Tanzania Classic Safari — 7 Days | Serengeti & Ngorongoro – Tanzania

Day 1 — Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport → Arusha

Welcome to Tanzania. Your driver meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) for the short transfer to Arusha — the bustling, multicultural city that serves as the gateway to every northern-circuit safari. At 1,400 meters (4,500 ft) elevation, Arusha sits between Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro, with cool, comfortable evenings and unbeatable views on a clear day.

You'll check into your hotel, settle in, and meet your driver-guide for a pre-safari briefing — paperwork, packing tips, and what to expect over the next six days. Dinner is included tonight. Get a good night's sleep; the wild starts in the morning.

Accommodation: Kibo Palace Hotel (or similar)
Meals: Dinner
Drive time / distance: ~1 hour / 55 km from JRO to Arusha

Today's highlights: Views of Mount Meru and (weather permitting) Mount Kilimanjaro; a soft-landing first night in Africa.

Day 2 — Arusha → Mto wa Mbu Village → Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast, you'll head west toward the Great Rift Valley. The road climbs through coffee country and out across the high savanna, and you'll start to feel Tanzania open up around you — Maasai herders moving their cattle, roadside markets stacked with mangoes and bananas, the silhouette of Mount Meru shrinking behind you.

You'll stop in Mto wa Mbu village, a remarkable community where 120 different Tanzanian tribes live and farm side by side. Your guide leads you through banana and rice plantations, into the workshops of Makonde wood carvers and Tinga Tinga painters, and finishes with a home-cooked lunch prepared by local women — banana stew, ugali, fresh vegetables.

After lunch, you enter Lake Manyara National Park for your first game drive. The park hugs the base of the Rift Valley escarpment and is famous for three things: its tree-climbing lions (an unusual behavior found in only a handful of places worldwide), the enormous flocks of pink flamingos that wade the alkaline lake shallows, and its dense groundwater forest where elephants drift between strangler figs. Watch for blue monkeys, baboons, giraffes, dik-diks, hippos, warthogs, and more than 400 species of birds.

You'll spend the night at a tented camp set on the escarpment above the lake, where sunsets light up the Rift Valley and tree hyrax call into the darkness.

Accommodation: Lake Manyara Tortilis Camp (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Drive time / distance: ~2 hours / 130 km from Arusha
What you'll see: Elephant, giraffe, hippo, buffalo, zebra, blue monkey, dik-dik, waterbuck, warthog, flamingos, tree-climbing lions (occasionally), 400+ bird species

Day 3 — Lake Manyara → Serengeti National Park

This is the day the safari opens up. After breakfast you'll head north and west, climbing past the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and then dropping onto the legendary Serengeti plains. Watch the human world fade away — fewer farms, fewer villages — until there is nothing in front of you but grass, sky, and the occasional acacia tree silhouetted on the horizon. "Serengeti" comes from the Maasai word Siringet, meaning "the place where the land runs on forever," and within ten minutes you'll understand exactly why.

You'll have a picnic lunch en route and arrive in Serengeti National Park in the early afternoon, beginning your first game drive almost immediately. The Seronera region in the central Serengeti is one of the highest-density predator zones in Africa — lions in prides of fifteen or twenty, leopards draped over sausage trees, and (in season) the great wildebeest migration crossing the plains in a column that can stretch for miles.

Tonight you'll arrive at your tented camp deep inside the park. Dinner is served under the stars, and you'll fall asleep to the sounds of lions calling and hyenas whooping in the distance.

Accommodation: Serengeti Tortilis Camp (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Drive time / distance: ~4.5 hours / 205 km from Lake Manyara
What you'll see: Acacia woodlands, savanna, buffalo, giraffe, gazelle, impala, hippo, wildebeest, warthog, lions (often), and abundant birdlife

Day 4 — Full Day Game Drives in the Serengeti

A full day in the heart of the Serengeti — and arguably the most exciting day of your trip. You'll head out at dawn (the best light for both wildlife and photography) and spend the morning combing the Seronera River corridor and surrounding plains. The animals don't follow a schedule, but on a typical day you'll see lion, elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, and a good chance of cheetah or leopard.

After a picnic lunch in the bush, the afternoon drive continues — different light, different cast of characters. Your guide will help you read tracks, identify birds, and understand the ecology of the plains. By sunset you're back at camp for hot showers, sundowners by the fire, and another bush dinner.

