10-Day Safari in Northen Tanzania Top Destinations

This is the captivating safari through Tanzania’s most renowned wildlife havens. Your adventure begins with the enchanting Lake Manyara National Park, where a single night amidst the lush foliage promises sightings of diverse birdlife and the famous tree-climbing lions. The expedition continues to the heart of the wild, the Central Serengeti, for an immersive four-night stay, offering ample time to witness the Great Migration and the unscripted drama of predator-prey interactions. The tour then leads you to the Ngorongoro Crater, a natural amphitheater home to a dense population of big game, for a one-night sojourn. Concluding your safari is a two-night retreat in the serene landscapes of Tarangire National Park, known for its large elephant herds and baobab-studded horizons. Starting and ending in the gateway city of Arusha, this tour is meticulously crafted to ensure a seamless and unforgettable experience with the guidance of our seasoned driver guides. Prepare for a trip that will etch the majesty of Tanzania’s wilderness into your memories forever.

Day 1 – Arusha to Tarangire

Pick up at 7:30 AM from your hotel in Arusha and depart for Tarangire National Park with a picnic lunch for a full day game drive. Tanzania’s third largest National park is known for its majestic baobab trees that dot the landscape, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. The Tarangire River is the centerpiece of this park which is famous for some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa. Here you may see lion, leopard, cheetah, lesser kudu, buffalo, Oryx, eland, giraffe and zebra. Post the game drive, you will head back to your camp/lodge where a delicious dinner awaits you.

Day 3 – Lake Manyara

Pick up at 7:00 AM from your hotel and depart for Lake Manyara National Park with a picnic lunch for a full day game drive. As you enter the national park, lush forests of Acacia and Mahogany trees begin to set the mood for what is waiting ahead. The game drive will go on till evening with a small break for picnic lunch. During the game drive watch out for buffaloes, giraffes, impalas, baboons and the blue monkeys. Another spectacle of Lake Manyara National park is the tree climbing lions, however spotting them is a game of luck. In the right season, you can see the shoreline turning pink with millions of flamingos flocking there. Post the game drive, you will head back to your camp/lodge where a delicious dinner awaits you.

Day 4 – Lake Natron

Your day will begin after breakfast by about 8:00 AM. We depart with packed lunch boxes towards Lake Natron. Located about 3.5 hours drive away from Mto Wa Mbu/Manyara, Lake Natron is a surreal destination and unique natural spectacle. Its waters are highly alkaline and are unusually shallow, averaging just one meter in depth. After checking into your lodge and a short break, put your walking shoes on as a Maasai tribesman takes you on a walk around the shores of Lake Natron on the lookout for birds, especially the lesser flamingos. Lake Natron is the most important and regular breeding site for lesser flamingos in East Africa hosting up to 2 million of them during the breeding season. The majority of egg-laying and hatching takes place from September to January. After the hike, you will head back to your camp/lodge for a well-deserved dinner and rest.

Day 5 – Lake Natron to Central Serengeti

Your day starts early. Around 6:00 AM, accompanied by a Maasai guide, enjoy some light hiking to the nearby Ngare Sero waterfalls and relax in the cool spray of water cascading down the rocks of this scenic ravine. Make sure to bring your shoes! We return to accommodation by 8:30 AM and finishing up a good breakfast, will head out towards the Serengeti National Park. This road trip takes you through a variety of sites: towns and villages, savannah and forest, and you’ll be able to spot animals like antelope, wildebeest and zebra. We enter Serengeti in the afternoon. The Serengeti is arguably the most impressive wildlife sanctuary in the world. You will have an afternoon game drive in the endless plains of the Serengeti for a chance to see the great herds of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles or a pride of lions lounging in the shade. A picnic lunch will be done during the day-long game drive itself. The eventful day comes to an end with dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.

Day 6 & 7 – Central Serengeti

You can either have a relaxed breakfast and depart for full-day game drives around 9:00 AM with a packed lunch and return back to the lodge late afternoon around 6:00 PM. Or you can depart at 6:00 AM on an early morning game drive. Later return to accommodation for breakfast and relax for a bit and depart on an afternoon game drive with a packed lunch. You will explore the central portion of the Serengeti National Park today. The legendary Serengeti National Park is the most renowned safari destination for its incredible population of lions and leopards. The central portion of the Serengeti – known as the Seronera area is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. During the off-season of the migration, one must really look out for the many lion pride that thrive in this region. The interactions and survival of these lion prides provide an excellent game-viewing experience all year round. Along with a picnic lunch during the full-day game drive, the day will come to a close by around 5 PM. The long day comes to an end with a good dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.

Day 8 – Central Serengeti to Ngorongoro

After breakfast around 6:30 AM, you will depart with a packed lunch from the camp and have a morning game drive in Serengeti National Park till lunchtime. There are several game drive circuits in Central Serengeti and depending on what you have already seen on your safari and your interests, your guide will take you to game drives at one or more of these circuits. You are very likely to see a good number of big cats, especially lions, along with a diverse array of other wildlife. In the afternoon depart for Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Depending on your choice of accommodation, you will be either staying inside the Ngorongoro conservation area or exiting from Ngorongoro and staying at a lodge in Karatu. The day comes to an end with a good dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.

Day 9 – Ngorongoro Crater Tour (5 hours) to Lake Eyasi

On the last day of your safari, you will have an early start. Finishing up with a quick breakfast you will make an early descent at around 6:30 AM into the crater floor. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. It has a massive floor of about 260 sq km with a depth of over 2000 feet. The 5-hour game drive on the crater floor will show you a lot of animal action. Keeping the camera ready is definitely recommended. The African elephant, buffalo, Black rhino, Hippos, Hyenas, Cheetahs and Lions are found in plenty. Post the picnic lunch at the beautiful Hippo pool, you will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater. We will drive to our accommodation at Lake Eyasi and relax for the day.
You can also consider a quick visit to the shores of Lake Eyasi in the late afternoon/evening and explore it on a short trek where you can often see a large number of flamingoes and other birds.

Day 10 – Lake Eyasi to Arusha

Around 05:30 am, after a light breakfast, you will depart from the lodge and visit the Hadzabe Bushmen. They are the last remaining hunter-gatherers of East Africa who are continuing their way of life with very little changes for 10s of thousands of years. You will participate in their early morning activities including bush trek, hunting, and making a campfire. Other activities that might be done during the day are interacting with the Hadza, participating in their honey gathering, baobab fruit foraging, and experiencing their daily life.

Later in the day, you will drive back to the village to meet the Datoga people, another indigenous tribe found in the area. Datogas are skilled farmers and livestock keepers. Some of them are also craftsmen living independently for over decades forging knives, arrowheads, and jewelry for the greater Datoga tribe and for the Bushmen.

Later on, you will return to your lodge for a hot lunch before driving further to Arusha to reach by around 5:00 PM.