Tanzania Rewilded

A guide leading guests on a walking safari past a large baobab
 
 
 Private high-end safari · 4 days
Arusha
 
Tarangire
 
Ngorongoro Crater
 
Lake Manyara
Four days,

Three Great Parks

A 4-day high-end Tanzania safari: a coffee-estate night outside Arusha, then two nights at the same highland lodge while you explore Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara. Short drives, one unpack, and the best rooms on the route.

4days
3 nights
3
Parks
$1,220
From, per person
Plan this safari
Day by day ↓
Download PDF ↓
 ArushaDay 1
 TarangireDay 2
 KaratuDays 2–3
 NgorongoroDay 3
 ManyaraDay 4
Safari permit
TR · AD04H
Quick Wilderness High-End
 
Duration
4 days · 3 nights
Daily departures, your dates
Start / finish
Kilimanjaro Airport
Ends in Arusha on Day 4
Best months
June – October
Dry season, herds near the water
Travel style
Private · High-end
Coffee lodge & highland farm lodge
Group
1 – 6 guests
Your own 4×4 & guide, never shared
Pace
Easy · All ages
Longest drive ≈ 3 hrs

Why this4-Day High-End Tanzania Safari Works

Most short safaris move you to a new bed every night. This one doesn’t. After your first night in Arusha you stay two nights in the crater highlands, so the crater day starts from your own room and ends back in it, with nothing to pack.

The lodges are the best on this route: Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge or Hamerkop House, then Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge or Gibb’s Farm. At the highland lodge, meals and most drinks are included. You still get the full set of parks: elephants in Tarangire, a day on the crater floor and the forest and lakeshore of Manyara on the way home.

The route

Three Parks, One Base

About 500 km by road in your own vehicle. Karatu is the base for two nights, a short drive from both the crater and Lake Manyara. Tap a stop to see it on the map.

  1. 01

    Arusha

    Coffee-estate lodge for the first night

    1 night
  2. 02

    Tarangire National Park

    Baobabs and elephant herds on the river

    Day visit
  3. 03

    Karatu

    Two nights at a highland lodge near the crater gate

    2 nights
  4. 04

    Ngorongoro Crater

    A full day on the crater floor

    Day visit
  5. 05

    Lake Manyara National Park

    Forest, lakeshore and baboons, then back to Arusha

    Day visit
Road ≈ 500 kmParks 3Ends Arusha
Day by day

The Journey

✦

This is how the trip usually runs. Your guide will adjust each day around the weather, the wildlife and what you most want to see.

Kilimanjaro rising above the plains, seen on a 4-Day High-End Tanzania Safari
Kilimanjaro, seen on the road from the airport
Day01
Arusha

A Coffee-Estate First Night

Your guide meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and goes through the plan for the next four days on the drive to Arusha, about an hour away.

Tonight you stay at Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge, among the coffee bushes outside town, or at the smaller Hamerkop House. Have a swim or a long bath, eat at the lodge and get an early night.

  • Transfer≈ 1 hr by road
  • OvernightElewana Arusha Coffee Lodge or Hamerkop House
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
Baobab country
Day02
Tarangire National Park → Karatu

Baobabs and Big Herds

After breakfast you drive about three hours south, through Maasai grazing land, to Tarangire National Park. The park is known for its elephants. In the dry months the Tarangire River is the main water for miles, and families of elephants walk down to it in long lines between the baobabs.

You spend the day on game drives along the river, looking for lions, giraffes, zebras and waterbuck, with a picnic lunch in the park. In the late afternoon you drive up the Rift Valley wall to Karatu, where your lodge for the next two nights is waiting.

Field note

Parts of Tarangire have tsetse flies. Wear light, neutral colours today; dark blue and black attract them.

  • Drive≈ 3 hrs to park · 2 hrs to Karatu
  • OvernightNeptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge or Gibb’s Farm
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
A boy in a safari jeep looking through binoculars
Binoculars out for the crater floor
Day03
Ngorongoro Crater → Karatu

A Full Day on the Crater Floor

It is about 30 minutes from the lodge to the crater gate. From the rim you drive down the 600-metre wall onto the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, a sealed bowl of grassland, swamp and a shallow soda lake about 20 km across.

Lions, buffalo, spotted hyenas and big herds of wildebeest and zebra live here all year, with flamingos on Lake Magadi and a small number of black rhino. Lunch is a picnic by the hippo pool. Because you are not changing lodges, there is no rush to leave; you drive back to the same room in Karatu in the afternoon.

  • Drive≈ 30 min to the crater gate
  • ActivityCrater game drive, about 6 hrs
  • OvernightNeptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge or Gibb’s Farm
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
Forest and lake
Day04
Lake Manyara National Park → Arusha

Lake Manyara, Then Home

A 30-minute drive down the escarpment brings you to Lake Manyara National Park. The road in runs through tall groundwater forest, where troops of olive baboons and blue monkeys feed by the track, then opens onto the lakeshore, with hippos, buffalo and, in some months, pink flamingos on the water.

Manyara’s lions sometimes rest up in the acacia trees. It is not seen every day, but your guide knows where to look. After a picnic lunch you drive about three hours back to Arusha, where the tour ends.

Good to know

You reach Arusha in the late afternoon. If your flight is the same evening, tell us and we’ll time the day so you get to Kilimanjaro Airport with room to spare.