Optional add-on — Hot-air balloon safari ($600 per person): Pickup at 5:00 am for a 6:00 am launch. You'll drift silently over the Serengeti for 60–90 minutes as the sun rises, then land for a bush breakfast and champagne before your driver picks you up for the full day's game drive. It's expensive, but ask anyone who's done it — it's the experience they remember most.

Accommodation: Serengeti Tortilis Camp (second night)
Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
What you'll see: Lion, leopard, cheetah, wildebeest, zebra, hyena, honey badger, raptors, and (in season) river crossings of the great migration

Day 5 — Serengeti → Ngorongoro Conservation Area

You'll start with one more Serengeti game drive — a final chance to find anything you missed yesterday. Often this is when the best sightings happen: a leopard hauling its kill into a tree, a cheetah at full sprint, or a lion pride moving with cubs.

After lunch you'll begin the drive east toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, climbing out of the plains and up into the cooler highlands. You'll pass Simba Kopjes (the rocks Disney based Pride Rock on) and Naabi Hill Gate, where you can stretch your legs and climb a short trail for one last look back over the Serengeti.

Arrival at your camp is in the late afternoon, set in highland forest on the rim of the crater. The altitude here is around 2,300 m (7,500 ft) — bring a fleece for dinner.

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Tortilis Camp (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Drive time / distance: ~3.5 hours / 145 km from Serengeti
What you'll see: Cheetah, elephant, eland, Thomson's gazelle, ostrich, possibly rhino in the distance, plus a transition through three distinct ecosystems

Day 6 — Ngorongoro Crater → Tarangire National Park

An early start — you want to be on the crater floor at sunrise, when the animals are most active. After breakfast you'll descend the steep access road into the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest intact volcanic caldera. The crater walls rise 600 meters (2,000 ft) above the 260-square-kilometer floor, creating a self-contained ecosystem that supports one of the densest concentrations of wildlife on Earth.

Roughly 25,000 large animals live on the crater floor year-round, including approximately 120 lions, 15,000 wildebeest, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and one of Africa's last protected populations of black rhino (around 50 individuals). You'll cruise the Lerai Forest for elephants, the swamps for hippo, and the open grasslands for the rest. The Maasai still graze cattle on the crater rim, and you may pass them on the road in their distinctive red shukas.

You'll have a picnic lunch on the crater floor — possibly accompanied by watchful kites — and then ascend back to the rim and continue south toward Tarangire National Park, often called the "Elephant Playground" for its huge herds. You'll arrive at your tented camp in late afternoon, in time for sunset under the iconic baobab trees.

Accommodation: Tarangire Tortilis Camp (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Drive time / distance: ~3 hours / 135 km from Ngorongoro to Tarangire
What you'll see: Elephant, buffalo, lion, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, cheetah, possibly black rhino, and the dramatic crater landscape itself

Day 7 — Tarangire National Park → Departure

Your final morning is spent on a full game drive in Tarangire, one of Tanzania's most underrated parks. Tarangire is enormous — nearly 3,000 square kilometers — and during the dry season it hosts elephant herds that rival anywhere on the continent, drawn by the year-round water of the Tarangire River. The park is also famous for its baobab trees, some of which are over a thousand years old, and for specialty species you won't see in the other parks: lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx, and gerenuk.

Keep an eye out for the smaller, weirder wildlife your guide will point out — agama lizards changing color in the sun, hyrax basking on rocks (and the strange fact that their closest living relative is the elephant), and the surreal secretary bird stalking the grass for snakes.

After lunch you'll begin the drive back to Arusha and on to Kilimanjaro International Airport, arriving by 5:30 pm for evening departures.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch
Drive time / distance: ~3.5 hours / 195 km from Tarangire to JRO
What you'll see: Massive elephant herds, baobab landscapes, lion, buffalo, kudu, oryx, ostrich, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird

Important departure note: Your international flight must depart Kilimanjaro International Airport at 9:00 pm or later (domestic flights at 7:40 pm or later). Earlier flights will require a post-tour night in Arusha (see "Not Included" for nightly rates).

Additional Details

ACCOMMODATIONS

You'll spend one night in Arusha and five nights in tented camps inside or adjacent to the parks.

