This 5-day Tanzania safari takes you on a beautifully paced journey through three of the most iconic wildlife regions of East Africa: Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater. The trip is designed for travelers who want a rich and varied wildlife experience without rushing. The landscapes evolve dramatically from ancient baobab valleys to endless golden plains and finally into a volcanic caldera teeming with animals.
Accommodations include quality lodges and tented camps positioned inside or near the parks to maximize game-viewing time. Every day is led by a skilled Wildicon Safaris guide with deep wildlife knowledge and professional tracking experience. Expect spectacular scenery, diverse habitats, excellent wildlife encounters, and authentic safari comfort throughout.
Upon landing at Kilimanjaro International Airport, a Wildicon Safaris representative will meet you and transfer you to your accommodation in Arusha. Depending on your arrival time, you may relax at the lodge, explore the town, or enjoy a briefing about the safari ahead. Your guide will answer any questions and prepare you for the next day’s early start.
Overnight in Arusha.
After breakfast, you depart Arusha and travel to Tarangire National Park, a region famous for towering baobab trees, striking landscapes, and large gatherings of elephants. The drive into the park reveals dramatic views of rolling savannahs and woodlands cut by the Tarangire River, the main water source attracting countless species.
You spend the day exploring different regions of the park, discovering herds of elephants digging in the riverbed, lions resting in the shade, giraffes moving across the plains, and seasonal concentrations of wildebeest, zebras, elands, and gazelles. Your guide navigates through wetlands, acacia forests, and open plains to give you the best wildlife opportunities.
By late afternoon, you drive to your lodge situated near the park. Here you enjoy a warm welcome, a hearty dinner, and sunset views over the wild landscape.
Dinner and overnight near Tarangire.
After breakfast, you begin your journey toward the world-famous Serengeti. The route takes you through the highlands of Mto wa Mbu and up the slopes of the Great Rift Valley before crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You may stop at viewpoints offering sweeping panoramic scenes of ancient craters and forested escarpments.
Entering the Serengeti is a powerful moment. The landscape suddenly opens into sweeping plains that seem endless. Animals begin appearing almost immediately—zebras in long lines, scattered gazelles, and predators resting in the heat of the day.
You enjoy your first game drive in the Serengeti, moving through the central Seronera region, known for resident lion prides, active cheetahs, leopards in rocky kopjes, and a diverse array of other wildlife. Your guide chooses the best areas depending on wildlife movement and the season.
You continue to your tented camp located in a scenic part of the park, arriving in time to relax before dinner. The night is accompanied by the distant sounds of the wild — hyenas calling, lions roaring, and the wind sweeping across the plains.
Dinner and overnight in Serengeti.
Your full day in the Serengeti begins early, with the cool morning hours offering some of the best wildlife activity. Predators often hunt at sunrise, and your guide follows tracks, movement, and local knowledge to increase your chances of remarkable sightings.
The day allows you to explore multiple habitats. The Seronera River region supports year-round wildlife, with hippos, elephants, and numerous predators. Open grasslands offer encounters with cheetahs scanning the horizon, while rocky kopjes shelter lions and leopards. Depending on the season, this day may bring opportunities to witness parts of the Great Migration — thousands of wildebeest and zebras moving across the plains.
You enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch in a safe designated area inside the park before continuing your exploration in the afternoon. The golden hours of the Serengeti provide beautiful photographic light as animals prepare for the evening.
Return to your camp for dinner and an overnight stay, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the wilderness.
After breakfast and a final sunrise game drive in the Serengeti, you begin traveling east toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Along the way, the landscape gradually shifts from wide open plains to rolling highlands dotted with Maasai villages and grazing livestock.
You may stop at scenic points that offer breathtaking panoramas across the plains. Wildlife remains abundant during this transition, with chances to spot elephants, buffalos, hyenas, and antelopes as you drive toward the crater rim.
You arrive at your lodge situated near or on the rim of Ngorongoro. Temperatures are cooler here due to the high elevation, and evenings often offer atmospheric views across the forested slopes or mist drifting over the crater.
Dinner and overnight near Ngorongoro Crater.
After an early breakfast, you descend the steep walls of the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most unique wildlife ecosystems in the world. The crater floor is a thriving natural sanctuary with permanent water sources, making it home to extraordinarily dense wildlife populations.
The day includes exploration of grasslands, Lerai forest, hippo pools, and lakes tinged pink by flamingos. You may encounter lions patrolling the plains, large bull elephants with impressive tusks, herds of buffalos, playful zebras, and—if fortunate—the rare and elusive black rhino, which finds protection within the crater.
You enjoy a picnic lunch at a scenic point near a hippo pool before continuing your final game drive.
In the afternoon, you ascend the crater and drive back to Arusha, where your safari concludes with drop-off at your lodge or the airport.
