In the morning, we host a welcome breakfast to meet our guides and fellow travelers for a brief orientation of the upcoming safari. After breakfast, the tour departs. First stop is Arusha Town for any last minute purchases before we head south to begin our safari adventure in Tarangire Park. This less-visited park is a great introduction to Africa and is famous for its legendary elephant population and baobab trees. It forms the center of an annual migratory cycle that includes up to 25,000 wildebeest and 30,000 zebras. Our classic tented safari lodge for the evening sits on a bluff overlooking a bend of the Tarangire River and can yield some exceptional game viewing right from the main lodge as we sip a glass of wine and enjoy dinner. Your eco-friendly luxury tented camp for the next two nights features a private bathroom & hot shower, wi-fi, electricity, clean/safe water, and your own private deck to watch your first African sunset!

-Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

-Lodging: Lake Burunge Luxury Camp

A full day of wildlife viewing is on today’s agenda. We will start at a watering hole to witness some of the 3,000 African elephants in the park. The largest land mammal on Earth roams free here and you’ll see many! Then we will try to spot some of the park’s 700 lions… or cheetahs, caracals or the honey badger. Other animals in the park include giraffes, cape buffalo, the cheeky vervet monkey, baboon, mongoose, dik-diks, elands, gazelle and impala. Our drivers and guides know the best time to visit each corner of the park. Our late afternoon game drive is timed to take advantage of when most other park visitors have departed. The wildlife is active and the afternoon sun is particularly picturesque as it drops behind the rift valley escarpment. We return to the same tented lodge tonight for a dinner featuring many African and European specialties… and how about a campfire?

-Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

-Lodging: Lake Burunge Luxury Camp

This morning, we visit a Maasai boma (homestead) to learn about their culture. Tanzania has 120 ethno-lingual-cultural groupings (or some say “tribe”) and today, some 100,000 Maasai live and move widely in the area with their herds of cattle, sheep and goats in search of pasture and water. These pastoral nomads still follow the same lifestyle they have pursued for centuries, coexisting with wildlife and the environment peacefully. We will see their manyatta (huts) and traditional Maasai group dance. You’ll learn about their food, gender roles and way of life in the heart of the bush. The community benefits from our visit as your safari price includes a donation to support the Maasai schools, health clinic and women’s enterprise projects. 

After lunch, we went deep into Lake Manyara National Park. This wildlife reserve features acacia woodlands, water forests, cliffs, hot springs, swamps and the giant lake itself. The park supports a huge birdlife population as well as larger animals such as giraffe, zebra, hippo and buffalo. Manyara has the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world and the lions here are also renowned for their tree climbing. We are also on the lookout for flighty dik-dik, the smallest of the African ungulates. Our lodging for the evening is on the edge of a small town called Karatu, gateway to the Ngorongoro Highlands. Your private cottage has a fireplace and a coffee garden.

-Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

-Lodging: Bougainvillea Lodge

The Maasai refer to Ngorongoro Crater as the “footprint of God”. Your first glimpse into the crater from its rim is breathtaking – a wildlife sanctuary over 300 square miles in size spread out over 2,000 feet below. We will spend the day exploring the diversity and richness of this gorgeous area. Over 20,000 mammals call this crater their permanent home. We will go on safari all day to see the pride of lions, cheetahs, elephants, warthogs, hippos, hyenas, jackals, buffalo, kudu and ostrich. It’s one of the last places on the planet to spot the rare black rhinoceros in the wild (on the most critically endangered list). At the heart of this 10-mile wide grassland plain lies a soda lake that attracts vast numbers of flamingo and other water birds. We’ll exit our vehicles to have a bush picnic on the crater floor. This magical setting is teeming with wildlife and human history. Tonight, we will sleep in a 5-star safari lodge on the crater’s rim which features a private bathroom, hot shower and your own private balcony overlooking the crater.

-Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

-Lodging:  Sopa Lodge, Luxury

Serengeti National Park! Today we moved to the main attraction. Along the way, we will drive through Olduvai Gorge, the site that holds Planet Earth’s earliest evidence of the existence of human ancestors. Paleoanthropologists have found hundreds of fossilized bones and stone tools in the area dating back millions of years, leading them to conclude that humans evolved here in Africa. The acacia tree dotted landscape as we enter the Serengeti may be the most picturesque scenery in all of African reserves. This area inspired the Lion King movie and you will see Simba Kopjes… a real place before Disney showed us “Pride Rock.” It is estimated that there are close to 3,000 lions in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and we will take you to some of their most frequent haunts… or hunts! Our base for the next three nights will be luxury tented campsites in the center of the park. Your tent includes a private bathroom and hot shower. The Seronera and Orangi Rivers flow nearby, making it one of the richest wildlife habitats in Central Tanzania. 

-Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

-Lodging: Baobab Luxury Camp

We have two full days to enjoy the splendor of the Serengeti in our 4×4 safari Landcruisers. Depending upon the season and a little luck, we may have the opportunity to witness the largest migration of mammals on earth. Regardless, this park is teeming with wildlife beyond your wildest imagination! We will most certainly see hundreds of animals including lions, zebras, wildebeest, hartebeest, topi, hyena, eland, warthogs, giraffes and various predators. We will typically do a morning safari and late-afternoon safari but our guides will have the knowledge to know when and where it is best to go – our schedule will be very flexible in the park. We will return to our camp each evening to enjoy sundowner cocktails around the campfire as the star-studded Africa sky slowly takes center stage. You’ll feel like you can see the entire Milky Way galaxy!

-Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

-Lodging: Baobab Luxury Camp

We continue our exploration of Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We may see a hippo pool or a troop of baboons along our safari drive… and hopefully the elusive leopard. The timing of the great migration is impossible to predict but with any luck, we may see the infamous Mara River crossing as thousands of wildebeest try to avoid hungry crocodiles on their journey north. You’ll learn about the geology of the Serengeti ecosystem. Depending on wildlife reports, we may follow the Sogore River Circuit which loops into the plains for possible lion, gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings… or we may do the Kopjes Circuit which usually attracts a number of the Big Cats.

-Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

-Lodging: Baobab Luxury Camp

Day 10 - Hot Air Balloon Safari -  into the Northern Serengeti

Today you will have a special safari from the (Hot Air Balloon Safari) to enjoy an early-morning hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti treetops followed by a champagne breakfast. 

Following a hearty brunch, we have one last chance to see wildlife in the mid morning. And then we say goodbye to the Serengeti but instead of the long 10 hour drive by jeep, you will *fly* back to Arusha on a small chartered airplane. (flight time 45m). This will also give you a bird’s eye view of the Serengeti plains and the Ngorongoro Crater as we head back to civilization. Upon landing, we enjoyed a lunch together in Arusha. A day room is available for your use. The afternoon is then free to enjoy but most will be heading to the airport: one group transfer to the Kilimanjaro International Airport

**OR** you can choose to spend one more night in Arusha to relax. This gives you the free afternoon and following morning to enjoy if you choose to get a massage or go souvenir shopping… or perhaps relax by the pool and post your photos on social media while checking in with family. For this extra night, you pay a supplement ($260 single / $340 double) which covers the hotel room, dinner and breakfast, plus a transfer to the airport Saturday afternoon July 12th. The reason for this optional stay is that some people may find a discount on airfare if departing one day later so we will help you make the decision that is best for you when you are booking your airfare.

-Meal: Breakfast

-Lodging: Mount Meru Hotel