Tanzania Northern Circuit

Welcome to Tanzania! Whenever you arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport, our driver guide will pick you up on time. Then you will be escorted to the hotel in Arusha situated 55 km (34 mi) away, which will take about an hour on the way. You will be given a pre-safari briefing before the Tanzania holiday packages unveil tomorrow.

Things to Know Before Departure:
1. Visa: Visitors from most countries need to present an e-visa or apply for a visa-on-arrival when entering Tanzania. US travelers can only enter with a Multiple-entry Visa (100 USD), while an Ordinary Visa is available for others. If you plan to apply for a visa-on-arrival, please ensure your passport is valid for at least 6 months. Credit cards and cash are both acceptable for paying visa fees at the airport.
2. Plastic Bag Ban: All disposable plastic bags are not allowed, or you may be fined. We suggest you pack your luggage with paper bags or reusable woven bags. Plastic suitcases can be used. The ziplock bag is also out of the prohibition list, but please take it with you when leaving Tanzania.
3. SIM Card: Vodacom is recommended because its cellular network has the largest coverage which can even be used in national parks and reserves where other operators may have no signals. You can buy its SIM Card at the 24-hour Vodacom store at the airport, costing 20 USD for 10 GB of data valid for 30 days, or at a mobile provider store in Arusha, only 4 USD for 5 GB. It is also convenient to buy online before departure.

Accommodation: Arusha Serena Hotel, Resort & Spa (4 stars)

In the early morning, we'll drive south for 2.5 - 3 hours and reach Tarangire National Park around noon. After enjoying a delicious picnic lunch, our guide will lead you on an exciting game drive to explore the park. Tarangire National Park is one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Tanzania, well-known for its diverse landscapes and high wildlife concentration including migratory elephants and interesting baobab trees, as well as hundreds of bird species.

The safari will end in the evening and we will drive to the handpicked lodge. Tarangire Sopa Lodge is located at the heart of the park and is surrounded by baobab trees. Thanks to the high concentration of elephants in Tarangire, you can easily see them roaming nearby. Besides, the fresh grasses attract dik-diks and hyraxes to come around. If lucky, you may encounter monkeys and see them playing in the yard. At dusk, the lodge offers a good view of sunset. You can also attend the night party held in the restaurant where the staff will perform local dances and songs. However, since some animals may stray into the lodge area, please find the staff to accompany you if you need to go outside.

★ Our Strength: A Well-maintained 4WD Vehicle
We will escort you with a closed 4×4 safari vehicle on game drives. It is not only dustproof, sun-protective, and rain-proof, but also offers an unobstructed view for admiring animals with openable windows and a pop-up top. Besides, the car is equipped with a socket that makes sure your camera or smartphone can be charged during the safari.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Tarangire Sopa Lodge (5 stars)

★ Take a Walking Safari in Tarangire to Trace Animals
This morning, you will go for an excursion through the bush with the joint company of the driver guide and a park ranger, a once-in-a-lifetime experience to immerse yourself in the beauty of nature. The knowledgeable guide will teach you how to recognize animals through their feces. You can also try to guess the animal species and trace them through footprints. During the walking safari, you will have a chance to see giraffes, zebras, and antelopes grazing at a short distance. Besides, taking pictures in the huge holes of baobab trees will add more interest to your trip.

Walking Safari Tips:
1. To admire animals more closely, we recommend you wear khaki, brown, or green clothes to help you blend in with nature. In addition, a pair of closed comfortable trekking shoes is necessary.
2. There may be many tsetse flies on the savanna, so we suggest you bring long sleeves and insect repellents.
3. To avoid danger, it is better not to walk away without the permission of the guide. In addition, please do not have sudden movements or hail loudly when admiring animals or they may be scared off or irritated.

After the picnic lunch, we will drive deeper into the park to appreciate its diverse ecosystem composed of granitic ridges, valleys, swamps, woodland, and grassland, all serving as a perfect shelter for the region's living beings. At the end of the safari, we will transfer back to the lodge for dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Tarangire Sopa Lodge (5 stars)

After breakfast, we will leave for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a 4.5-hour drive from Tarangire National Park. You could view the breathtakingly beautiful scenery along the way. When you arrive, check-in at the local lodge and enjoy your lunch. In the afternoon, our guide will escort you on a game drive to Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken caldera in the world formed in a massive volcanic eruption 2 or 3 million years ago. Covered by lush vegetation with the nourishment of rivers and lakes, the crater now has become the harbor for more than 25,000 animals including endangered black rhinos and golden cats, Masai lions, wildebeests, and zebras. The abundant water resources and food supplements form a complete ecosystem where the animals don’t need to migrate to new grasslands like those in Serengeti. That’s why the crater is also described as the “Eden of Africa”. When the safari ends at dusk, we will return to the lodge for dinner and have a good rest.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (4 stars)

Today, we will go to the Serengeti National Park located 145 km (90 mi) away from Ngorongoro. It takes about 3.5-4 hours to drive there. Upon arrival, we will have a picnic lunch at the designated picnic area in the park, and then our guide will lead you to sightsee its immense landscapes and discover its astounding ecosystem.

