Wildlife Safari / Safari Top Itineraries

Totally Tanzania

Totally Tanzania

Number of People       2           3             4              5
2024/2025 US         $4,430  $3,550    $3,100      $2,975
per person, double occupancy (single supplement US$150)
Listed prices are for guidance only. Since every SENE safari is custom-designed and dependent on several factors, the only exact price will be that of your final personalized quote.
11 days / 10 nights
Best months for game-viewing are the dry season months of January through March and mid-June through October. Other months offer a greener landscape and fewer safari visitors in the parks.
For those seeking a comprehensive adventure safari and cultural experience at a moderate price while staying in standard campsites.
Highlights
• Game viewing in three of the most magnificent wildlife destinations in Tanzania.
• Visit with the Hadzabe – the last hunter-gatherer people in East Africa.
• Two nights camping deep in the central Serengeti wilderness.
• Two nights camping on the Ngorongoro Crater rim.
• One night in lodge upon arrival and final night at SENE’s Mbahe Village cottages high on the flanks of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Itinerary Overview
Day 1: Arrival. African View Lodge.
Day 2: Tarangire National Park. Tarangire Public Camp.
Day 3: Tarangire National Park. Tarangire Public Camp.
Day 4: Ngorongoro Highlands and Lake Eyasi. Lake Eyasi Bush Camp.
Day 5: Lake Eyasi. Lake Eyasi Bush Camp.
Day 6: Serengeti National Park. Seronera Camp.
Day 7: Serengeti National Park. Seronera Camp.
Day 8: Serengeti National Park and Olduvai Gorge. Simba Camp.
Day 9: Ngorongoro Crater. Simba Camp.
Day 10: Mbahe Village, Kilimanjaro. Mbahe Farm Cottages.
Day 11: Mbahe Village, Kilimanjaro. Departure.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival / Arusha
Upon arrival at the Kilimanjaro International Airport you are met by your SENE safari guide and whisked away to African View Lodge, nestled between Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.
Overnight: African View Lodge.
Meals: D
Drive time to lodge: 25 minutes

Days 2 and 3: Tarangire National Park
After breakfast depart for your first destination, Tarangire National Park, a gem of a park often overlooked on the standard tour routes. Here you will see magnificent baobab trees and can observe the numerous herds of elephant that are resident in the park, as well as impala, gazelle, zebra, wildebeest, warthog, baboon, buffalo, and lion.
Unlimited game drives throughout the park.
Overnights: Tarangire Public Camp.
Meals: B,L,D
Drive time to Tarangire: 3 hours

Day 4: Ngorongoro Highlands / Lake Eyasi
Drive up the Rift Valley escarpment to the Ngorongoro Highlands for a guided two-hour hike through the forested highlands inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to a majestic 150-meter waterfall and elephant caves, so-called because the deep recesses in the valley wall are created by elephants digging the earth to ingest the mineral-rich soil. This soil also attracts buffalo, bushbuck, waterbuck, and baboons.
Continue southwest to Lake Eyasi. Walking paths carved through the lake shore forest allow visitors to experience this beautiful and unique environment on foot, where you may spot dik dik, bushbuck, vervet monkeys, and hippopotamus in the lake’s environs. The area is also known for its abundant bird life. We set our camp in the forest along Lake Eyasi.
Overnight: Lake Eyasi Bush Camp.
Meals: B,L,D
Drive time to Ngorongoro Highlands: 1.5 hours
Drive time to Lake Eyasi: 1.5 hours

Day 5: Lake Eyasi
The Lake Eyasi area is home to the Hadzabe, the last remaining hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, and the Datoga, a proud pastoralist people who in an earlier time were fierce enemies of the Maasai. Spend the morning with an experienced guide and interpreter of the Hadzabe, where you will learn about their fascinating culture and survival skills in the harsh environment and have a bush walk and small game hunt. An afternoon visit to a Datoga compound to share their lifestyle is another unforgettable experience.
Overnight: Lake Eyasi Bush Camp.
Meals: B,L,D

