Northern Circuit Classic Safari

Day 1 — Day 1-Airport Pick Up

Upon your arrival at Arusha Airport, you’ll be transferred to your accommodation in Arusha. Optionally, you can explore the city with a tour that includes visits to the Cultural Heritage art gallery, local market, and Maasai Market, experiencing Arusha’s cultural highlights before settling in at your accommodation. Overnight at Kibo Palace Hotel • Mid-range hotel located in Arusha (City). Your safari begins the moment you walk out of Kilimanjaro International Airport. An Afrikan Culture Adventures guide is waiting with your name on a board and the words every traveller wants to hear " Karibu Tanzania " (Welcome To Tanzania.) We'll transfer you to your lodge in the Arusha foothills, where you can shower, change into safari clothes and settle in. Your driver-guide joins you for a relaxed welcome dinner, walks through tomorrow's plan in detail and answers every last question. An early night sets you up for the days ahead.

• Meet & greet at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) & Private Transfer To Lodgings
• Trip briefing with your driver-guide over dinner
• Time to rest, swap currency and adjust to the time zone

Meals: L, D · Overnight Kibo Palace Hotel

Day 2 — Day 2- Tarangire National Park

Your safari adventure kicks off today! After breakfast, we’ll collect you from your lodge at 7:45 am. You’ll embark on a scenic 2-hour drive to Tarangire National Park, famous for its abundant elephant herds and ancient baobab trees. You’ll traverse the park in an open-roof vehicle, taking in the seasonal swamps, vast savanna & rich wildlife in Tarangire River. You will look out for diverse bird species, graceful giraffes, elegant impalas, zebras, lions, leopards, elands, warthogs, and majestic elephants. A delightful picnic lunch at a picturesque site with stunning views awaits, followed by more game viewing. In the evening, you’ll retreat to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight stay. Overnight at Moonbow Lodge • Boutique lodge in Karatu. Tarangire is the elephant capital of Northern Tanzania. In the dry season the Tarangire River is the only water body for miles, and herds of up to 250 elephants come down to drink, calves tumbling between their mothers' legs. You spend the day on a private game drive through baobab-studded floodplains: lions resting in the shade, giraffe browsing acacia tops, fringe-eared oryx and the strange dwarf mongoose colonies.

• Picnic lunch overlooking the Tarangire River
• Photograph the giant baobabs and elephant herds
• Sundowner back at camp with the sounds of the bush

Meals: B, L, D · Overnight Moonbow Boutique Lodge

Day 3 — Day 3- Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast, you’ll set off for Lake Manyara National Park, a diverse yet relatively compact reserve located 120km west of Arusha. The park is characterized by its namesake shallow salt lake, which fluctuates in size with the seasons and serves as a habitat for over 500 bird species. Expect to encounter a variety of wildlife including monkeys, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, buffalos, elephants and if luck is on your side, lions lounging in the trees. Renowned for its varied landscapes, encompassing not only open grassy plains but also woodlands teeming with primates and cliffs adorned with baobab trees. After a full day of game drive, you’ll return to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight stay. Overnight at Moonbow Lodge • Boutique lodge in Karatu. It is a small park with an outsized reputation: a Rift Valley wall on one side, a shallow soda lake on the other and a strip of groundwater forest crammed between them. Tree-climbing lions, large baboon troops and clouds of flamingos. You travel along the Rift escarpment overlooking the lake, then drop into the the forest for a half- or full-day game drive. Birders bring binoculars: more than 400 species have recorded here.