★ Watch the Earth’s Greatest Show - Millions of Wildebeests Migration
Serengeti National Park is one of Tanzania's oldest parks, featuring emblematic grassland and the spectacular annual Great Migration. Thousands of zebras and antelopes and millions of wildebeests migrate in a loop on this endless savanna for ten months (October - July). As the pioneers, zebras lead the army to find new pastures following the rain. They need to march for more than 3,000 km (1864 mi) during which 1/3 of the wildebeests die because of hunger and preying. From December to April, they reach around the Central Serengeti region where our lodge is located and you will have a chance to see large herds of wildebeests moving in columns while predators lurk behind the bushes plotting a murder. When these killers dash into the migration troop, orderly wildebeests will run away in all directions.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Lodge (4 stars)

In addition to the migratory wildebeests and zebras, Serengeti National Park is also home to the African Big Five. Four of them: lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo are common to see, but meeting black rhinos needs some luck because this endangered creature usually lives alone, and the density is extremely low here. But our guide is familiar with the habits of these clumsy and timid guys and will try his best to lead you to find their trails. In addition to these five warriors, other animals such as giraffes, porcupines, and hyenas are all worth seeking. The border area between the forest and grassland offers the best place to spot animals hunting, which will surely leave you with an unforgettable memory. If time permits, our guide will drive you to the Seronera River, the region with the highest concentration of wildlife, where you may see elephants or lions looking for water. At the end of the day, we will return to the lodge and have dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Lodge (4 stars)

The safari in Central Serengeti will go on in the morning. After lunch, we'll take a 4.5-hour drive to Lake Eyasi, a seasonal shallow salt lake. When arriving, our guide will drive you to visit the Datoga Tribe, a small tribe whose people are thought to be the earliest primitive inhabitants of Tropical Africa. Different from the Masai people who only live on herding, the Datoga people also make their lives from handicrafts. They use scrap copper and iron to make arrowheads, knives, and hoes, and barter them with other tribes for daily necessities. You can watch the making procedures in their huts. When entering their settlement, you will also find that the people here mostly wear clothes in reddish brown which can help them blend with the surroundings. Women adorn themselves with handmade metal bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, while men wrap themselves up in a piece of woven cloth, usually red, which is believed to be able to scare beasts off.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ziwani Lodge

Today we will continue to visit another indigenous community called Hatzabe Tribe near Lake Eyasi. As the last known true hunting tribe in Africa, of less than 1,000 people, it has lived only on the traditional way of hunting. When men venture out hunting, women gather fruits and take care of the elderly and young children. They share a symbiotic relationship with the Datoga Tribe, supplying them with animal skins, honey, and fruits in exchange for arrowheads, knives, and spears.

After the cultural encounter, we'll drive 2 hours to Lake Manyara National Park to enjoy an afternoon safari. The lake occupies a large percentage of the park’s total area, which not only provides a habitat for hippos but also attracts flamingoes to move in from May to July. The rest land is savanna and forest, providing harbors for various mammals. You may come across antelopes grazing on the savanna and baboons scratching each other behind the bushes. Our guide will escort you into the forest to find the world-famous tree-climbing lions. They usually set acacia trees as their strongholds to inspect their territory and find hunting targets. You may also glimpse leopards napping on the trees during the scorching day. Home to a large number of elephants, the park also offers you countless chances to meet these grey pachyderms with little effort.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge (4 stars)

★ Walk to Admire Wildlife Closely in Lake Manyara
After breakfast, the driver guide and a park ranger will accompany you on a walk through the bushes to find some small animals you may not notice on the game drive. You may spot herds of mongooses running across the savanna and bush cats seeking food in the swamp area. In addition, our knowledgeable guide will introduce the unique African flora you meet. If you want, we can head to the Tree-top Canopy Walk, a 470-meter-long (0.2 mi) and 18-meter-high (0.01 mi) walkway, where you can enjoy the panoramic view of the forest and explore birds’ nests and monkeys’ habitats.

After lunch, we will drive 3.5 hours and 175 km (109 mi) to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your homeward flight. If you want to leave tomorrow, we are more than happy to help with the hotel booking and transfer service. Or do you think the safaris in Tanzania cannot satisfy you? Contact us and tailor a trip to Kenya! You can capture the classic image of elephants and Mount Kilimanjaro in Amboseli National Park and witness the spectacular scenes of millions of wildebeests crossing the Mara River.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch