Two days on Safari exploring “elephant paradise”

Explore the incredibly diverse landscape of Tarangire National Park. Famous for its magnificent Baobabs and high numbers of elephants, and with the largest populations of animals migrating here between June and October, the dry season provides an awe-inspiring spectacle of wildlife. Spend your days exploring the park’s rich habitats from the life-giving Tarangire River, acacia woodlands, and open grassland to the evergreen swamps, which host hundreds of elephants and migratory wildebeest and zebra during the dry season, followed by predators. Our accommodation, the Tarangire Safari Lodge, is nestled deep within the heart of Tarangire National Park. The Lodge is strategically located on an elevation, overlooking the Tarangire River. Elephants can be seen right from the swimming pool, and the sight of the river from the lodge is absolutely incredible. Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Balloon Camp. In the late evening, proceed to your accommodation for dinner and overnight

Main Destination: Tarangire National Park

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner.

Accommodation: Tarangire Balloon Camp | Tarangire Tortilis tented camp

This day will be spent entirely on game viewing through the park, exploring the park’s vast habitats and landscape up to the Silalei swamp, which, during the dry season, offers green pasture and water for the grazers, and the predators follow them here. From June to November, when we have the seasonal migration of wildebeest and zebras, the park bursts into life with possibly the biggest concentration of wildlife outside Serengeti National Park and the largest population of elephants per square kilometre in the world. Other sightings will include lions, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, and buffalo, and if you are lucky, the rare wild dogs are found here. In the late afternoon, return to your camp for dinner and overnight.

Main Destination: Tarangire National Park

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Tarangire Balloon Camp | Tarangire Tortilis tented camp

On your way to the gate, you will have some more time to see animals that you may not have seen yet. You continue to the multi-cultural town of Mto wa Mbu, where you leave the African Rift Valley behind and make your way to the vegetation-rich crater highlands. Soon, the higher lands are reached, and a wonderful view of the Maasai Plains and Lake Manyara opens up before you. Photo stops will be taken, and you will be able to enjoy the spectacular views. You then continue to Karatu and today’s destination: Acacia Farm Lodge.

Main Destination: Ngorongoro Highland

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Acacia Farm Lodge / Marera Valley Lodge

Today, you will drive into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and down into the Ngorongoro Crater. Grass steppes and acacia forests are home to almost all the species of animals found in the East African savannah. In only a few hours, you have the chance of spotting four of the big five – lion, Elephant, Buffalo, and Rhino. After extensive game viewing and a picnic in the crater, you will leave the Ngorongoro Crater in the afternoon and travel back to Karatu to spend another night at Acacia Farm Lodge

Main Destination: Ngorongoro Crater.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Accommodation: Acacia Farm Lodge | Marera Valley Lodge

Today you will set off to the Serengeti National Park. After passing the crater highlands, you will soon see the plains of the southern Serengeti and start to understand the meaning of the word “Serengeti”, which stands for endless plain. We will visit a Site of many archaeological discoveries, including the estimated 1.7-million- year –old Zinjanthropus boisei fossil. A small museum overlooks the gorge itself, and a guide there will tell you the story of Leakey’s research and findings. After proceeding to Serengeti, where we can see animals such as Elephants, buffalo, lions, Cheetahs, Hyenas, Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeests, topi, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelle, and many more can be seen.

The Serengeti is also home to the largest animal migration on the planet. Depending on the time of the year and the location of the big herds. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Melia Lodge

Main Destination: Serengeti National Park

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Serengeti Melia Lodge | Serengeti Mawe Tented Camp

These two days are dedicated to game viewing in the Serengeti National Park. During the short rainy season in November and December, the herds move from the hills in the north to the plains in the south. During the longer rainy season from April to June, they return to the north. As the migration is completely dependent on the yearly rainfalls, the location of the herds may vary from year to year, but your guide will know where to locate the animals and where to see them best. You will spend the night at Serengeti Melia Lodge.

Main Destination: Serengeti National Park

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Serengeti Melia Lodge | Serengeti Mawe tented camp

After breakfast, you will be driven to the airstrip for your morning flight to Ruaha National Park, a flight of approximately 2 hours. A guide from Ruah River Lodge will meet you and game-drive you through this very different park, arriving at the camp for lunch. Settle in here and enjoy views overlooking the great Ruah River and elephants coming down to drink. Enjoy your time with a beer, before going on an afternoon game drive, exploring the sandy riverbeds looking for elephants as they dig for water or leopards hiding in the rocky kopjes.

Main Destination: Ruaha National Park.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Accommodation: Ruaha River Lodge | Tandala tented camp

After breakfast at the lodge, enjoy a full day game drive with a packed lunch provided, a nice view of the Ruaha River valley, and great animal sightings like Kudu, wildebeest, elephants, zebra, lions, hippos, hartebeest, impala, antelope, giraffe, buffalo, and many of them overnight at Ruah River Lodge.

Main Destination: Ruaha National Park

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Ruaha River Lodge | Tandala tented camp

Enjoy a morning walking safari today to experience the flora and fauna from a different perspective, taking in the sounds of bird calls, looking for tracks and signs in the earth, and encountering smaller creatures that often run away at the sound of a vehicle. Return to the camp to rest and relax, enjoying lunch, before an afternoon game drive to explore further afield. Ruaha’s varied terrain is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including large herds of buffalo, hippo, more unusual antelope species such as sable and lesser kudu, and — if you are really lucky — wild dogs, which roam huge distances each day in search of their next meal, making sightings impossible to predict.

Main Destination: Ruaha National Park

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Ruaha River Lodge | Tandala tented camp

You’ll have a final breakfast at Ruaha River Lodge before a drive to the airstrip for your late-morning flight to Dar es Salaam. The flight will likely stop a couple of times on the way to drop off/pick up passengers, and the total journey will be approximately 2 hours. You will land at the domestic terminal, and the airline will help you transfer the short distance to the international terminal, where you can check in for your international flight home.

Main Destination: Dar-es-Salaam

Accommodation: No Accommodation

Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch