We begin our exhilarating 7-day safari from Arusha, visiting four magnificent destinations rich in wildlife and offering some of the best adventures Tanzania has to offer. Our first stop is the vast and diverse Tarangire National Park, followed by a visit to the breathtaking Ngorongoro Conservation Area, home to its incomparable crater. Next, we venture to the endless plains of the magnificent Serengeti, where we will have ample time to explore. Finally, we conclude our safari at Lake Eyasi before returning to the airport. Throughout this journey, we will enjoy outstanding wildlife spotting, incredible scenery, and fascinating encounters with local tribespeople.
Regardless of your arrival time at Kilimanjaro International Airport, your Easy Travel driver-guide will be ready to welcome you with a genuine smile. Sit back and unwind in the comfort of your vehicle as you embark on a scenic one-hour journey to your hotel in Arusha, proudly known as Tanzania’s ‘safari capital.’ Along the way, you’ll catch a glimpse of this vibrant and bustling city, setting the stage for your incredible adventure ahead. Depending on when you arrive, you might have the opportunity to attend your pre-safari briefing today; if not, rest assured it will be scheduled for the early morning tomorrow. Get ready for an unforgettable experience!
Tour Briefing
If you did not have time for your safari briefing yesterday due to your arrival time, it will take place after breakfast today. We will provide you with all the essential information before we head to our first safari destination, Tarangire National Park. There, we will enjoy lunch, take an afternoon game drive, and spend the night.
Journey: (morning) Arusha to Tarangire National Park
Our two-hour (120 km) morning journey begins as we head west from Arusha. Along the way, you will experience the vibrant colors and unique character of Tanzania. You might even see some Maasai herdsmen guiding their flocks of goats to new pastures. Throughout the trip, you will get to know your driver-guide, who will impress you with his extensive knowledge as he answers all your questions with ease.
Day’s Highlight
Your game drive in Tarangire, with its incredible diversity, massive baobab trees and herds of elephants.
Safari (Game Drive) in Tarangire National Park
Tarangire is huge. As you stand at the park gate and look south, it stretches as far as the eye can see. Known as the ‘Elephant Playground,’ this phenomenal park contains huge herds of these mighty mammals. But Tarangire is also home to buffalo, lion, wildebeest, zebra and gazelle and the park can rival Serengeti for sheer animal densities. What might you see today? Perhaps a solitary male lion stretched out beneath a tree, perhaps a trio of male cheetah enjoying some lazy bonding-time in the sun. Maybe some graceful Grant’s gazelle or zebra bounding away from the road or a couple of giraffe munching happily from the choicest acacia branches. For Tarangire specialities, look out for kudu and oryx.
Here as in other parks, it pays not to ignore the small animals. It’s so easy to be mesmerized by the power and majesty of an elephant or the elegance of the giraffe. Ask your guide to find you an agama lizard, especially a male one who changes colour in front of you according to the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as pimpi, an insignificant-looking creature of around 30cm in length…who astonishingly is related to elephant!
Not many trees will pass you by without something of avian interest catching your eye. A memorable flash of colour might be a lilac-breasted roller or blue-eared starling. Ostrich are plentiful and it’s hard not to chuckle at the sighting of the well-named, studious-looking secretary bird as it awkwardly pads across the grasslands
The park is also famous for its splendid baobab trees, rolling savannah and acacia woodland. It can be dusty – wear a scarf over your mouth – but this is a minor inconvenience for sighting wildlife in such abundance.
Journey: (morning) Tarangire to Ngorongoro Crater (afternoon)
This morning we depart from Tarangire after a relaxing breakfast, with our goal being the remarkable Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Todays’s journey from Tarangire to Ngorongoro takes us to the northwest, a journey of around 4 ½ hours (199km)
Day’s Highlight
Like nothing else on Earth, the stunning crater of Ngorongoro is a unique home for many, many species of Tanzania’s wildlife. With some luck, you may even see a black rhino here.
Safari in Ngorongoro Crater
From the rim, we admire the incredible view then descend into the vast crater itself. At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled. By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them.
The crater has a population of around 120 lions, with well-defined territories; 15,000 wildebeest, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and around 50 black rhino. Many wildebeest and other herd animals are resident, benefiting from the many sources of year-round waters and are boosted by some migrators in season. Buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle and eland are also present in numbers. Hippos can be found in pools and swampland and highland birdlife is colourful and plentiful around the waters. Flamingos can often be seen in Lake Magadi, which occupies part of the crater floor.
