to Prison Island reveals giant tortoises over 100 years old and diverse birds. The evening brings a drive to Zanzibar's south coast for beach relaxation.
Stay Mtende Beach Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Days 9–10 — Zanzibar relaxation days
Rest at the beachfront hotel with swimming and snorkelling.
Stay Mtende Beach Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 11 — Zanzibar dolphin tour
An early departure to Kizimkazi, formerly Zanzibar's capital and home to East Africa's oldest mosque (12th century). The fishing village sits on thousand dolphin bay. Guests board a motorised boat for dolphin viewing and swimming (weather permitting). After about 2 hours, they return for snorkelling or beach walks, then back to the hotel for lunch and relaxation.
Stay Mtende Beach Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 12 — Zanzibar Safari Blue
Departing at 08:00, traditional dhow boating from Fumba beach on Zanzibar's south-west coast, with snorkelling in mangrove pools as the highlight. The group visits a virgin sandbank, then Kwale Island for a seafood buffet featuring rock lobster, prawns, calamari, octopus, fish, coconut rice and chapati, with exotic fruits and Zanzibar coffee for dessert.
Stay Mtende Beach Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 13 — Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam, return home
Final arrangements depend on flight timing. Guests transfer from the hotel to the harbour, then to Nyerere Airport for the departure flight.
Meals Breakfast & Lunch
Stay and travel
Premium camps and lodges, chosen for where they sit rather than how many rooms they have.
Light aircraft on the routed sectors, with a road vehicle and guide waiting at each strip.
Camps fill and light aircraft schedules move. Where something changes we substitute at the same level and tell you before you travel, not after.
Included and excluded
What is included
- Every activity named in the day-by-day
- Accommodation as listed, or a similar alternative if a camp is full
- Meals as noted against each day
- Transfers between the agreed pick-up and drop-off points
- Park, reserve and conservation area fees
- An English-speaking Tanzanian driver-guide
- A 4×4 with a roof hatch, or the vehicle the route calls for
- Drinking water through the day
- Government taxes
- Boat safari and transfers
- TANAPA armed ranger where the park requires one
- Ngorongoro crater service fee
Not included
- International flights, airport taxes and visa fees
- Travel, medical and baggage insurance
- Personal spending — drinks, laundry, telephone
- Tips for your guide and crew
- Anything not listed as included
Practical information
- Luggage on light aircraft
- Bush flights cap baggage at around 15 kg in a soft bag. Anything else can wait at your first hotel.
- Visas, insurance and tipping
- A visa is arranged before travel or on arrival. Travel and medical insurance is a condition of booking. Tipping is customary and we will suggest a range rather than set one.
Related journeys
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Two southern parks and the island, connected by light aircraft. Four nights in each park, so the days are spent looking rather than moving.
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The Serengeti entered from the west, starting on Lake Victoria in Mwanza and crossing the whole park east to the crater — the opposite of the usual direction.
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Every route here can be changed
Tell us what you would keep, what you would drop and how long you have. We will send back a version that is yours.