Tanzania Rewilded

A wildebeest herd gathered on a riverbank in the Serengeti
 
 
 Private luxury safari · 6 days
Tarangire
 
Serengeti
 
Ngorongoro
 
Lake Manyara
Two nights on

The Serengeti Plains

A 6-day luxury Tanzania safari on the classic northern circuit, with time to breathe. Elephants in Tarangire, two nights and a full day in the central Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater on the way back and Lake Manyara to finish, staying in luxury lodges and tented camps with drinks at meals.

6days
5 nights
4
Parks
$2,315
From, per person
Plan this safari
Day by day ↓
Download PDF ↓
 ArushaDay 1
 TarangireDay 2
 KaratuDay 2
 SerengetiDays 3–4
 CraterDay 5
 ManyaraDay 6
Safari permit
TR · TT06L
A True Taste · Luxury
 
Duration
6 days · 5 nights
Daily departures, your dates
Start / finish
Kilimanjaro Airport
Ends in Arusha on Day 6
Best months
June – October
Dry season, game near the rivers
Travel style
Private · Luxury
Hotel, highland lodge & Serengeti camp
Group
1 – 6 guests
Your own 4×4 & guide, never shared
Pace
Relaxed · All ages
One day with no lodge change

Why this6-Day Luxury Tanzania Safari Works

The difference between five and six days is one more night in the Serengeti, and it matters. Instead of arriving in the afternoon and leaving after breakfast, you get a whole day on the plains: out at dawn, back for lunch if you like, out again for the last light.

Around that day the route takes in the other three great parks of the north: Tarangire for elephants, the Ngorongoro Crater for rhino and lion, and Lake Manyara for its forest and lake birds. You sleep in luxury hotels and camps, and drinks with meals are included from Day 2 to Day 5.

The route

Six Stops, Six Days

About 950 km by road in your own vehicle, with a full day on the Serengeti plains in the middle. Tap a stop to see where it sits on the map.

  1. 01

    Arusha

    Meet your guide and rest after the flight

    1 night
  2. 02

    Tarangire National Park

    Elephants at the river and ancient baobabs

    Day visit
  3. 03

    Karatu

    Luxury lodge or coffee farm in the highlands

    1 night
  4. 04

    Central Serengeti

    Two nights near Seronera, home of the big cats

    2 nights
  5. 05

    Ngorongoro Crater

    Game drive on the caldera floor, then Karatu

    1 night · Karatu
  6. 06

    Lake Manyara National Park

    Forest, baboons and a soda lake, then Arusha

    Day visit
Road ≈ 950 kmParks 4Ends 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.

Karibu Arusha
Day01
Kilimanjaro Airport → Arusha

Meet Your Guide

Once you are through immigration at Kilimanjaro International Airport, look for your guide holding a board with your name. They will be with you for the whole trip, and on the drive to Arusha they will go over the plan and what to pack in the car each day.

Arusha is about an hour away. Your hotel is on the edge of town with Mount Meru behind it. Take the rest of the day to swim, sleep or simply sit in the garden.

Good to know

Arrival-day meals and drinks are at your own cost. From Day 2 all meals are included, and drinks with meals from Day 2 to Day 5 (premium wines and spirits may be extra).

  • Transfer≈ 1 hr by road
  • OvernightGran Meliá Arusha or Katambuga House
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
Elephant river
Day02
Arusha → Tarangire National Park → Karatu

A Day With Tarangire's Herds

You leave after breakfast and drive about three hours south, past Maasai cattle and small market towns, to Tarangire National Park. From June to October the park is at its best: the river is the last water around, and elephants gather there in the hundreds.

Your guide will also look for lions, zebras, buffalo and the lesser kudu, a shy antelope with white stripes. After a picnic lunch you keep exploring, then drive about two hours to Karatu, in the cooler hills below the crater.

  • Drive≈ 3 hrs to the park · 2 hrs to Karatu
  • OvernightThe Retreat at Ngorongoro or Kitela Lodge
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
Lions resting close together, seen on a 6-day luxury tanzania safari
Lions at rest in the afternoon
Day03
Karatu → Central Serengeti

Into the Serengeti

The day starts with a drive up through the highland forest to the crater rim viewpoint, then down the far side into open grassland grazed by Maasai herders. About four hours after leaving Karatu, with stops for game, you reach the Serengeti gate at Naabi Hill.

After a picnic lunch you drive north towards Seronera, the centre of the park. The rest of the afternoon is spent looking for big cats along the river and among the kopjes. You reach camp before dark and stay two nights.

Field note

Look out for the Gol and Simba kopjes on the way in. Lions use these granite rocks as lookouts, and cheetahs hunt on the short grass around them.

  • Drive≈ 4 hrs, with game en route
  • OvernightSiringit Serengeti Camp or Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
Big cat country
Day04
Central Serengeti

The Whole Day Is Yours

No packing today. Go out at first light with a breakfast box and stay out, or split the day into a long morning and an afternoon drive with a rest at camp in between. Your guide will plan it around what you most want to see.

The Seronera Valley is one of the best places in Africa to look for leopards, and lions and cheetahs live on the plains all around it. You may also find elephants, giraffes, hippos, topi and, in the right months, the long columns of the migration.

Honest note

We can’t promise the migration: the herds follow the rain. They are usually close to the central Serengeti in April, May and November, and further north in the dry season.

  • ActivityFull day of game drives
  • OptionalBalloon safari at sunrise, ask us for the price
  • OvernightSiringit Serengeti Camp or Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
A boy looking through binoculars from a safari jeep
Searching the crater floor
Day05
Serengeti → Ngorongoro Crater → Karatu

The Crater Floor

After breakfast you say goodbye to the plains and drive about three hours back to Ngorongoro. From the rim the road drops 600 metres to the crater floor, where around 25,000 large animals live in a space you can cross in under an hour.

Buffalo, zebras and wildebeest graze the grassland, lions and hyenas follow them, and the crater is one of the few places in Tanzania to look for black rhino. Lunch is a picnic by the hippo pool. In the afternoon you drive out and back to Karatu.

  • Drive≈ 3 hrs to the crater rim
  • ActivityCrater game drive, about 5 hrs
  • OvernightThe Retreat at Ngorongoro or Kitela Lodge
  • Meals
    BreakfastLunchDinner
Last light
Day06
Karatu → Lake Manyara → Arusha

Last Game Drive at Manyara

From Karatu it is 30 minutes down the escarpment to Lake Manyara National Park. You drive in under tall fig and mahogany trees, where baboon troops forage on the road and blue monkeys watch from above.

Beyond the forest the park opens up towards the lake. Look for elephants, buffalo and giraffes, and for water birds along the shore. Lunch is a picnic in the park, then you drive about three hours back to Arusha, where the tour ends.

Good to know

The tour ends in Arusha in the late afternoon. If your flight home is late tonight, tell us and we’ll arrange the drive to Kilimanjaro Airport.

Where you sleep

Three Lodges, Five Nights

A comfortable hotel in Arusha, a luxury lodge in the crater highlands on both sides of the Serengeti, and two nights at a tented camp in the heart of the park.

Siringit Serengeti Camp
Siringit Serengeti Camp

Central Serengeti · Seronera · 2 nights on this trip.

1night

Gran Meliá Arusha

Arusha · Foot of Mount Meru

A large, polished hotel set among coffee fields on the lower slopes of Mount Meru. It has a spa, a pool and several restaurants. Or Katambuga House, same standard.

PoolSpaMeru views
1night

The Retreat at Ngorongoro

Karatu · Crater highlands

A luxury lodge near the crater gate with large suites, highland views and a spa. It is placed for an early start into the crater. Or Kitela Lodge, same standard.

SuitesSpaHighland views
2nights

Siringit Serengeti Camp

Central Serengeti · Seronera

A tented camp in the central Serengeti, within easy reach of the Seronera Valley’s resident lions and leopards. Or Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge, same standard.

Canvas suitesBush dinners
1night

The Retreat at Ngorongoro

Karatu · Crater highlands

Your last night is back at the same highland lodge, close to the crater and to Lake Manyara. Or Kitela Lodge, same standard.

SuitesSpaHighland views

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

June to October is the classic safari season: dry, sunny and good for finding animals at water. January to March is warm and green, with the herds calving on the southern plains. April and May are wet but quiet, with the lowest prices of the year.

Where the herds are, month by month Highlighted: high season
MonthWhere the herds areWhat’s happeningPrice season
JanuarySouthNdutu plainsThe herds graze the short, rich grass of the southern plains.Mid season
FebruarySouthNdutu plainsCalving season. Thousands of calves are born every day.Mid season
MarchSouthNdutu plainsCalves grow stronger while lions and cheetahs hunt close by.Mid season
AprilSouth → CentralMoru & SeroneraThe long rains start and the columns begin to move north.Low season
MayCentralSeroneraMating season. Long lines of wildebeest head west.Low season
JuneWestGrumeti RiverFirst river crossings, with big crocodiles in the Grumeti.High season
JulyNorthKogatendeThe first Mara River crossings of the year.High season
AugustNorthMara RiverPeak season. Crossings happen almost every day.High season
SeptemberNorthMara River & LamaiHuge herds cross back and forth over the river.High season
OctoberNorthLobo & MaraThe last crossings, then the herds turn south.Ask us
NovemberCentralLobo → SeroneraThe short rains arrive and the herds stream south.Ask us
DecemberSouthNdutu plainsThe herds are back on the green southern plains.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$5,407USD per person$5,407USD per person$4,985USD per person
2guests$3,255USD per person$3,255USD per person$2,750USD per person
3guests$3,235USD per person$3,235USD per person$2,645USD per person
4–6guests$2,900USD per person$2,900USD per person$2,315USD per person
 Check dates →Check dates →Check dates →
16%

Travel as a bigger group and save. A group of 4–6 pays up to 16% 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 / 09

  • 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
  • Drinks with meals, Days 2–5Premium wines and spirits may be extra

Not included / 07

  • 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
  • Local and domestic flights
Good questions

Before You Book

The route and the days are the same. The high-end trip uses a different set of lodges, such as Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge, Gibb’s Farm and Lemala Nanyukie, and includes meals on arrival day. This luxury version uses Gran Meliá Arusha, The Retreat at Ngorongoro and Siringit Serengeti Camp, or lodges of the same standard, at a lower price.

Whatever suits you. Many people go out early and take a picnic, because that gives the best chance of seeing lions and cheetahs hunting. If you prefer, you can come back to camp at midday and go out again in the afternoon. A sunrise balloon flight is an optional extra; ask us for the price.

From Day 2 to Day 5, drinks with your meals are included at the lodges and camps, and water, tea and coffee are in the vehicle every day. Premium wines and spirits may be charged extra. On arrival day, meals and drinks are at your own cost.

Mornings and evenings can be cool, especially at Karatu and on the crater rim, which is about 2,300 m above sea level. Bring a fleece and a light jacket. Days in Tarangire, the Serengeti and Manyara are usually warm and sunny.

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.

Wildlife

The Great Migration

Where the herds are each month, and how to plan a trip around them.

Read more →
Up at dawn
Add-on

Hot-air balloon safari

An hour over the Serengeti at sunrise, with a bush breakfast after landing.

Read more →
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 →
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Time to breathe,

Room to Wander

Share your dates and group size. We’ll come back within 24 hours with availability, lodge options and a clear price.

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