6-Day Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Arusha → Lake Manyara National Park → Serengeti National Park → Ngorongoro Conservation Area → Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha

1. Day 1

   Arusha to Lake Manyara

   You leave Arusha after breakfast and head for Lake Manyara, driving west from Arusha past Maasai settlements and the escarpment wall. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into groundwater forest, open floodplain and an alkaline lake beneath the Rift Valley escarpment. This is good country in which to look for elephant, baboon troops, hippo, giraffe and large numbers of waterbirds including flamingo. Manyara is known for its groundwater forest fed by springs at the base of the escarpment, and for lions that are sometimes seen resting in trees. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. The evening is spent at your Lake Manyara accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

2. Day 2

   Lake Manyara Area to Serengeti

   The morning starts in Lake Manyara Area, from where you continue overland to Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. Once you reach Serengeti there is time to check in before heading out among vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. Your guide works the area for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, with sightings varying by season and conditions. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. Dinner is served at your Serengeti camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

3. Day 3

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   You have a complete day in Serengeti, starting early while the air is still cool and animals are active. Your route takes in vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, with your guide reading recent movement to decide where to spend time. Keep watch for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra as you move between the different habitats. The scale of the plains rewards a full day, with time to work several areas rather than rushing between them. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Serengeti.

4. Day 4

   Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Ngorongoro Crater

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Ngorongoro Crater, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. Once you reach Ngorongoro Crater there is time to check in before heading out among a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. There is the possibility of seeing lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen, depending on movement and conditions on the day. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Ngorongoro Crater.

5. Day 5

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Serengeti to Ngorongoro, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. There is the possibility of seeing lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen, depending on movement and conditions on the day. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Ngorongoro.

6. Day 6

   Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

   You leave Ngorongoro Crater after breakfast and head for Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. The day ends with a drop-off in Nairobi at your hotel or the airport.