7-Day Lodge Safari: All 5 Northern Parks
Explore the popular northern parks & experience the thrill of a walking safari on this 7-day adventure!
Enjoy a front row seat to the stunning landscapes and wildlife in all five of Tanzania’s northern national parks as you embark on this thrilling journey with us. Our series of morning and afternoon game drives will take you to Lake Manyara National Park, Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater and Arusha National Park where the supreme wildlife viewing and diverse topographies between parks will astound you.
A safari fully adaptable to your needs
As with all of our safari packages, this suggested itinerary can be adapted to suit your own personal needs and preferences with departure dates that are completely flexible.
Accommodation
On this safari, you will spend your 6 nights in 4-star lodges or tented lodges, either on the outskirts of the national parks or inside the parks, depending on availability and itinerary.
Please note however that we have something to offer for every budget, from basic camps, to mid-range accommodation, to superior and luxury tented camps and lodges.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you should require a price for another accommodation category or if you would like to add additional visits or experiences to your itinerary (for example: a visit to a traditional Massai village or a hot-air balloon flight over the Serengeti Plains).
Itinerary
Day 1
Moshi or Arusha - Lake Manyara
Activities: Travel (4 hrs from Moshi or 2 hrs from Arusha) / afternoon game drive in Lake Manyara National Park
Meals: Lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge
Meet your professional tour guide/driver in Moshi or Arusha and receive a short briefing about your safari before hitting the road in direction of Lake Manyara National Park. We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and then head out for our first game drive.
Lake Manyara National Park is a relatively small but diverse park, known for its massive but shallow soda lake that covers two-thirds of its surface, flooding and drying with the seasons and home to thousands of flamingos and 500 other bird species. Located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment, the park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, as well as monkeys, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes and the famous tree-climbing lions, although they are a rare sight.
After an event-filled afternoon, we will head back to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 2
Lake Manyara National Park – Tarangire National Park
Activities: Travel (1 hour) to Tarangire National Park / Game drive in Tarangire
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge
After breakfast at the lodge we will take a short drive to Tarangire National Park.
Tarangire runs along the Tarangire River and is made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. The park is defined by lush grasslands studded with giant baobab trees and sun-baked termite hills, and is a key staging ground of the annual Great Migration. Tourists who prefer to visit its more famous neighbours often ignore this lesser-known game reserve; yet during the dry season, it has a greater concentration of wildlife per square kilometre than any other park in Tanzania. The huge swamp areas in the south attract large numbers of animals such as zebras, wildebeest, buffalos and giraffes, to name just a few. Moreover, the reserve is not only notorious for having some of the largest elephant herds in Africa, but also for being home to three very rare species that are almost impossible to find in other Tanzanian parks – the Oryx, the Elk and the Greater Kudu.
After an extensive game drive, we will head back to our lodge in the Lake Manyara region for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 3
Lake Manyara region – Serengeti National Park
Activities: Travel (4 hours) to Serengeti National Park with en-route game viewing / Afternoon game drive in Serengeti
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge
After breakfast, we head out towards Serengeti National Park via the beautiful high lying farmlands of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. As we leave the highlands behind us, we descend into the heart of wild Africa with endless plains rolling in the distance as far as the eye can see, as well as diverse landscapes such as swamps, lakes, savannah, and mountains. These sublime landscapes are home to the Maasai herdsmen who live in relative harmony alongside the region’s abundant wildlife. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to an incredible abundance of animals, including Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, giraffes, wildebeest, zebra and large herds of buffalo.
Upon arrival at the entry gate to Serengeti National Park, we will stop for lunch before heading out to the central park area known as Seronera, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. Here, the Seronera River provides a valuable water source to the area and therefore attracts an abundance of wildlife, well representative of most of the species common to Serengeti.
If you are lucky enough to be here during the great wildebeest migration, your driver will be sure to follow the herds so you can experience this extraordinary event first hand!
Our first Serengeti game drive will end after sunset as we travel to our lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 4
Serengeti National Park
Activities: Full day game drive in Serengeti National Park
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge
After breakfast, we will continue our exploration of the Serengeti following the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River. This area is good for spotting lions, Thomson gazelle, topis, ostriches and cheetahs among other animals. The Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites is well worth a visit after the morning’s game drive. This nicely designed centre offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. Here we will enjoy a relaxing picnic lunch in the shade of the giant acacia trees. After lunch, our game drive will continue on the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes. This area usually attracts a number of lions and some large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry season – including predators such as lions who like to lie in wait of their prey as they go there to quench their thirst.
Our game drive will end at sundown as we travel back to our lodge in the Seronera area where we will have dinner and stay overnight.
Optional: Be one of the fortunate few to glide in a hot air balloon over the Serengeti Plains at sunrise, floating silently above the awakening bush, across rivers and over numerous small villages while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing Tanzanian scenery. (*Available at an additional cost / pre-booking is required).
Day 5
Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater
Activities: Half day game drive in Serengeti National Park / Travel (4 hours) to Ngorongoro Crater with en-route game viewing
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge
After breakfast, we will continue our exploration of the Serengeti plains and after our lunch inside the park, we will head to the Ngorongoro Crater area. Travel time between Central Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater is approximately 4 hours. Nonetheless, you will begin to see animals when entering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area as it is home to an incredible abundance and diversity of wildlife, including Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, giraffes, wildebeest, zebra and large herds of buffalo. We will stop at Olduvai Gorge, which boasts a history that dates back to the dawn of time. It was here that the anthropologists Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of the ‘Nutcracker Man’ and the ‘Handy Man’, both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.
We will arrive at our lodge in the early evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 6
Ngorongoro Crater – Arusha National Park
Activities: Game drive in Ngorongoro Crater / Travel (4 hours) to Arusha National Park area
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge
After breakfast, we will enter the majestic Ngorongoro Crater - the world’s largest intact and unfilled caldera for an exciting adventure.
The crater alone is home to approximately 25,000 game animals, all of which live together in this natural enclosure including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos. Here you will spot the Big Five (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhinoceros) as well as a multitude of other wild animals, from the pink flamingos of Lake Makat, to large herds of wildebeest, zebras, buffaloes, elands, and warthogs. Another big attraction in this picturesque national park is its dense population of predators, which includes hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot.
We will have a late lunch within the park in a beautiful area surrounded by hippos and many species of birds before hitting the road in direction of Arusha National Park where we will spend the night.
Day 7
Arusha National Park – Arusha or Moshi
Activities: Game drive & walking safari in Arusha National Park / Travel (30 minutes to Arusha or 2.5 hours to Moshi)
Meals: Breakfast & lunch
After breakfast, we will enter Arusha National Park for a full day of explorations.
With an area of 137 km², Arusha National Park is the smallest park in Tanzania. It is divided into three zones. To the west, the Meru Crater embraces the Jekukumia River. To the southeast, you will get a glimpse of the Ngurdoto Crater, and to the northeast, you will see the Momella Lakes which are home to a number of water bird species.
Known as the "little Serengeti", Arusha Park offers you the opportunity to spot a number of animal species such as warthogs, zebras, giraffes, bushbucks and large herds of buffalo. When we head towards the Ngurdoto Crater, we will find ourselves in a lush rainforest where we will be able to see black and white colobus monkeys. It is quite rare to see elephants and lions in this park but with a little luck, we may see a leopard or a spotted hyena.
After lunch inside the park, we will spend the afternoon on a walking safari accompanied by an armed ranger. Our walk will take us from Momella gate to the refreshing Tululusia Falls and back. The most common sightings on a walking safari are buffaloes, warthogs, giraffes and a variety of birds.
We will leave the park in the late afternoon and head back to Arusha or Moshi.
Included in package
- Professional English speaking driver/guide
- Pick-up at Kilimanjaro or Arusha Airport if arriving the day before the start of your safari
- Pick-up at your hotel in Moshi or Arusha on Day 1
- Drop-off at your hotel in Moshi or Arusha, or at Kilimanjaro/Arusha Airports on Day 7
- All meals except breakfast on Day 1 & dinner on Day 7
- Bottled water
- Mid-range lodge accommodation
Not included in package
- Flight tickets
- Visa fees
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, soft drinks, juice or alcoholic beverages, any other items of a personal nature)
- Tip for your safari guide (suggested amount: $30 per day per vehicle)