5-Day Comfort Safari Experience

On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK) which caters to domestic flights, you will be met by an African Big Cats Safaris representative who will drive you to your accommodation in Arusha. Overnight will be at Arusha Planet Lodge.

Main Destination:
Arusha (City)
Accommodation:
Mtoni River Lodge
Mid-range lodge

Early morning after breakfast. We depart to Tarangire National Park. The Park is named after the Tarangire River which runs through it. This ‘river of warthogs’ is the only source of water for wildlife in the region during the dry season. In places, the vegetation is quite dense, including elephant grass and acacia woodlands. The Park is well known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffe, bushbuck, and hartebeest. These animals are closely followed by a range of predators, including lions and leopards. There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire National Park than anywhere else on the planet. Home to Tanzania's largest population of elephants, Tarangire is the best place to see these gentle giants in their natural habitat – from the adorable calves all the way up to the intimidating bulls. After a packed lunch, we head for our accommodation for dinner and overnight at Eileen's Tree Inn or similar.

Early morning after breakfast, we depart to Ngorongoro crater. When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. You will have an opportunity to spot the endangered black rhino and large families of lions. The crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago. It is famous for both its geological delights and for being a natural reserve that is home to some of the densest large mammal populations in the whole of the African continent. The drive down into the crater is an adventure in itself and when you reach the crater floor, you quickly find yourself amongst large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, and more than 500 bird species. The crater provides you with the best chance of seeing the endangered black rhino, which can sometimes be spotted in the open grass. After a packed lunch drive to the Serengeti National Park. Dinner and overnight at Embalakai Camp.

We will enjoy an early breakfast and set off on our game viewing drive at about 6:30 am. We will have 6 to 7 hours to explore this incredible park. The Serengeti is the habitat for an abundance of wildlife, such as impala, buffalo, crocodile, and hippo, but is more well-known for its great migrating herds of zebras (two hundred and fifty thousand), wildebeest (one and a half million!), and antelope (half a million). The animals’ trek is determined by the rainfall and varies from year to year. Apart from the migrating herds, we may see the predators, such as leopard, cheetah, and lion plying their rough trade. At roughly 14:00 we drive back to Karatu, arriving at our carefully selected mid-range partner lodge for dinner in an excellently appointed restaurant, with a pool for relaxation if desired, a digestif by the fire below the endless African sky perhaps, and our capacious quarters awaiting us for a night of ease and dreams of wild cats! Overnight will be at Eileen's Tree Inn.

Early breakfast will be served at the Lodge. We make a short drive to Lake Manyara National Park. Manyara, a relatively small but diverse park 120 km west of Arusha, is named for the shallow salt lake that occupies a good seventy percent of the park's land. Flooding and drying seasonally, this soda lake is home to thousands of flamingos and over 500 other bird species. On our exploration of the park we will see monkeys, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, buffalo, elephants, and with some luck, lions lounging on trees. The park is known for its diverse landscapes; not only open grassy plains but also primate-filled woodlands and baobab dotted cliffs. We return to Arusha after a packed lunch, our adventure having here come to its inevitable close, arriving in time for your flight back home or a flight to Zanzibar.