Where you sleep

Two Lodges, Three Nights

One night on a coffee estate near Arusha, then two nights at the same highland lodge so you only unpack once in the parks.

Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge
Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge

Karatu · Crater highlands · 2 nights on this trip.

1night

Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge

Arusha · Coffee estate

Plantation-house suites among the coffee bushes, 20 minutes from town, with fireplaces and deep baths. Or Hamerkop House, same standard.

PoolSpaGarden dining
2nights

Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge

Karatu · Crater highlands

Spacious cottages close to the crater gate, with a pool, a spa and views across the highland farms. Or Gibb’s Farm, same standard.

PoolSpa

Lodges are shown “or similar”. If one is full we’ll swap in a lodge of the same standard in the same area, and you’ll approve it first.

Timing & price

When to Go

All three parks can be visited all year. June to October is dry: the grass is short, Tarangire’s elephants crowd the river and animals are easy to find. January to March is green and quieter, and April to May brings the long rains and the lowest prices.

Tarangire & Ngorongoro, month by month Highlighted: high season
MonthWeatherWhat it’s likePrice season
JanuaryDryWarm & greenShort dry spell. Green hills, newborn animals and far fewer vehicles.Mid season
FebruaryDryWarm & greenBaby wildebeest and zebra in the crater, and flamingos on the lakes.Mid season
MarchDry → wetWarm, some showersAfternoon showers begin. Good light and quiet game drives.Mid season
AprilLong rainsGreen seasonHeavy afternoon rain some days. Lush scenery and the lowest prices.Low season
MayLong rainsGreen seasonThe rains ease towards the end of the month. Very few other visitors.Low season
JuneDryCool & clearThe dry season starts. Grass shortens and animals are easy to spot.High season
JulyDryCool & clearElephants gather along the Tarangire River. Chilly mornings on the crater rim.High season
AugustDryCool & clearPeak dry season. Huge elephant herds in Tarangire.High season
SeptemberDryWarm & dustyWater is scarce, so animals crowd the rivers and swamps.High season
OctoberDryWarm & dustyThe last dry weeks. Some of the best game viewing of the year.Ask us
NovemberShort rainsWarm, showersShort afternoon showers. The bush turns green again.Ask us
DecemberShort rainsWarm, showersGreen and fresh, with busy holiday weeks from the 20th.High from 20th
Price per personYour groupDry seasonHigh seasonJune 1 + August + September+ 20 December – January 10Mid seasonJanuary 11 – March 31Warm, green and quietBest valueLow seasonApril 1 – May 31Long rains, fewer vehicles
1solo guest$4,118USD per person$4,118USD per person$4,008USD per person
2guests$2,683USD per person$2,683USD per person$2,143USD per person
3guests$2,455USD per person$2,455USD per person$1,972USD per person
4–6guests$2,110USD per person$2,110USD per person$1,220USD per person
 Check dates →Check dates →Check dates →
43%

Travel as a bigger group and save. A group of 4–6 pays up to 43% less each than two, because you share the vehicle and guide.

Prices are in US dollars, per person, sharing one private vehicle and guide. High season also covers 1 – 10 January. For October to mid-December, ask us for a quote.

No surprises

What's Included

Included / 08

  • Private 4×4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roofCharging points, cool box and binoculars on board
  • Your own professional English-speaking safari guide
  • All park, crater and conservation fees on the route
  • Game drive inside the Ngorongoro Crater
  • Accommodation as listed, or similar, including camp concession fees
  • All meals as shown in the day-by-day
  • Drinking water, coffee and tea on safari
  • Airport transfers on arrival and departure

Not included / 08

  • International flights to Kilimanjaro (JRO)
  • Tanzania visaSee our visa guide
  • Travel insuranceRequired. See our insurance guide
  • Optional activities and sightseeing not on the itinerary
  • Tips for guides and lodge staff
  • Laundry, drinks not listed and personal items
  • Premium wines and spirits at the lodges
  • Local and domestic flights
Good questions

Before You Book

The route, parks, vehicle and guide are the same as our luxury and mid-range four-day trips. The difference is where you sleep and what’s included there: Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge or Hamerkop House in Arusha, then Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge or Gibb’s Farm in the highlands, with meals and most drinks included. Premium wines and spirits may be charged by the lodge.

Karatu sits between the crater and Lake Manyara, so it works as a base for both. You unpack once, start the crater day from your room and come back to it the same afternoon. It also means a slower evening after the crater, which many guests value most.

Yes. Our five-day high-end safari adds a night in the central Serengeti with lodges of the same standard. Or tell us how many days you have and we’ll build the route around them.

Maybe. Manyara’s lions do climb into the acacias, but not every day, and nobody can promise it. Your guide will check the areas where they are usually seen. The forest, the baboons and the lakeshore make the park worth the stop either way.

Add to your trip

Related Activities

Ideas that fit well with this safari. Ask us and we’ll add any of them to your plan.

Meet the people
Culture

Maasai & cultural visits

Spend time in a Maasai village or with the Hadzabe near Lake Eyasi.

Read more →
Beach

Zanzibar beach days

Finish with warm sea, white sand and Stone Town’s old streets.

Read more →
Adventure

Climb Kilimanjaro

Add a climb to the roof of Africa before or after your safari.

Read more →
Destination

Ngorongoro Crater

A day on the floor of the world’s largest intact caldera.

Read more →
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