Journey: (morning) Ngorongoro to Serengeti National Park (afternoon)
After breakfast, we set off for our next destination, Serengeti, a distance of 145km and a journey time of around 3 ½ hours. On arrival, we take lunch and have an afternoon game drive.
Day’s Highlight
Here’s a National Park which will offer you a whole variety of wildlife surprises over the next few days, but perhaps today’s highlight – certainly for first-time visitors – will simply be the Serengeti terrain itself. The sheer vastness, as the plains roll away in front of you into eternity, will leave you with a sense of awe.
Safari in Serengeti National Park
At last! Serengeti, the incomparable wonder of Tanzania, will be the stage for the natural animal theatrics which will be performed over the next few days. Your game drive here combines the known with the unknown, the certainty that you will be amazed with the uncertainty of exactly what you will see and when. Changing light, a changing cast of animal actors, ensuring that at every turn there is a new experience. Snap off some memorable photos, but don’t forget to simply take a deep breath and enjoy nature in its real-time, raw beauty.
Day’s Highlight
Today, we set off from our accommodation in the Central Serengeti. Wildlife is abundant: sometimes you may think it has come to find you, rather than the other way round. Today’s highlight is unknown, as the animals don’t publish their schedule (!) What we see also depends on the season, but this area is where bushland meets grassland, a favorite spot for big cats looking for prey. Cheetah, leopard, and lion are all possibilities today.
Safari in Serengeti National Park
Today is a full day of discovery, a chance to enjoy the varied landscapes of the Central Serengeti. The Seronera River weaves its way through this area, providing water for all species of wildlife. You will also see the distinctive rocky outcrops, the famous kopjes, which characterize the Serengeti landscape.
Lunch will be an unforgettable experience, enjoyed in the middle of the bush. Everything here varies with the seasons, but in May, November, and December, migrating herds join the already rich population of resident animals that live here year-round. (In the rainy season, the landscape turns black with hundreds of thousands of wildebeest – a simply incredible sight.)
Journey: (morning) Serengeti National Park to Lake Eyasi (afternoon)
After a morning game drive and lunch, this afternoon we will head south to Lake Eyasi, a journey of around 5 hours (245km).
Day’s Highlight
Although we will have another chance this morning to marvel at Serengeti, perhaps today’s highlight will be our meeting with some of our country’s fascinating tribespeople. Today, we will meet the Datoga in their traditional village houses.
Safari in Serengeti National Park
With its informative visitor centre, the Seronera area of Central Serengeti is the national park’s most popular area. And it is very popular with the wildlife, too. The Seronera river enjoys year-round waterflow, so there is always something of interest to observe. Several game drives can be undertaken here and might reveal lions in sizeable prides, hippo or herds of elephants – whose populations in the park have risen in recent times. Depending on other attractions, we may choose to call in at the Serengeti Visitor Centre, where there is an excellent explanation of the park’s eco-system and a chance to understand the history of conservation in this area. In particular, you will find out about the work of Bernhard Grzimek and the Frankfurt Zoological Society who had the foresighted vision of preserving the Serengeti’s eco-system. Even at the center, you may well find wildlife: populations of hyrax and mongoose, as well as many small bird species.
Datoga tribe, Lake Eyasi
After lunch, we head south to Lake Eyasi. Here, we have an opportunity to remind ourselves that Tanzania is rich in human culture, as well as rich in fantastic wildlife. The Datoga tribe are our hosts this afternoon, as we are introduced to their village, customs and traditions. A colorful experience, not to be forgotten
Journey:(morning) Lake Eyasi to Kilimanjaro International Airport (afternoon)
After breakfast and our morning visits to see the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers and the local blacksmith, we take lunch and then have 4 ½ hours journey, covering the 295km back to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Day’s Highlight
Everyone will have their own, favorite cultural experience today. But perhaps your lasting memory will be of the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers. Their lifestyle will make you ponder how uncomplicated – though not easy – life can be.
Lake Eyasi and its Tribespeople
Lake Eyasi is located in the Great Rift Valley, southwest of the Ngorongoro Crater. Its salt-water levels experience dramatic changes with the seasons: in years with little rainfall, the lake can almost disappear. Near to the shimmering lake, we will first experience a hunting trip with the Hadzabe, the last hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, before visiting a local blacksmith as he practises his craft, fashioning pots and weapons from scrap metal.
Meal plan
Breakfast is served at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge. Lunch will be a nutritious and balanced meal, also provided by the Lodge for you to take out on safari and enjoyed after your morning ‘cultural visits’, before we return you to the airport for your flight home. As today is the departure day of your safari, please note that dinner tonight is not included in the tour.
