Vacation Overview
Tour Details
Experience the wonders of a classic Tanzania safari with a twist! Enjoy a rare experience that very few travelers can claim — striding across the rolling plains of the legendary Serengeti National Park with your expert guide at your side. Combine this with outstanding wildlife viewing opportunities by vehicle and on foot in other renowned national parks and conservation areas. Take in Tarangire's unique Baobab woodlands, the famous flamingo flocks and tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara, the Eden-like splendor of the Ngorongoro Crater floor, and the richness of the vast Serengeti.
Highlights:- Explore the crown jewels of Tanzania's wildlife areas: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, and Serengeti
- Discover off-the-radar parts of Serengeti on foot, where few have traveled
- Meet and learn about the culture of the indigenous Maasai people of the Crater Highlands
Important Trip Details:This safari trip includes early morning and evening game drives in 4X4 vehicles on roads that can be bumpy and rugged. The walking distance is flexible but you should be prepared to walk on uneven and occasionally muddy terrain. No previous experience is required.
Minimum Age: 13
Daily Itinerary
MT Sobek: Tanzania Ultimate Serengeti Active Safari
Day 1 Welcome to Tanzania
Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha and meet with MT Sobek trip leaders outside the customs and immigration area. Transfer to Moivaro Lodge, set on a tree-shaded coffee plantation in Arusha.
Accommodation: Moivaro Lodge
Day 2 Drive to Tarangire National Park
3.5-hour private transfer
Game drives in pop-top roof 4X4 vehicle
Rise this morning for your drive to Tarangire National Park in the Great Rift Valley. This scenic park has expansive baobab-studded grasslands stretching in every direction and amazing elephant viewing. In fact, the elephant of Tarangire will be one of your most lasting memories of the entire trip! Arrive at the lodge in time for lunch, then head out for the first game drive. Tarangire River attracts a number of thirsty inhabitants - watch a parade of wild animals make their way over for a drink: huge herds of buffalo and elephant, blue wildebeest, zebra, hartebeest, impala, reedbuck, lion, and leopard. In the late afternoon, return to the lodge for sundowners and a delicious dinner.
Accommodation: Tarangire Safari Lodge
(B, L, D)
Day 3 Explore Tarangire National Park
Two 4 - 5 hour game drives in pop-top roof 4X4 vehicle
Ease into the rhythm of the bush: wake early to the chorus of birds and spend another full day discovering Tarangire's wildlife. With luck, observe safari oddities: the beautiful lesser kudu antelope and the hard-to-find African python. After sundown, thrill to the roar of lions in the night.
Accommodation: Tarangire Safari Lodge
(B, L, D)
Day 4 Visit Lake Manyara & Meet the Maasai People
1.5-hour vehicle transfer
4 - 5 hour game drive by pop-top roof 4X4 vehicle
Drive 45 minutes through the Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park, home to stunning wildlife. Notice the colorful water birds — herons, storks, ibises, and fish eagles, and look out for impala, giraffe, zebra, blue wildebeest, and buffalo. Then drive into the highlands above the Ngorongoro Crater to meet the Maasai people, whose traditional welcome dance features athletic leaps and earth-shaking stomping. Enter typical homes made of cut branches, mud, and cow dung. Wrap up with a stay at the MT Sobek Deluxe Camp in the Crater Highlands.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Deluxe Camp—Misigiyo Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 5 Journey to Ngorongoro Crater
Full day game drive by pop-top roof 4X4 vehicle & 10-minute sunset walk
The Ngorongoro Crater, almost entirely open country, presents spectacular views of wildlife within a 100-square-mile steep green wall frame. Close in on a group of zebra, buffalo, or black rhino gazing across the plains. Watch herds of white-bearded wildebeest and gazelle mingle. Find elephants, hyenas, and lion prides. Top the six-hour crater safari with brilliant birds: clusters of flamingos, the auger buzzard, bateleur, jacana, little bee-eater, and the red bishop. Head out for a sunset ridge walk for an Ol Pul (meat feast) with new Maasai friends.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Deluxe Camp—Misigiyo Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 6 Discover the Stunning Serengeti
Full day game drives in pop-top roof 4X4 vehicle
Descend from the Ngorongoro highlands onto the vast plains of the Serengeti, with their classic granite kopjes — rounded boulders shaped by wind over the eons. Deeper into the Serengeti, notice the vegetation change into riverine woodland and acacia tree valleys as you continue on to the next tented camp.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Deluxe Camp—Pembezoni Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 7 Classic Serengeti Safari
Two 4-5 hour game drives in pop-top roof 4X4 vehicle
All aboard for a day of classic game viewing! The savannah woodlands are a mosaic of habitats: small grassy plains mix with tree savannas and areas of dense bush, making for a greater diversity of animals. See buffalo, giraffe, dik-dik, reedbuck, impala, waterbuck, baboons, and vervet monkeys — all common residents, as are lion, cheetah, leopard, and hyena. Hippos and crocodiles occupy several rivers in the woodlands of the north; the Seronera River area is one of Africa's best for encounters with the elusive leopard.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Deluxe Camp—Pembezoni Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 8 Experience the Serengeti on Foot
Morning & afternoon walking safari
After breakfast, grab water bottles, binoculars, and snacks, and head out for a short Serengeti orientation stroll to learn about walking in the bush, then continue your adventure on foot. Hiking in the Serengeti isn't about covering a lot of ground; it's about really experiencing Africa up close and personal, reveling in the smaller sights, smells, and feelings that are missed from a car. Stop for lunch under a shady tree or a cool overhang, perhaps overlooking a waterhole or small plain, and continue hiking in the afternoon.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Mobile Serengeti Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 9 Walk the Serengeti’s Wild Side
Morning & afternoon walking safari
On the second day, become a true pioneer. Discover places unvisited by man for over half a century, with no roads. Look out for secret spots that animals use to survive — the natural salt lick, the pool in the steam that never dries. Find the best place to cross the river, the ridge with the best views, the meadow with the sweetest grass, and the kopje with the coolest breeze.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Mobile Serengeti Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 10 Trace Wildlife Trails in the Serengeti
Morning & afternoon walking safari
Make the most of your final day in the Serengeti. Move slowly with MT Sobek guides interpreting Serengeti's enticing sights and smells. Find a lion's paw print in the damp ground, watch a dung beetle roll a ball of dung uphill, smell a herd of elephants before you spot them in the valley below. Follow a stream in hope of seeing game come down for a drink, or climb up a kopje boulder to get better views of the striking landscape. Come evening, relax at the camp's bug-proof mess tent.
(B, L, D)
Day 11 Depart Tanzania
1.75-hour flight & 1-hour private vehicle transfer
Morning game drive in pop-top roof 4X4 vehicle
After a pleasant morning game drive and lunch, fly back to Arusha Airport, where dayrooms at the Moivaro Lodge await. Bid farewell to fellow travelers at dinner before transferring to the Kilimanjaro International Airport for homeward-bound flights. Schedule your departure flight from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) no earlier than 7pm.
(B, L, D)