18-Day Complete Tanzania Experience

Welcome to Tanzania. You are met at Kilimanjaro International Airport and driven to your hotel in Moshi or Arusha. Your guide briefs you on the grand route ahead, spanning both the north and the wild south of the country.

Head south to Tarangire National Park, celebrated for its elephant herds and ancient baobabs. An afternoon game drive follows the Tarangire River, the park’s dry-season magnet for wildlife of every kind.

A short drive takes you to Lake Manyara National Park, set against the dramatic Rift Valley escarpment. Look for tree-climbing lions, large baboon troops, hippos and the flamingo flocks that gather when the soda lake is at its best.

Cross the Ngorongoro highlands into the Serengeti National Park. A first game drive through the Seronera Valley introduces its resident leopard, lion and cheetah before you arrive at camp beneath a vast, star-filled sky.

A full day in the heart of the Serengeti. Your guide follows tracks, sightings and the season to find the best wildlife, whether that means a lion pride on a kopje, a cheetah on the plains or the great herds moving through.

Travel north to the Mara River, stage of the migration’s dramatic crossings (roughly July to October). Outside crossing season the north is still magnificent — quiet, scenic and rich with resident predators.

A morning drive south via Olduvai Gorge brings you to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Settle into your lodge with the vast caldera spread out below and enjoy a spectacular highland sunset.

Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater at dawn. The caldera shelters around 25,000 large animals, including all of the Big Five and a good chance of black rhino. A picnic lunch on the crater floor is a classic safari moment.

Drop into the Rift Valley to Lake Eyasi, where you spend a morning with the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers and visit a Datoga community. It is a window into ways of life that predate agriculture and a highlight for many guests.

Return to Arusha and board a light aircraft to Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania. Ruaha is the country’s largest park, a rugged land of baobabs, rocky escarpments and the great Ruaha River, and it is blissfully free of crowds.

A full day exploring Ruaha, one of Africa’s most important strongholds for lion and African wild dog. Elephant, buffalo, kudu and roan antelope are all present. The variety of habitats, from riverine forest to rocky hills, makes every drive feel like discovery.

Fly east to Nyerere National Park (formerly the Selous Game Reserve), the largest protected area in Africa. Check in to your camp beside the Rufiji River and enjoy an afternoon activity on land or water as the light softens.

A day of contrasts. Drift along the Rufiji River by boat among hippos, crocodiles and a dazzling array of waterbirds, then explore the surrounding bush on a game drive for lion, elephant and the elusive wild dog. Bush walks are often possible with an armed ranger.

Fly from the southern wilderness to Zanzibar. On arrival you transfer to your beach resort and settle in. The wild, dusty adventure gives way to white sand, warm water and the smell of the sea.

Explore historic Stone Town with a local guide — the old slave market, the House of Wonders and the carved-door alleys — then visit a spice farm to see and taste the cloves and vanilla that shaped the island’s story.

A free day by the ocean. Snorkel or dive the reef, sail a dhow to a sandbank, visit the red colobus monkeys at Jozani Forest, or simply relax. After two weeks of safari, doing nothing is a well-earned luxury.

Another full day on the island, entirely at your own pace. Try a sunset dhow cruise, a cooking class, kite surfing at Paje, or a spa afternoon. Our local team is on hand for anything you would like to arrange.

After a final beach breakfast you are transferred to Zanzibar International Airport for your flight home. It has been the fullest possible taste of Tanzania — north, south and island all in one journey.