Serengeti Safari - Family Holiday

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Tour Starts; Arusha

The tour starts at the Arusha hotel. You will receive full details of exactly where to meet your Group Leader on the Joining Instructions which will be sent to you 2-3 weeks before your trip starts. Set at an altitude of 1390m, Arusha is surrounded by fertile land. Arusha was once the headquarters of the East African community in the days when Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were members of a communications and customs union and remains one of Tanzania’s most attractive and lively towns. Driving time approx. 1 hour.

Iboro Safari Lodge (AAA) - 1 night - Swimming pool (D)

Lake Manyara NP

This morning you cross the Great Rift Valley, one of the most dramatic features on earth. Stretching from the Dead Sea in Jordan to Mozambique in the south, it is up to 100km wide in places and hosts an enormous diversity of wildlife. Your journey takes you through the lands of the Masai - probably the best known tribe in Africa - and on to Lake Manyara National Park. Once inside the park keep your eyes peeled in case you see its major attraction - the tree-climbing lions. There are plenty of other things to see - elephant, hippo, plain’s game as well as a huge variety of bird life, both resident and migratory. Driving time approx. 2 ½ - 3 hours.

Country Lodge (AAA) - 1 night - Swimming Pool (BLD)

Serengeti NP

This morning you make your way to the Serengeti, along with the Masai Mara in Kenya, the most famous of Africa's national parks. Established in 1951, it is well known for the annual migration that takes place across the savannah plains (migration begins in the south from December to March and arrives at Ndutu from April to June); thousands and thousands of animals are on the move as far as the eye can see, a phenomenal experience that has to be seen to be believed. En route you’ll stop at Olduvai Gorge; this famous archaeological site is where some of the oldest humanoid skeletons have been discovered - visit the small museum exhibiting many of the fossils and relics from the area. You continue towards the park gates. Even before reaching our lodgings for the night you are certain to make many sightings of large animals. Most of the next three days are spent exploring the sweeping grass plains, rocky outcrops (kopjes) and sparsely wooded river valleys of this incomparable park, where lion, cheetah, leopard, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, gazelle and perhaps even wild dog can be seen. Driving time to Serengeti approx. 4 1/2 hours, plus game drive en route to night stop.

Kongoni Mobile Tented Camp (CC+) - 2 nights (BLD)

This camp provide ensuite tented rooms with comfortable beddings, their own private bathrooms, shower, king size or twin beds, sink, and toilets. The tents are furnished with safari chairs on the patio for relaxing time outdoors. The lights and power outlets are turned on in the evening for your convenience. Nights in the heart of the bush are truly unforgettable.

Serengeti

Full day Game drive in the Serengeti National Park. Not only will you be treated to a vast array of wildlife in its natural habitat, but sweeping panoramas of the African savannah, dotted with lush rocky outcrops (known as kopjes). You will stop for a picnic lunch in the Park and continue with an afternoon game drive. Stay over night in a comfortable Mobile tented camp within the Serengeti Central area.

Serengeti NP

The Ikoma Wildlife Area is home to many animals and, being allocated in the heart of the national park, you will get a stunning view on the prolific land. You will explore this area today on a safari vehicle through the national park.
Lobo Wildlife Lodge (AAAA) - 1 night - Swimming Pool (BLD)

Located in the North of Serengeti National Park where wildlife abunds, the lodge is strategically built into an enormous volcanic rocky outcrop and it's elevated position means that the migration can be viewed from the comfort of a sun lounger. You can watch and witness the migration even from the pool.

Ngorongoro Crater

After a morning game drive you’ll depart for the onbroken volcanic caldera that forms theNgorongoro Crater (an early morning alternative would be to take an optional hot air balloon flight - ideal to appreciate the immense plains and hopefully spot herds of grazing antelope or wildebeest), spotting game en route as you leave the plains of Serengeti behind you. There may also be time for an optional stop at a local Masai village to witness something of their traditional way of life. You will arrive around mid-afternoon and spend the night on the rim of the crater, from where vantage points offer magnificent views over and down into the caldera. Nights here can be particularly cold.

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge (AAA) - 1 night - Swimming Pool (BLD)

Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most picturesque settings for observing wildlife and with about 30,000 resident animals, there is excellent game viewing here all year round. The photographic opportunities are unrivalled! You descend into the crater in 4WD vehicles, accompanied by a local driver/guide(s). Encounters with animals are frequent in this Garden of Eden and there is a wide variety of animal life to be seen, from African fish eagle to zebra and everything in between. Lake Magadi, the soda lake at the floor of the crater, is home to thousands of flamingos and nearby there is a pool where splashing hippo laze in the sunshine, watched by a profusion of water birds. This is also one of the best places to see the endangered black rhino. Leaving the crater you follow the road climbing steadily up its precipitous inner edge.

Bougainvillia Lodge (AAA) - 1 night - Swimming Pool (BLD)

Arusha; Tour ends

Today you cross the open plains and retrace your steps to Arusha. The trip ends here. Driving time to Arusha approx. 2 ½ hours, Arusha – Airport approx. 1 hour (B)

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Key: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner