This expedition will take you to a part of the Serengeti known as the Western Corridor. The main feature of this area is the two Rivers: the Grumeti and the Mbalageti. This area sustains a very good permanent wildlife population, including all the predators, zebra and wildebeest. There is also a wide variety of birdlife. The migration passes roughly between May and July, pausing to gather momentum before crossing the crocodile-rich waters of the Grumeti River.
Day 1 Arrival in Arusha
You will be picked up from the airport by a Lion King representative and conveyed to your accommodation in Arusha where you will overnight, relax, and prepare in anticipation of the adventures to come.
Day 2 Arusha to Tarangire National Park.
After breakfast, your safari guide will collect you from your accommodation and drive you to Tarangire National Park (approximately 2 hours). Tarangire is best known for its elephant families, savannah, iconic baobab trees, seasonal swamps and the life-giving Tarangire River. Animals gather at the river and giraffe, bushbuck and hartebeest are often seen. The Park is also home to buffalo, zebra and wildebeest. These animals are closely followed by a range of predators such as lions and leopards. From the open roof of the vehicle, you will be able to absorb the landscape and watch the wildlife.
You will enjoy a picnic lunch in the park, which includes a delicious lunch, coffee and soft drinks.
After a full day in the park, you will drive to your accommodation, where you will be able to relax, enjoy dinner and spend the night.
Day 3 Serengeti National Park (Central)
After breakfast, you will continue towards the fertile highlands where wheat, coffee and corn are grown by the Iraqw people. Passing through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will be able to see the breath-taking Ngorongoro Crater before travelling onwards to the Serengeti National Park, which you will reach by midday. The Serengeti National Park is the largest park in Tanzania with diverse landscapes and habitats, such as grassy plains, swamps, lakes, savannah and mountains. After an extensive game drive, you will drive to your accommodation where you will enjoy dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 4 Serengeti Western Corridor
After breakfast, you will head straight towards the western corridor on which the drive takes approximately 1.5 hours.
Around the end of April, May and June, a vast army of wildebeests along with its partners: zebras, elands and gazelles mill around the Western Corridor of the Serengeti, south of the Grumeti River. You can encounter leopards and hyenas and ahead by giant Nile crocodiles, many hundreds perish as some hazard the river crossing while others detour it. But the beauty of the landscape, stretching without end beneath an infinite sky on a Serengeti West Safari, changes something within the watcher, who becomes more aware of the place of humankind within the drama of the animal world.
You will then head straight to your accommodation, where you will have dinner and overnight.
Day 5 Serengeti Central
This entire day is set aside for game drives upon the Western Serengeti. Later Afternoon drive to Central Serengeti, The Serengeti is the habitat of an abundance of wildlife such as impala, buffalo, crocodile, and hippo, is more well-known for its great migrating herds of zebra, antelope, and wildebeest. The animals’ trek is determined by the rainfall and varies from year to year. In November and December the animals move from the northern region, dominated by woodlands and hills, to the grassy plains of the south. During the longer rainy season from April to June, they return to the north. Apart from the migrating herds, we may have the opportunity to see the resident predators, leopard, cheetah, and lion, fulfilling their role in the circle of life.
After an extensive game drive, we head for your accommodation for a hearty dinner and another night by the fire of relaxation and conversation under the sweeping majesty of the star bright African night out upon the ‘Endless Plain’.
Day 6 Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast, you will head out for an en-route game drive through the Serengeti. You might be able to spot the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard – before embarking on your journey to Ngorongoro Crater. This UNESCO world heritage site formed millions of years ago is 600 m deep and covers roughly around 260 square kilometres. Due to its dense animal population of approximately 25 000, the Crater offers the best game viewing of all the parks in Tanzania. You will arrive at the Crater rim before lunch. You will descend into the Crater and very quickly, you will be able to see wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, elephants and some of the more than 500 bird species in the area. With a little bit of luck, you might catch a glimpse of the endangered black rhino through the grass.
After lunch and a full afternoon inside the Crater, you will head to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 7 Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha
After breakfast, you will drive to your final destination on this epic safari – Lake Manyara National Park. This is a relatively small but diverse park, 120km west of Arusha. The park’s namesake is a shallow, salt lake. It covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons and is home to thousands of flamingos and over 500 other bird species. On your exploration of the park, you will see monkeys, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant and with some luck, lions lounging in the trees. The park is known for its diverse landscapes; not only open grassy plains but also primate-filled woodlands and baobab dotted cliffs. After lunch, you will head back to Arusha, where you will arrive in the late afternoon.
Included
- Park fees(For non-residents)
- All activities(Unless labelled as optional)
- All accommodation(Unless listed as upgrade)
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation(Unless labelled as optional)
- All Taxes/VAT
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Meals(As specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinks(As specified in the day-by-day section)
Excluded
- International flights(From/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips(Tipping guideline US$15.00 pp per day)
- Personal items(Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- The government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees