6 days Usambara, Mkomazi & Materuni
Cool forested mountains, a viewpoint over a 1,000 m drop, then down into the dry bush of Mkomazi and back up to a waterfall on Kilimanjaro.
Hiking & Culture
Tarangire, Serengeti & Lake Eyasi
The northern parks with two days at Lake Eyasi on the end, where the Hadzabe and Datoga communities live — the part of the route people remember.
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At a glance
- Destinations
- Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Lake Eyasi
- Best for
- Wildlife safari, Culture & history
- Travel style
- Budget · Drive
- Activity level
- Easy — most of the day is spent in a vehicle or on a boat
- Best time to travel
- June to October generally suits the Tarangire and Serengeti game drives and access to Lake Eyasi. Community visits depend on hosts and local arrangements throughout the year; the Serengeti camp position should suit your dates.
- Start and end
- Starts and ends in Arusha
Why this journey
- Two days at Lake Eyasi rather than a rushed morning
- A community-hosted visit with the Hadzabe, including traditional hunting practices
- Datoga blacksmiths working brass and iron
- Tarangire, the Serengeti and the crater beforehand
- An optional balloon flight over the Serengeti
Day by day
Three parks, then a change of subject. Lake Eyasi lies below the Ngorongoro highlands and is home to the Hadzabe, one of the last communities in East Africa still living largely by hunting and gathering, and to Datoga blacksmiths who work metal by hand.
Day 1 — Arusha to Tarangire National Park
Depart Arusha in the morning for a scenic drive to Tarangire, famed for its baobab trees and expansive savannahs. On arrival, immersive game drives tracking elephant herds, lion prides and plains wildlife, exploring the river loops where animals congregate, before settling at the lodge or tented camp.
Stay Tarangire Public Campsite Meals Lunch & Dinner
Day 2 — Tarangire to Serengeti National Park
A morning game drive through Tarangire when wildlife is at peak activity, then travel west toward the Serengeti with scenic panoramic views and cultural stops. Check into camp on arrival at the boundless plains.
Stay Seronera Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3 — Full day in the Serengeti
An early-morning game drive witnessing predators and herbivores in dawn light. Optionally a hot air balloon safari (extra cost) drifting over the endless plains with a champagne bush breakfast. Continue exploring, tracking migration patterns and searching for leopards and cheetahs among the kopjes.
Stay Seronera Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4 — Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater
A final morning game viewing circuit across the plains, then after lunch the afternoon transit ascending into the cooler Ngorongoro Conservation Area. On arrival, relax along the crater rim ridges with panoramic caldera viewpoints before checking in.
Stay Simba Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5 — Crater tour and Lake Eyasi
Early morning wildlife touring on the crater floor, then after lunch the drive to Lake Eyasi, an area with unique homestays and lodges near indigenous Hadzabe communities.
Stay Chem Chem Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 6 — Cultural experiences and sunset at Lake Eyasi
Join the Hadzabe community early in the morning for traditional activities including traditional hunting and gathering walks. Visit Datoga and blacksmith villages to learn metal-crafting techniques and cultural traditions, then relax along the Lake Eyasi shores for sunset.
Stay Chem Chem Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7 — Lake Eyasi to Arusha via Mto wa Mbu
Transit from the Lake Eyasi basin through the Mto wa Mbu multicultural hub, stopping for the local market and community-led cultural tourism activities, then the overland drive back to Arusha in the late afternoon or evening.
Meals Breakfast & Lunch
Stay and travel
Camping and simple lodges or park bandas, with a cook travelling with the group.
A 4×4 with a roof hatch and a window seat for everyone, driven by your guide throughout.
Camps fill, and roads change with the rains. Where something has to change 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
- 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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8 days Eight Days Camping in Northern Tanzania
Public campsites, a cook travelling with you, and three nights in the Serengeti. The cheapest way to spend real time in the northern parks.
Wildlife & Culture
4 days Nyerere for Two — Honeymoon
A riverfront lodge with a plunge pool, private drives, and the Rufiji at the end of the veranda. Four days built for two people and nobody else.
Honeymoon & Wildlife
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.