11-Day Tanzania Safari and Cultural Experiences

On your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, a member of our staff will be holding a placard of KLM Safaris. After a welcome note, you will then be transferred to the Kibo Palace Hotel in Arusha, which is about an hour's drive from the airport. If you will be arriving in the morning, after checking in, you will have an opportunity to do a guided city tour and see the Tanzanite Experience, Meru Maasai Market, Central Market, and Kilombero Market. Later, you will return to Kibo Palace Hotel for an overnight (bed and breakfast).

Pick up from the hotel in Arusha after your breakfast at 9:00 AM and start your journey to Tarangire National Park. The journey is about 3 hours to the main entrance gate. You will arrive at Tarangire and do registration at the gate for 15-20 minutes, and then you will proceed with the morning game drive to Baobab Tented Camp inside Tarangire National Park & check-in. You will have your lunch at the lodge, and after lunch you will proceed with an afternoon game drive for about 3-4 hours, and here you will have an opportunity to see elephants, lions, wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, impalas, gazelles, hartebeests, eland, and many other animals crowding to the Tarangire River and different kinds of birds flocking around the river stream. Later in the evening, you will drive to Karatu for overnight at Eileens Trees Inn (full board).

After breakfast at Baobab Tented Camp, you will start your day at Lake Manyara National Park, which is about 2 hours’ drive from Tarangire National Park. You will check in about 15 minutes, then proceed with the game drive for 3 hours. Lake Manyara National Park will provide you with a unique wilderness experience, including diverse landscapes such as the Rift Valley soda lake, open grasslands, dense woodlands, stunning mountainsides, and abundant wildlife. You will have an opportunity to spot greater and lesser pink flamingos on Lake Manyara shores. Around noon, you will have your picnic lunch at the picnic site. After lunch, you will proceed to Mto wa Mbu, a village adjacent to the park. Your guide will be from the village itself, so you will have a unique opportunity to see the community through his eyes. After your tour, you will proceed to Karatu Town for about 30 minutes. Dinner and overnight at Eileens Trees Inn (swimming pool and Wi-Fi available free) (full board).

After breakfast at 08:00am, we will start our journey to Ngorongoro and descend in a 600-meter deep, 20-kilometer-wide, and 300-square-kilometer caldera, which is a breathtaking experience for the game drive. This magnificent crater is one of the most densely populated African wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals, including some of Tanzania’s last remaining Black Rhino. Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro crater supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of Wildebeest, Zebra, Buffalo, Eland, Warthog, Hippo, and giant African Elephants. Another uniqueness of the crater is its huge population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard. In the afternoon, you will enjoy your picnic lunch at the Hippo pool. Later, you will continue with the afternoon game drive for 2-3 hours, then after you will ascend to the top of the crater and enjoy the view of the crater from your lodge.

After breakfast, you will proceed to Serengeti for about 4 hours from Ngorongoro with an on-rote game drive. After about 3 hours, you will arrive at the Serengeti Naabi entrance gate and have your picnic lunch. The Serengeti National Park is the jewel in the crown of Tanzania’s game parks and offers arguably the best game viewing in Africa. The setting is perfect—a sea of endless plains that stretches to the horizon, dotted with the occasional acacia tree and termite mound. This Savannah is home to huge herds of buffalo that every year make the mass migration north during August/September, through crocodile-infested rivers, in a frenzied mixture of mating and galloping that is driven by instinct. Prides of lions rule here, their hungry gaze sweeping the Savannah for a chance to attack the thousands of elands, impalas, and gazelles. Solitary leopards stake out their place in the high branches of the acacia tree, and herds of elephant’s roam at will.

Another beautiful day in Serengeti National Parkpark. Today you will have a full day to explore Serengeti National Park. You will wake up early in the morning at 6:00am for an early 1-2 hour sunrise game drive with your breakfast box. Later, you will have your picnic breakfast at 8:00am. You can as well go back to your lodge if you prefer having your breakfast there. If you like to watch wildlife from another perspective, we recommend you go on a 45-minute hot air balloon safari (this is an optional activity available on request for $550 per person). It is an amazing experience to drift silently above the plains with herds of wildlife. If the migration will be closer, your driver guide will drive for about 2 hours northwards in central Serengeti, explore the migration for 2 hours, have a picnic lunch, and later return to your lodge for dinner and overnight at Narudi Tented Camp.

After breakfast, you will do the final third-day on-route game in Serengeti during the morning hours for 2 hours while driving to the Southern Serengeti. Our professional guide will insure you enjoy the wild by taking you to the spotting areas. Later afternoon, you will break at Naani Gate, have your picnic lunch, and continue with the end-route afternoon game drive. You will leave Serengeti Naabi Gate in the afternoon and drive for 2 hours to the top of Ngorongoro crater, then proceed for 1 hour to Karatu Town. Dinner and overnight at Eileens Trees Inn, there is swimming opportunity and free Wi-Fi (Full Board).

After breakfast, you and our driver will start a journey to Lake Eyasi for 2 hours, which is a mildly alkaline lake about 50 km in length. The meadows along the shores of the lake are home to leopards, hippos, various monkeys, and birds. On arrival, you will do cultural visits in the area. Among other places, you will visit the Datoga pastoralists and members of the Hadzabe tribe. The Hadzabe are one of two remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in Tanzania. There are approximately 1500 families left in this tribe. Lake Eyasi offers excellent views of the Rift Valley escarpment and is an ideal destination for relaxing and bird-watching. After activities, you will have your lunch, and later in the afternoon, drive for 2 hours to Karatu and arrive before 5pm. Dinner and overnight at Eileens Trees Inn, there is swimming opportunity and free Wi-Fi (Full Board).

You will check out late around 11 or 12 and have your early lunch at 12 or 1pm. On the way, you will stop at Maasai Boma and experience Maasai culture, including dancing. Then proceed to Arusha for 2.5 hours, then overnight at the Mount Meru Hotel in Arusha (bed and breakfast).

After breakfast, you will drive about 1 hour to Arusha National Park. The park is beautiful and famous for its green surroundings, lakes, unique sights, and its black and white colubus monkey. About a 2-hour walking safari is a unique and thrilling experience and a chance to be up-close with wild animals, face-to-face. Here you’ll be walking alongside wild, freely roaming animals in their natural habitat. Your park ranger is experienced and knows what you can or can’t do near wild animals. During the walking safari, some unique sights will be visited, like the impressive Meru waterfall that hides in the heart of the park, the Ngurdoto Crater, and Lake Momella, where thousands of pink flamingos can often be spotted. You will have your lunch at Momela Lake Picnic Site. Later, you will travel to Moshi for 1.5 hours for an overnight at Kibo Palace Hotel in Moshi (bed and breakfast).

After breakfast, at 8:00 am, you will leave the hotel for Materuni Waterfalls and Coffee Tour for 45 minutes. It is the highest and most impressive waterfall at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. You’ll visit a coffee farm and learn about how coffee is grown, harvested, and processed, and you’ll try your hand at roasting and preparing a fresh cup of coffee the Chagga way for 1 hour. After the coffee tour and taste, you’ll take a beautiful 30-minute hike through the hills and valleys en route to the Materuni waterfalls. The valleys and hills are covered by tropical rainforest, coffee, banana, and avocado "shambas," the Kiswahili word for farms. On a clear day, a great view of Kibo and Moshi town can be seen while hiking. The hike to the base of the waterfall can be demanding, and hiking boots are recommended. At 11 am, we will proceed to Chemka Hot Springs for 2 hours and arrive around 1:00 pm. Then at 4:00 pm, you will travel to the airport revitalized and relaxed after your amazing African safari.