Departure Instructions
Please note that this Tanzania Culture Safari Experience – 7 Days tour ends at Kilimanjaro International Airport at 17.30 hours. Your departure can only take place today if you have pre-booked a domestic flight which leaves from Kilimanjaro International Airport at 19.40 hours or after, or an international flight which leaves at 21.00 hours or after. Otherwise, you will need to book an extra night’s accommodation (not included in the tour price) and take a flight the following day.
Post Tour Extension
After your exhilarating time on safari, you may want to extend your Tanzanian holiday with time on Zanzibar’s wonderful beaches. Please contact us for details.
Easy Travel Trip Safety:Â AMREF Flying Doctor Insurance. A Flying doctor Insurance to Air transfer you before dark from nearest airstrip to hospital during Emergency
Easy Travel Transport: 4X4 Custom built – Toyota Landcruiser – Pop-up Roof, Opening Sliding windows, Seat Belts, Heavy duty wheels and Extra Fuel tanks.Refrigerator for cooling drinks, one pair of binoculars per couple, Eco friendly Trash Bag. Wi-Fi on board during safari, Charging Outlets type Plug G for charging Cameras and smart phones
Easy Travel Trip Crew: Professional English-Speaking Driver guide – A Friendly,Experienced and Passionate Driver Guide expert at a wide variety of skills: Flora and Fauna, Tanzania’s cultural and natural history
Easy Travel Treat: A Special Safari Hamper – Soft drinks, Coffee/tea and Water during game drives A bottle of Wine
Arrival and Departure Transfer: TO/FROM Kilimanjaro International or Arusha Airport –
One arrival Transfer and One departure Transfer
Accommodation:
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Photographic Safari: Experience Wildlife with Easy Travel 4X4 Safari Vehicle – Game drive in Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
Cultural and History Experience: Experience Tribe Visit – Visit Hadzabe camp, Hear Hadzabe men and women speak Hadza language one of the most unique language in the world, learn how to use Hadzabe Bushmen’s Bow and Arrows and take a Walk with Hadzabe Bushmen and learn how Hadzabe Bushmen hunt
Park Entrance Fee:Â Park fee for Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Eyasi
Taxes:Â 18 % VAT (Value Added Tax)
Tipping:Â Tipping is of course, discretionary, but is an expected part of the way in
which business is done in Tanzania. It counts as an expression of gratitude to those who hopefully, have made your experience an unforgettable one and enables you to directly reward those people. Our passengers come from all around the world, with different cultural attitudes to tipping, but a tip is of
great significance here in Tanzania and will be hugely appreciated by the recipient. We know that the act of giving of a tip can be a bit awkward, and we would suggest that the best way to remove this ‘awkwardness’ is for each couple to put their tip anonymously into an envelope and for the envelopes to
be presented by the couple to the staff member. As a guideline, you should consider tipping at the
following levels:
Driver guide: $25 US per day, per couple. For hotels/lodges/tented camps, please do not tip individual staff members, but instead use the ‘Tip Box’,
which you should find at the reception of your accommodation. For guidance, you should consider tipping
between $5-7 US per day, per guest, at each accommodation.
Balloon Safari: Experience 60 – 90 minute (depending on wind condition) aerial
adventure, followed by bush breakfast and champagne.
Any Changes done by you:Â The trip excludes changes done by you during safari or before
safari which deviates from the original program
Post Night Accommodation in Arusha:Â This Tour ends at Kilimanjaro International Airport
at 17:30hrs, you can only depart on this day if you have booked a Domestic flight which departs from
Kilimanjaro International Airport at 19:40hrs and onwards or an International Flight which departs at
21:00hrs and onwards. Otherwise, you will need to book a post night Accommodation if you are departing
with any earlier flight.Â
Flights:Â The trip costs Excludes International and Domestic Flights
Visa:Â The trip costs Excludes all visa costs including arrival visas and transit visas
Medical Insurance:Â The trip cost Excludes Medical Insurance which is mandatory
Travel Insurance:Â The trip cost Excludes Travel Insurance which is mandatory
Laundry Service:Â If you require to launder your clothes while on your safari, then you
will need to pay an amount that the accommodation charges as per their rate sheet.
Drinks at the lodges/camps:Â All kinds of soft drinks and hard drinks at the
lodges/camps are not included
Drones:Â The government of Tanzania does not allow anyone to bring drones into the
country.
Our team is always here to help