Days 6 and 7: Serengeti National Park
Next stop is the Serengeti, Tanzania’s largest national park. The 5,700 square mile park consists of treeless plains, savannah dotted with acacia and granite outcroppings called kopjes, riverine bush, and forest. Across its boundless expanse animals extend as far as the eye can see in a scene that exists nowhere else in the world and one that is quintessentially African. Game drive deep into the central Serengeti, where we set up our camp for two nights.
On these days, your SENE guide, a trained expert in East African wildlife and ecology, will explore with you the vast Serengeti in search of the best game-viewing opportunities, dependent on the seasonal and daily migration patterns. You may take early morning pre-dawn game drives and late afternoon game drives at dusk – the times of the day at which the animals are most active – with a rest at camp for lunch. Or take a full day game drive with a picnic lunch to explore a greater range of the Serengeti.
Overnights: Seronera Camp.
Meals: B,L,D
Drive time to Serengeti: 3 hours

Day 8: Serengeti National Park / Olduvai Gorge / Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Take a final morning game drive through the magical Serengeti.
On our return east, stop along the way to visit Olduvai Gorge, site of Louis and Mary Leakey’s archeological discoveries of early human ancestors, and enjoy a picnic lunch. Continue on to the cool and verdant rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Simba (Swahili for lion) camp sits at 7,000 feet on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater with incredible views down to the floor of the caldera.
Overnight: Simba Camp.
Meals: B,L,D
Drive time to Ngorongoro Crater rim: 3 hours

Day 9: Ngorongoro Crater
After an early breakfast, descend nearly 3,000 feet to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, where the 100 square mile extinct caldera teems with wildlife in such density and abundance that it is almost too hard to believe. Every game animal – both predator and prey – in East Africa can be found here, with the exception of giraffe and impala. The crater is the best place to spot the rare and elusive black rhino and old bull elephants who come there to “retire” and enjoy the sweet swamp grasses. Picnic lunch in the crater.
Overnight: Simba Camp.
Meals: B,L,D

Day 10: Arusha / Mbahe Village, Kilimanjaro
Today we return through Arusha Town, the bustling commercial capital of northern Tanzania. There will be time for shopping and to tour this colorful town. Arrive in the late afternoon at SENE’s private Mbahe Village Farm House cottages, at 2000m/6,000 feet nestled among the lush tropical forests near the border of Kilimanjaro National Park. The completely organic farm produces coffee (processed and roasted on-site) and contains gardens of organic vegetables, bananas, and honey, which provide most of the ingredients in the fresh home-cooked meals. While staying at the Mbahe Farm House you can take guided walks through the village or hikes on the mountain, visit the local primary school, learn about the area flora, go for a refreshing swim below the Moonjo River waterfall that sits on the property, warm up next to the living room fireplace, or just sit on your veranda with a cup of freshly brewed coffee admiring the sweeping views of the valley.
Overnight: Mbahe Farm Cottages.
Meals: B,L,D
Drive time to Mbahe Village: 5 hours

Day 11: Mbahe Village, Kilimanjaro
Day at Mbahe to relax and enjoy the physical and cultural activities available. Transfer to the Kilimanjaro International Airport in time to catch your flight home or onward to your next adventure.
Meals: B,L

Inclusions
  • Private safari for your group.
  • All activities, meals, accommodations, and transfers as indicated.
  • Services of a professional English-speaking guide trained in East African wildlife and ecology.
  • Park fees and unlimited mileage on game drives in fully-equipped 4WD safari vehicle with pop-top.
  • All camping and dining equipment.
  • Purified drinking water in vehicle.
Exclusions
Cold beverages and alcohol; activities on safari and at lodges that require additional charges; gratuities to trip leaders, guides, drivers, crew, or other staff; international airfare; airport departure taxes; additional accommodations made necessary by airline schedule changes or other factors; pre-trip expenses such as immunizations, travel insurance, passports, and visas; and any expenses of a personal nature, such as souvenirs and laundry.
Disclaimer
Accommodations listed in sample Top Itineraries or in custom draft itineraries SENE creates may not be available on requested dates, in which case we will find a suitable substitute, striving to match the standard of the original. We reserve the right to adjust the trip price if accommodations change. Trip prices are based on SENE costs, fees, and supplier prices in effect at the time of booking. SENE reserves the right to alter trip prices should inflation, cost of fuel, labor, materials, or exchange rates change. If the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) raises park fees, or any hotel, lodge, camp, airline, or any other service provider raises their rates, SENE reserves the right to require additional payment from the client.