Lodge Luxury - The Best of Tanzania and Lake Natron

Day 1: Arrival Day                                 

Transferred to your hotel where the remainder of the day is at leisure – rest in your room, relax in the manicured gardens, enjoy a refreshing,

Our ecotourism lodge is environmentally friendly and working towards a carbon-neutral future. We ensure this by restoring biodiversity within our land by planting endemic species and relying solely on renewable energy sources to generate electricity. Currently, all the facilities on our land are powered by solar power.

Overnight – Serval Wild Life, West Kilimanjaro

Day 2: Tarangire National Park (B, L, D)    

After breakfast, you will drive to the Tarangire National Park for a full-day game drive. Tarangire is one of Africa’s little-known gems and should be on the itinerary of all lovers of wilderness and solitude. Its name originates from the Tarangire River which crosses through the park and is the only source of water during the dry season.

Tarangire’s landscape is incredibly diverse with a mix that is not found anywhere else on the northern safari circuit. It is dotted with ancient baobab trees, which the Maasai people believe are the first tree in creation, and large termite mounds. The dry season sees the harsh sun suck the moisture from the landscape, baking the earth a dusty red while the wet season brings dense bush and luscious high grasses.

Famous for its large elephant population, it is also home to zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, waterbuck, baboons, dwarf mongoose, impala, buffalo, antelope, and fringe-eared oryx. Predators include lions, cheetahs, and leopards. The swamps are shared by flocks of birds; green wood hoopoes, lovebirds, tallish herons, white-bellied go-away birds, and giant kingfishers. On drier ground you will find the kori bustard and the heaviest of the flying birds; the ostrich.

In the late afternoon, you will drive to the Manyara Serena Safari Lodge where you will spend the night. The lodge is located high on an escarpment and offers breathtaking views over Lake Manyara National Park.

Overnight – Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Manyara

Day 3: Lake Natron (B,L,D)          

Today you will travel to the wild and remote Lake Natron which is situated at the base of Africa’s only active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai, and is known as the Mountain of God to the local Maasai people. The area around Lake Natron contains some of the most harsh and amazing scenery in Africa and is utterly breathtaking.
Together with your Guide, you will be accompanied by a local Maasai Guide and walk up to the Engero Sero Waterfalls. Winding up through the shady gorge you will reach a beautiful natural swimming pool surrounded by steep rock walls showered by cascading spring water where you will have the opportunity to swim.

Overnight – Lake Natron Tented Camp, Lake Natron

Day 4: Lake Natron (B,L,D)

Lake Natron is one of the most alkaline lakes in the world and home to millions of tiny crustaceans. The lake is a haven for literally thousands of flamingos and it is one of the most important flamingo breeding grounds on earth. It is the landscape rather than the animals that is the attraction here and the area around the lake is dry, desolate and hauntingly beautiful.

After breakfast you will walk out across the baked mud to the shores of the great Soda Lake. From here, you can look back at the memorising view of Oldoinyo Lengai standing tall amongst the rolling hills and flat plains. Its ash-grey colour will remind you that this is still an active volcano.
After lunch, you will travel back to Karatu.

Overnight – Ngorongoro Farm House, Karatu

Day 5: Serengeti National Park (B,L,D)

Today you will travel to the Serengeti National Park, one of Africa’s premier game parks. Driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area toward the Serengeti National Park you will begin to experience the vastness of this territory and marvel at the multitude of animal and bird life while cruising through this acacia-spotted savannah.

You will visit a Maasai Village in the Ngorongoro Highlands (optional) where you will meet the Elders, Warriors, women, and children and learn about the culture, beliefs, and traditions of Tanzania’s last nomadic tribe.

The Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Serengeti is a year-round destination and each season has its special highlight with the most famous being the annual wildebeest migration, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

You will game drive en route before arriving at the Serengeti in time for a half-day game drive.

Overnight – Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge, Serengeti National Park

Day 6: Serengeti National Park (B, L, D)

Today you will venture deeper into the world-famous Serengeti on a full-day game drive.

Overnight – Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge, Serengeti National Park

Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater (B, L, D)                

Today you will be rewarded with a full-day game drive in the stunning Ngorongoro Crater which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 and is one of the only places on earth where mankind and wild animals co-exist in harmony. The Ngorongoro Crater is famous for Africa’s best game viewing as there is an ever-present abundance of wildlife due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor.

Upon arrival at the Crater’s rim, you will descend 610 meters into the Crater where your safari truly begins. Spot the endangered black rhino as well as wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, eland, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelle and of course, giant tusked elephants. The Crater also has the largest known population of lions and you will also find leopards and cheetahs as well as scavengers such as spotted hyenas, jackals, and rare wild dogs. Over 500 species of birds have been recorded within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and these include white pelicans and flamingos.

In the late afternoon, you will return to the Manyara Serena Safari Lodge where you will spend the night.

Overnight – Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Manyara
Upgrade Your Accommodation – Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater Rim

Day 8: Lake Manyara National Park (B, L)        

Today you will visit the Lake Manyara National Park for a full-day game drive. Stretching along the base of the Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is home to giant fig trees, acacia woodlands, mahogany trees, and grassy flood plains. The contrasts of this area are simply breathtaking with its open plains, huge escarpment, Soda Lake, dense woodlands, and distant volcanic peaks coming together in an area best described by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.

Animals such as large buffalo, wildebeest, giraffes, mongoose, dik-dik, and zebra herds congregate on the grassy plains while the narrow belt of acacia woodland is home to the legendary tree-climbing lions and tusked elephants.

Lake Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s bird life with more than 400 species being recorded. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large waterbirds such as pelicans, cormorants, and storks.

In the late afternoon, you will return to Arusha for your final evening.

Overnight – Mount Meru Hotel, Arusha

Day 9: Departure Day (B)                            

Today you will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight.

Book Now