9-Day Tanzania Adventure Safari

You are met on arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transferred to your hotel beneath Mount Kilimanjaro. Over a welcome dinner your guide briefs you on the nine days ahead and hands out the day pack, water bottle and field guide that come with the adventure.

The adventure opens gently at Arusha National Park, a compact gem of forest, lakes and the dramatic Ngurdoto Crater. Here you take your first guided walking safari across the open plains — one of the few places in Tanzania where walking among buffalo, giraffe and zebra is permitted. Afternoon game drive and an optional canoe on the Momella Lakes.

Drive south to Tarangire National Park, famous for its giant baobabs and some of the largest elephant herds in East Africa. An afternoon game drive follows the Tarangire River, where everything gathers to drink. Tonight you sleep under canvas at an adventure camp near the park boundary.

At Lake Manyara National Park you trade the vehicle for a paddle. A canoe safari glides along the shoreline past pods of hippo and flocks of flamingos, with the Rift Valley escarpment as a backdrop. In the afternoon, game drive the groundwater forest in search of the park’s celebrated tree-climbing lions.

Cross the Ngorongoro highlands and descend into the Serengeti National Park. Your first game drive works the Seronera Valley, the beating heart of the park and a year-round stronghold of lion, leopard and cheetah. Settle into camp as the sun sets over the plains.

A full day to explore. Follow the wildebeest and zebra herds, watch for hunting predators at dawn and dusk, and picnic beneath an acacia. Depending on the season your guide may head north toward the Mara River or south toward the short-grass plains, always working where the action is.

A final morning game drive as you leave the plains, climbing through the highlands to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. En route you may visit a Maasai village, where elders explain their pastoral culture and the challenges of living alongside wildlife. Sunset from the crater rim is unforgettable.

Descend 600 metres onto the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Some 25,000 large animals live here, and all of the Big Five are present, including the endangered black rhino. A full day of crater game driving before returning to the rim.

After breakfast, drive back to Arusha or Moshi through the fertile highlands, arriving in time for your onward flight. Want more? Add a Kilimanjaro trek, a Zanzibar beach escape or a hot-air balloon safari — we will gladly extend your adventure.