This 10-day Luxury photographic safari on the northern circuit of Tanzania, takes you to the most famous and incredible parks whereby you will visit all major parks which are Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. In Tarangire, you will be astonished by the large African elephants as well as the huge and ancient baobab trees. Ngorogoro crater will be the icing on the cake and the best place to visit the endangered black rhinos and Serengeti will be the major highlight of the tour where you will visit the northern Serengeti following the great migration on the mara river with your well-equipped cameras. You will sleep in luxury lodges with private showers.

DAY 1: ARRIVAL AT THE AIRPORT TO ARUSHA

Upon arrival at the airport in Arusha (ARK) or Kilimanjaro international airport (JRO), you will be met and welcomed by your representative from Gardenia African Safaris who will give you a short brief before you drive to your lodgings in Arusha for overnight.

Destination: Arusha city

Accommodation: Mount Meru Hotel / Arusha Coffee Lodge / Gran Melia Arusha

Meal: Bed & Breakfast

DAY 2: ARUSHA TO TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK

Early morning after having breakfast at your hotel in Arusha at around 0730hrs to 0800hrs you will be picked up by your personal driver guide and depart straight to Tarangire National Park whereby the drive is approximately 2.5 hours to the gate. Tarangire National Park is located on the northern part of Tanzania with a wide variety of animals and landscape whereby the best part is the elephant herds. It is known to be the park which has the greatest concentration of African elephants and the ancient baobab trees. Tarangire has an area of approximately 2603 square Kilometers and within the park it is possible to see plenty of animals like the giraffes, Zebras, Buffalos, warthogs, Lions, Leopards, Impala, gazelles, dik dik and many more species. In this park, there are more than 500 birds’ species like the bee eaters, swallows, ostriches, kori bustards, hammerkops, vultures etc. The word Tarangire comes from Mbugwe tribe whereby “Tara” means river and “Ngire” means warthogs therefore it is the river of warthogs. The Tarangire river is the life giving opportunity for both herbivores and carnivores and it is the best spot for the lions to hunt their prey as they search for water especially during the dry season. Lunch will be served at a picnic site at around 1200hrs to 1300hrs and after that you will proceed with your game drive until in the late afternoon where you drive straight to your luxury lodge in Tarangire for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Destination: Tarangire National Park

Accommodation: Nimali Tarangire / Oliver’s Camp / Tarangire Treetops  

Meal: Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

DAY 3: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE IN TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK

Early morning after having breakfast at your accommodation, you will proceed with your game drive in Tarangire National Park with hot lunch. After having lunch, you will finalize your game drive until late afternoon where you will drive back to your accommodation for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

If you prefer to have lunch at the lodge, it’s quite possible as we can arrange that for you.

Destination: Tarangire National Park

Accommodation: Nimali Tarangire / Oliver’s Camp / Tarangire Treetops  

Meal: Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

DAY 4: KARATU TO SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

Early morning after having breakfast at your lodge in Karatu at around 0730hrs to 0800hrs you will depart straight to Serengeti National Park passing through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Serengeti National Park is the most famous park on the northern circuit of Tanzania with the greatest population of wildlife than anywhere else on this planet. The word Serengeti originates from Maasai tribe, the word “Seringiti” which means endless plains. The park covers a total area of approximately 14,763 square kilometers with more than 2 million mammals inhabiting the park. The great annual migration involves more than a million wildebeests accompanied by some 250,000 zebras and antelopes and it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. This is exactly what makes this park the most famous park. The park is also home to more than 500 birds’ species including the ostriches, kori bustard, starlings, weavers, marabou storks, vultures, eagles, kingfishers, rollers etc. Animals that can be found inside the park are like the impalas, gazelles, topi, hartebeest, giraffes, hippo, buffalo, dik dik, waterbuck and predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyena, jackals, caracals, serval cats etc. The scenery of Serengeti on the south east is the short grass plains. The northern part of Serengeti also known as kogatende has more hills and rocks. To the western corridor known as Grumeti there are rivers, valleys as well as forests. Some areas in the heart of Serengeti heading up north of Serengeti are dotted with ‘kopjes’. The Serengeti National Park can be visited all year round but the best time to visit is during the dry season from June to October.   

Lunch will be served inside the park and afterwards, proceed with game viewing until the evening where you will drive straight to your accommodation for dinner and overnight.

Destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge / Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge / Melia Serengeti  

Meal: Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

DAY 5: CENTRAL TO NORTH SERENGETI

Early morning after breakfast at your accommodation inside Serengeti, you will drive to the northern part of Serengeti which is also known as kogatende following the great migration. We will do a game drive en-route. As we head to the north, good sightings of giraffes, herds of buffalo and elephants can often be seen. While the Serengeti has abundant wildlife, it is best known for the annual Great Migration.  Vast numbers of wildebeests accompanied by large numbers of zebra and antelope migrate in an annual pattern, constantly seeking fresh grazing.  The precise timing of the Migration is entirely dependent upon the rainfall patterns each year. During End of July to September the Migration can be found in the Northern Serengeti where they are crossing the Mara River following the greener pastures of Maasai Mara where the provide the Mara river resident Nile crocodiles with annual fist.

After Lunch and an extensive game drive, we head for our partner tented camp for dinner and overnight.

Destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Mara Mara Tented Lodge / Mara Under Canvas

Meal: Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

DAY 6 & 7: FULL DAY GAME DRIVES ON NORTH SERENGETI 

Early morning after having breakfast at your accommodation will start with an early morning game drive following the great migration. If you’re lucky enough you can spot predators hunting their prey as well as the majestic river crossing while hungry crocodiles wait their meal. Lunch will be served at a picnic site and after that you will proceed with your game drive until the late evening where you will drive to your accommodation for sinner and overnight stay.

Destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Mara Mara Tented Lodge / Mara Under Canvas

Meal: Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

DAY 8: NORTH SERENGETI TO CENTRAL SERENGETI

Early morning after having breakfast at your accommodation will start with an early morning game drive en-route to the central Serengeti at your accommodation for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge / Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge / Melia Serengeti  

Meal: Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

DAY 9: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK TO NGORONGORO CRATER TO KARATU

Early morning after having breakfast at your accommodation inside Serengeti, you will drive straight to Ngorongoro Conservation Area en-route whereby the drive is approximately 4 hours to the floor of the crater. Ngorongoro crater is a world heritage site as well as a geo-park. It is 600m deep and before you descend the crater you will stop at a view point where you can see the crater below. The Ngorongoro crater has approximately 25000 mammals and has more than 500 birds’ species where there are also migratory birds like the flamingos. The interesting part with Ngorongoro crater is that it is the best place in East Africa to witness the endangered black rhinos which completes the big 5. In Ngorongoro you can find animals like the Zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, lion prides, gazelles, impalas, kudus, waterbucks, buffalos and many more. The Ngorongoro crater has a diameter of approximately 20km whereby it is easy to spot animals and one can spend 5-6 hours exploring the park if you have a limited time. The other attraction in Ngorongoro crater is the Ngoitoktok picnic site which is a permanent hippo pool where most of the clients have their fabulous lunch at this place. The beauty of Ngorongoro can never be untold to the visitors who have visited this area. After having packed lunch at a picnic site at the hippo pool, you will finalize your game drive before you ascend the crater and drive straight to your accommodation in Karatu for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Destination: Ngorongoro crater 

Accommodation:  Kitela Lodge / Neptune Ngorongoro / Gibb’s Farm

Meal: Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

DAY 10: LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK TO ARUSHA

Early morning after having breakfast at your lodge in Karatu at around 0730hrs to 0800hrs you will depart straight to Lake Manyara National Park whereby the drive is approximately 1 hour to the gate. Lake Manyara National Park is well known for its birds’ life and also known as the home of tree climbing lions. The park has an area of about 325 square kilometers whereby a third of the area is the land and the rest is the lake which makes Lake Manyara the best attraction. Lake Manyara is a shallow alkaline lake that attracts a number of birds to the area. The birds’ species that can be found in Lake Manyara includes both migratory birds and native birds species like the flamingos, pelicans, storks, herons, cranes, secretary birds, ground hornbills, ostriches and many more birds species. Animals that can be found in lake Manyara are like the lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, wildebeests, baboons, blue monkeys, waterbucks, bushbucks, rarely leopards, buffalo etc. The park is located on the south western part of Arusha at the rift valley region which makes it easier to do different activities like the forest hike on the rift valley and other activities include canoeing, tree canopy walk, walking safari around the lake etc. Lunch will be served at the picnic site, and after that you will drive straight to Arusha where you will meet one of the representatives from Gardenia African Safaris who will give you a special farewell. If you would like to have an extra night in Arusha we can arrange that for you in advance or if you have a flight, we will drive you straight to the airport to catch your onwards flight back home or to your next destination.

Destination: Lake Manyara National Park

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch