8 Days Essence of Tanzania

The tour starts after breakfast in Arusha town at 8:30am. You'll be met by our professional tour guide/driver, who will deliver a short safari info briefing, after which we travel west to the Great Rift Valley and Lake Manyara National Park.

After breakfast we drive through the agricultural market town of Mto Wa Mbu, next to the entrance of Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara is one of Tanzania's most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park) at the foot of the Great Rift Valley's western escarpment, attracting one of Africa's largest concentrations of elephants, Manyara's famous tree-climbing lions, and large flocks of flamingos. After lunch we head towards the Serengeti National Park via the high-lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, descending into the heart of wild Africa where millions of animals roam. We enjoy a late afternoon game drive en route to the lodge.

We do a game-viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, good for possible lion, Thomson's gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings. The Visitor Centre near Seronera Lodge offers wildlife displays and a gift shop. We enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch under giant acacia trees, then follow the Kopjes Circuit anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, weathered granite outcrops good for spotting lions lying in wait for animals coming to drink.

Day 4 offers an ideal opportunity for an optional but unforgettable Hot Air Balloon flight, followed by a delightful champagne breakfast (available at supplementary cost, bookable in advance). After breakfast we head to the south-eastern side of the park, visiting the Barafu Kopjes and the Ngare Nanyuki River area for our morning and afternoon game drives. Apart from resident lion prides, the Barafu Kopjes is the place to visit for possible cheetah sightings, and the Ngare Nanyuki River area is well known for being packed with game.

Today is our last day in the Serengeti National Park. We'll once again visit some kopjes on our way out, doing a morning game drive in the Simba Kopjes area — named after the lions which frequently use them to lie and bathe in the sun. From here we head to Lake Ndutu, alkaline like most of the Rift lakes but still drinkable and used by a wide array of local wildlife. We do an afternoon game drive in the lake area, usually heavily populated with elephant and birds as well as resident plains game. The Ndutu Lodge is a charming small safari lodge used as a base by many wildlife film crews.

We depart after breakfast from Lake Ndutu for a morning game drive in the Naabi Hill area, before heading towards the Ngorongoro Crater via the famed Olduvai Gorge, also known as "the cradle of mankind". The Gorge lies on the site of an ancient lake, covered by thick layers of volcanic ash which carefully preserved the world's earliest records of mankind, unearthed by the dedicated Leakey family. The museum displays some of these fascinating discoveries. From here we head for the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most densely crowded game areas in the world, home to an estimated 30,000 animals. We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and spend the afternoon at leisure.

After an early breakfast we descend 600m into this stunning crater to view wildlife for a full-day tour. You'll witness an unforgettable spectacle of African wildlife — a world teeming with animals. Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the park supports wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, giant elephants and a small population of Black Rhino, plus a dense population of predators including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard.

We enjoy an early morning game drive in Tarangire National Park, followed by breakfast at the lodge. We then transfer back to Arusha, have lunch, and end our African safari adventure — you'll be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.