• Game drive through the groundwater forest
• Birding along the lake shore
• Lookout stop on the Rift Valley escarpment

Meals: B, L, D · Overnight Moonbow Boutique Lodge

Day 4 — Day 4- Central Serengeti (Seronera)

The route ahead may be long and occasionally bumpy, but it offers approximately 4 to 5 hours of captivating wildlife viewing as you ascend the crater highlands towards the expansive plains of Serengeti. Weather permitting, a 10-minute stop will be made at Ngorongoro Viewpoint to catch a glimpse of the breathtaking caldera before continuing the drive to Serengeti. You’ll enjoy a delightful picnic lunch along the way, providing an opportunity to refuel and soak in the surrounding scenery. Upon arrival at the park, an afternoon game drive will be arranged for you to fully immerse yourself in the abundant wildlife. As the sun sets, you’ll make your way to your accommodation, where a delicious dinner awaits, followed by a restful overnight stay in the tranquil Serengeti. Overnight at Imara Escapes Luxury Camp • The Seronera valley is the heart of the Serengeti and a year-round game-viewing area. Permanent water, rocky kopjes and short-grass plains create the highest density of big cats in Africa: roughly 1 lion per 10 km², and the best leopard sightings on the circuit. Mornings start before sunrise to catch the cats while they are still active.

• Dawn departure for prime cat activity
• Picnic lunch on a Seronera kopje
• Search the fig trees for leopards

Meals: B, L, D · Overnight Imara Escapes Luxury Camps

Day 5 — Day 5- Full-Day Game Drive Serengeti National Park

You will experience a full day of adventure in Serengeti National Park. From sunrise to sunset, you will embark on an exhilarating game drive, seeking out the magnificent Big Five and discovering a diverse array of over 500 bird species. As the day draws to a close, you’ll return to your accommodation at sunset for a delicious dinner and a restful overnight stay. For an added cost, you have the option to elevate your experience with a hot air balloon safari or a walking safari. Overnight at Imara Escapes Luxury Camp. The Seronera valley is the heart of the Serengeti and a year-round game-viewing area. Permanent water, rocky kopjes and short-grass plains create the highest density of big cats in Africa: roughly 1 lion per 10 km², and the best leopard sightings on the circuit. Mornings start before sunrise to catch the cats while they are still active; midday is a slow picnic in the shade of an acacia. In the afternoon we work the riverine fig trees for leopards and the kopjes for resting prides. Distances are long but every stop is worth it.

• Dawn departure for prime cat activity
• Picnic lunch on a Seronera kopje
• Search the fig trees for leopards

Meals: B, L, D · Overnight Imara Escapes Luxury Camp

Day 6 — Day 6- Ngorongoro Crater

You’ll embark on a scenic drive to Ngorongoro Crater, enjoying approximately 3 hours of wildlife viewing en route. This remarkable location is teeming with a diverse array of wildlife native to East Africa, including the elusive black rhino, which you may be fortunate enough to encounter. With an expansive area spanning 260 square kilometers and a diameter of approximately 20 km, you’ll need around 5 to 6 hours to thoroughly explore its wonders. Afterward, you’ll head to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight stay. Overnight at Ngorongoro Marera Mountain View Lodge • Luxury lodge located 1-2hr drive from Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro Crater is a 260 km² collapsed caldera with 600 m walls, and the highest density of large mammals on Earth. Inside the crater floor live around 25,000 large animals, including the densest population of black-maned lions and one of the last strongholds of the eastern black rhino. We descend at first light when the floor is still in shadow and the cats are working. A picnic breakfast on the rim, a full morning circuit past the soda lake's flamingos & Lerai Forest's elephants, then a climb back up the escarpment in time for a late lunch.

• Search for the Big Five including black rhino
• Picnic breakfast on the crater floor
• Lerai Forest elephants and Munge soda flats

Meals: B, L, D · Overnight Ngorongoro Marera Mountain View Lodge

Day 7 — Day 7-Arusha (Airport Drop Off)

You will enjoy a delightful breakfast while reflecting on your adventures over the past few days. You will check out from your lodge around 11:00 am. You will be dropped off at your Arusha hotel or directly at Arusha Airport. Arusha sits at 1,400 m at the foot of Mount Meru, a green coffee town and the gateway to the Northern Circuit. Today is for resting, sorting kit and meeting your guide properly. If you arrive early there is time to walk the coffee plantations, browse the Maasai market or visit a local Tinga Tinga art studio. Otherwise simply enjoy the gardens, the pool and a quiet first dinner under the African sky.

• Coffee farm walk and tasting (optional)
• Maasai market or Cultural Heritage Centre
• Trip briefing and kit check with your guide

Meals: B, L, D