21 days Gombe, Southern Tanzania & Mafia Island
Chimpanzees at Gombe, four southern parks, then six days on Mafia doing nothing at all. Three weeks that end slower than they start.
Chimpanzees & Wildlife
Lemosho, Northern Migration & Zanzibar
Three weeks: Kilimanjaro by the Lemosho route, then the northern parks up to the Mara River, then the ocean. The mountain first, while your legs are fresh.
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At a glance
- Destinations
- Kilimanjaro · Tarangire · Ngorongoro · Lake Natron · Serengeti · Zanzibar
- Best for
- Climbing, Great Migration, Wildlife safari, Beach & marine
- Travel style
- Camping trek, migration safari & beach · Road transfers and flights
- Activity level
- Demanding — long days on foot at altitude
- Best time to travel
- July to September usually offers the best overlap for the Lemosho climb, northern Serengeti migration and Zanzibar beach days. The herds follow rainfall and river crossings are uncertain; camp locations must suit the dates of the safari leg.
- Start and end
- Starts at Kilimanjaro Airport, ends in Zanzibar
Why this journey
- Kilimanjaro by Lemosho, the route with the best acclimatisation profile
- Ol Doinyo Lengai and three nights at Lake Natron
- Northern Serengeti, positioned for the Mara River
- A flight from the Serengeti straight to Zanzibar — no backtrack to Arusha
- Five nights on the coast at the end, which is what the legs will want
Day by day
The longest journey we run in the north, and the order matters — the climb comes first, the safari second, the coast last. Between the mountain and the beach it works north through Tarangire, the crater, Lake Natron and into the northern Serengeti.
Day 1 — Arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
Driver pickup at KIA and transfer to a Moshi hotel for dinner and overnight. Evening mountain guide briefing and gear checklist.
Stay Kaliwa Lodge (mid-range) Meals Dinner
Day 1 (duplicate block on the live page) — Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park
Depart Arusha after breakfast with a packed lunch; afternoon and evening game drive at Lake Manyara, then back for dinner.
Stay Lake Manyara Tree Top Lodge (luxury) Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 2 — Kilimanjaro National Park: Londorossi to Shira
Post-breakfast drive to Londorossi Park Gate (3–4 hrs), forest track by 4WD to Lemosho Glades, then forest trail hiking to Shira 1 campsite. *1,830 m → 2,650 m · 6 km · 2–3 hrs · moorland. Accommodation: Shira One Campsite. Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 3 — Shira 1 Camp to Shira 2 Camp
A gentle plateau hike to Shira 2 camp on moorland meadows by a stream, with optional plateau hikes for acclimatisation. *3,500 m → 3,850 m · 8 km · 4–5 hrs · moorland. Accommodation: Shira 2 Camp. Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 4 — Shira 2 Camp to Barranco Camp
Eastward ridge ascent past the Kibo peak junction, then southeast toward the Lava Tower (Shark's Tooth, 4,650 m), continuing past the Arrow Glacier junction and down to Barranco Camp. A critical acclimatisation day. *3,850 m → 4,000 m · 8 km · 5–6 hrs · semi-desert. Accommodation: Barranco Camp. Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 5 — Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
Steep ridge ascent along the Barranco Wall to Karanga Valley and the Mweka Trail junction. *4,000 m → 4,050 m · 5 km · 3–4 hrs · alpine desert. Accommodation: Karanga Valley Camp. Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 6 — Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
Continue ascending to Barafu Camp, completing the South Circuit with summit views from multiple angles. Rest, dine and prepare for the summit attempt. *4,050 m → 4,700 m · 4 km · 3–4 hrs · alpine desert. Accommodation: Barafu Camp. Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 7 — Barafu Camp to the summit, down to Mweka Camp
Very early departure (midnight–2 a.m.) between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers, a north-westerly ascent through heavy scree to Stella Point on the crater rim. Watch the sunrise, then continue about an hour, possibly through snow, to Uhuru Peak. Descent continues to Mweka Camp with a lunch stop at Barafu. *4,700 m → 5,895 m → 3,090 m · 5 km up / 13 km down · 5–7 hrs up, 5–6 hrs down. Accommodation: Mweka Camp. Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 8 — Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate, drive to Arusha
Descent to Mweka Park Gate to collect summit certificates. Terrain may be wet and muddy; gaiters and trekking poles recommended. An additional hour's walk to Mweka Village, then vehicle transfer to an Arusha hotel. Remember to tip guides and porters. *3,090 m → 1,680 m · 10 km · 3–4 hrs · forest. Accommodation: Maasai Land Safari Lodge (mid-range). Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 9 — Arusha to Tarangire National Park
Pickup from Arusha, travelling with a picnic lunch for an evening game drive. Tarangire (2,600 sq km, established 1970) features numerous baobabs and the Tarangire River, which concentrates dry-season wildlife: wildebeest, zebra, eland, elephant, hartebeest, buffalo and fringe-eared oryx. Elephants dig for underground streams. The park holds the world record for breeding bird species diversity. Evening drive to Karatu.
