Lake Victoria & the Serengeti

Hotel pickup, then a 10-minute boat ride across Lake Victoria to Saa Nane Island National Park for game viewing, birdwatching, rock hiking and sport fishing (tilapia and Nile perch). This park had a record of being the first-ever National Park to be located within the City and the smallest National Park in Tanzania and East Africa. Resident mammals include impala, rock hyrax, vervet monkeys, wild cats and De Brazza's monkeys; reptiles include crocodiles, monitor lizards, agama lizards, pancake and leopard tortoises and pythons. Bush lunch with Lake Victoria views, then back to the Mwanza hotel.

Stay Gold Crest Hotel / Tilapia Hotel / a cosy room in a nice house Meals Lunch & Dinner

After breakfast, travel to the Bujora Sukuma museum for anthropologist-led presentations on Sukuma history and culture, including traditional drama and snake dancing. Continue to Speke Bay for check-in and evening birdwatching along the lodge and lakeshore.

Stay Speke Bay Lodge / Speke Bay Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

An early professional-led canoe trip from the lodge beach to Mwaburungu Village, timed for when the lake is calm and fishermen return with the overnight catch. The guide demonstrates fishing methods while guests take in lake views, small islands and villages, with chances to see water birds. Return by 10 a.m. for brunch, then depart for the Serengeti with an evening game drive.

Stay Four Seasons Safari Lodge / Kati Kati Tented Camp / Serengeti Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Early breakfast and departure with packed lunch for game drives at the Mara River. In August–September the herds spread across the northern Serengeti, where the Mara River provides the migration with its most serious obstacle. The river flows from Kenya's Maasai Mara through the northern Serengeti; crossing scenes often display great panic and confusion, with herds potentially crossing north one day then back south days later.

Stay Serengeti Bushtops Luxury / Kati Kati Tented Camp / Lobo Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

A full day in the Wogakuria area, which has exceptionally high resident wildlife numbers including lion prides up to 30 strong. July–October turns the area into a wildlife paradise, with herds congregating near the rivers and deliberating over crossings for days. The region features kopjes, woodland, riverine vegetation, and open plains, similar to Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Stay Serengeti Bushtops Luxury / Kati Kati Tented Camp / Lobo Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, travel toward the central reaches with game drives from the Western Corridor to the Seronera area, arriving for lunch, with an afternoon game drive.

Stay Lake Natron Viewpoint Campsite (as listed on the page) Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

An early departure maximises park time at guide-selected prime spots — hippos in cool water alongside crocodiles, large lion prides, and positions within wildebeest or zebra herds. Travel spans wide-open plains to kopjes, volcanic rocky outcrops [that] provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals, with top kopjes giving views over vast grasslands. Expect elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, lions and occasionally leopards and cheetahs, as well as huge amounts of the interesting birdlife, from the elegant secretary birds to the flightless ostrich.

Stay Ole Serai Luxury Camp / Serengeti Serena Lodge / Serengeti Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, depart toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area with a stop at Olduvai Gorge, whose history dates back to the dawn of time and where Drs Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of 'Nutcracker Man' and 'Handy Man' — both very significant links in the chain of human evolution. Midday lodge arrival and an afternoon at leisure.

Stay Ngorongoro Crater / Ngorongoro Wildlife / Serengeti Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, descend to the crater floor for game drives. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest collapsed volcanic crater in the world and fourteen kilometers of isolated natural beauty. Ringed by extinct volcanoes, its watering-hole-dotted floor shelters roughly 30,000 animals. Expect lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, flamingos, jackals, rhinos, antelopes and many birds — eagles, vultures, storks, bats, giant vultures, sacred ibis, kori bustards, blacksmith plovers, long-necked herons and cattle egrets. Picnic lunch at the hippo pool, then transfer to Lake Manyara National Park.

Stay Manyara Kilima Moja Luxury / African Sunrise Lodge / Panorama Safari Camp Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, drive to Tarangire for day game drives and a picnic lunch. Established in 1970 and covering 2,600 square kilometers, the park is famous for its striking landscape dominated by numerous iconic baobab trees. It is named after the Tarangire River, a permanent water source that acts as a vital lifeline during the dry season, which draws thousands of migratory animals including elephants, wildebeest, zebras and rare fringe-eared oryx from Lake Natron. The park also has the highest density of breeding bird species of any habitat in the world. A late afternoon drive ends the tour at Kilimanjaro International Airport.

Meals Breakfast