Stay Ngorongoro Farm House (mid-range) Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 10 — Full-day Ngorongoro Crater tour
Early breakfast, descent into the crater for a full-day game drive with a packed lunch. The caldera holds roughly 25,000 animals including the Big Five. Picnic lunch at the designated site, game drive into the evening, then ascend and drive to Karatu.
Stay Ngorongoro Farm House Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 11 — Mto wa Mbu culture tourism to Lake Natron
Breakfast at the lodge, then a culture tourism programme in Mto wa Mbu village with a local site guide covering banana and rice plantations, a primary school, the local market, an orphanage and carvings. Depart with lunch boxes toward Lake Natron. An evening visit to the world's most alkaline lake, home to millions of tiny crustaceans and thousands of lesser flamingos — one of earth's most important flamingo breeding grounds. The landscape is dry and desolate.
Stay Lake Natron Tented Camp (mid-range) Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 12 — Lake Natron and Ol Doinyo Lengai climb
A strenuous stream walk reaching cascading waterfalls and the river source in the mountains, with excellent swimming in the river and under the falls. Possible baboon and wildlife encounters in the gorge. Early dinner and rest, then at 1:00 a.m. transport to the base of Ol Doinyo Lengai for the climb, reaching the summit around sunrise before descending.
Stay Lake Natron Tented Camp Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 13 — Lake Natron
The driver waits at the mountain base around 10 a.m. Transfer to camp for a shower and relaxation. Evening visit to the Ngarasero waterfall with swimming in the natural pool, then back to the lodge.
Stay Lake Natron Tented Camp Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 14 — Lake Natron to North Serengeti National Park
Early pre-sunrise drive to the lake for sunrise photography, observing flamingos, pelicans and other water birds in the morning light. Back for breakfast, then depart with lunch boxes toward the northern Serengeti. Non-migrating elephant, buffalo, gazelle, zebra, lion, leopard and cheetah are visible year-round, and game viewing is excellent with long stretches without other vehicles — one of the forgotten corners of the Serengeti Plains. River trees and birdlife (kingfishers, fish eagles) line the waterways.
Stay Tanzania Bush Camp (mid-range) Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 15 — Full-day game drive in North Serengeti
Early breakfast, then depart with a lunch box for the far north and the Mara River. June–September sees the herds spread across the northern Serengeti, where the Mara River is the migration's most serious obstacle; it flows north from Kenya's Maasai Mara. Crossings are often chaotic. Herds commonly cross north one day and back south days later.
Stay Tanzania Bush Camp Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 16 — Northern Serengeti to Seronera
After breakfast, drive toward the centre of the park at Seronera, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, where the Seronera River attracts species representative of most Serengeti wildlife. Arrive for lunch, with afternoon and evening game drives. *Optional: hot air balloon flight, $540 per person. Accommodation: Tanzania Bush Camp. Meals: B/L/D.*
Day 17 — Serengeti to Zanzibar by flight
Early breakfast and drive to Seronera airstrip for the 11:10 flight to Zanzibar, arriving 14:35. Hotel transfer to Stone Town for a shower and rest, then an evening stroll through Stone Town at Forodhani Gardens sampling local food and Zanzibar spices.
Stay Dhow Palace Hotel (mid-range) Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 18 — Stone Town and Prison Island, on to Nungwi
Early breakfast and a guided historic Stone Town tour, hot lunch at a Stone Town restaurant, then a private boat to Prison Island for a tour and swimming. Evening return to Stone Town and drive to northern Zanzibar's beaches.
Stay Tanzanite Resort Zanzibar (mid-range) Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 19 — Relaxing on the beach
Stay Tanzanite Resort Zanzibar Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 20 — Relaxing on the beach
Stay Tanzanite Resort Zanzibar Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 21 — Zanzibar spice tour and The Rock Restaurant
A morning spice tour (included) visiting plantations and tasting spices, then an evening transfer to The Rock Restaurant for sunset and dinner.
Stay Tanzanite Resort Zanzibar Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 22 — Zanzibar, back home
Transfer to Stone Town airport based on flight time for check-in and the flight home.
Stay and travel
Mountain camps on Lemosho, then the safari camps or lodges and Zanzibar hotel stays listed against each day.
The Lemosho climb is on foot with a mountain guide and crew. Road transfers and game drives cover the northern safari, followed by the flight to Zanzibar and local island transfers.
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
- Internal flights on the routed sectors
- 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
- Fitness and altitude
- No technical climbing, but long days on your feet and real altitude. Come with hill-walking fitness and take the acclimatisation days seriously.
- Mountain equipment
- Layers, a four-season sleeping bag and broken-in boots. Anything you would rather not buy can be hired in Moshi — tell us and we will arrange it.
- 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
21 days Every route here can be changed
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