Arusha (Night 1): African Tulip Hotel or similar — a comfortable boutique hotel in central Arusha with a pool, restaurant, and gardens.
Lake Manyara (Night 2): Lake Manyara Tortilis Camp or similar — a small tented camp inside the national park, with views over the Rift Valley.
Central Serengeti (Nights 3 & 4): Serengeti Tortilis Camp or similar — a classic tented "glamping" camp in the heart of the park, where wildlife wanders freely between the tents.
Ngorongoro (Night 5): Ngorongoro Tortilis Camp or similar — set in highland forest a short drive from the crater rim, adjacent to a Maasai community.
Tarangire (Night 6): Tarangire Tortilis Camp or similar — tucked among four ancient baobab trees near the Gursi swamplands.

All tented camps offer en-suite bathrooms with hot showers, full-board meals, and warm Tanzanian hospitality. Wi-Fi may be limited or unavailable in remote camps — embrace the disconnect.

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS

Hot-air balloon safari over the Serengeti — $600 per person. 60–90-minute sunrise flight followed by a bush breakfast and champagne. Best booked at the time of reservation, as spaces are limited.
Mto wa Mbu village + local lunch — $75 per person. Two-hour walking tour through banana plantations, artisan workshops, and a home-cooked Tanzanian lunch.
Maasai village visit — $85 per vehicle. Visit a traditional Maasai boma near Mto wa Mbu, guided by your driver.
Zanzibar beach extension — Add 3 to 7 nights on the Indian Ocean to finish your trip with white-sand beaches, snorkeling, and Stone Town. Ask us for a custom quote.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

6 nights' accommodation (1 night Arusha on half board, 5 nights on safari, all on full board)
All meals as listed in the itinerary (6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 6 dinners)
All park entrance fees (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire)
Private 4×4 custom Toyota Land Cruiser with pop-up roof, opening windows, fridge, charging outlets, Wi-Fi, and one pair of binoculars per couple
Professional English-speaking driver-guide
One-time arrival and departure airport transfer
AMREF Flying Doctors emergency air-evacuation cover
Bottled water, soft drinks, coffee, and tea during game drives
One welcome bottle of wine
18% Tanzanian VAT

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED

International flights to and from Tanzania
Domestic flights within Tanzania
Tanzania entry visa (most travelers — apply online via the official e-visa portal in advance, ~$100 USD)
Travel and medical insurance (mandatory — we recommend InsureMyTrip or Global Rescue)
Drinks at lodges and camps (beer, wine, spirits, and bottled drinks beyond what's included)
Tips for your guide and camp staff (suggested: $25/day for your guide; $5–7/day per person for lodge staff)
Optional activities (balloon safari, village visits, etc.)
Laundry service at camps
Any extra nights or services not listed in the itinerary
Drones (not permitted in Tanzania)

Post-night accommodation in Arusha (if your flight departs earlier than required):

Single room: $143 per person / per night
Double room: $107 per person / per night
Triple room: $90 per person / per night

WHAT TO BRING

Lightweight, neutral-colored clothing (khaki, olive, beige — avoid bright white and dark blue, which attracts tsetse flies)
Long sleeves and long pants for early-morning and evening game drives
Warm fleece or light jacket for cool mornings on the Ngorongoro rim
Wide-brimmed sun hat, sunglasses, high-SPF sunscreen
Insect repellent (DEET-based)
Binoculars (one pair per couple is provided, but bring your own if you wantyour own pair)
Camera with extra batteries, memory cards, and a zoom lens (300mm+ recommended for wildlife)
Headlamp or small flashlight for camp at night
Refillable water bottle
Personal toiletries and any prescription medication
A small daypack for game drives
Anti-malarial medication (consult your doctor before traveling)
Yellow fever vaccination certificate (if arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission)

BEST TIME TO GO

The Tanzania Classic runs year-round, and every season has its own charm.

June–October (dry season — peak wildlife viewing): The best time for big-cat sightings and predator action. Animals concentrate around shrinking water sources, making them easier to spot. This is also the most popular season, so book 4–6 months ahead.

November–February (short rains and green season): The landscape turns lush and green, baby animals are everywhere, and migratory birds arrive in huge numbers. Wildlife is more dispersed but still abundant. Lower prices, smaller crowds.

March–May (long rains): The quietest season. Some camps close, and roads can be muddy in the Serengeti — but if you're a birder or a photographer who loves dramatic skies, this is your time. Lowest prices of the year.

For the wildebeest migration: The herds rotate around the Serengeti and Masai Mara on a roughly annual loop. Calving season is February in the southern Serengeti; the famous Mara River crossings happen July–September in the north. Tell us what you want to see and we'll time the trip accordingly.

WILDLIFE YOU MAY SEE

The Big Five: Lion, leopard, African elephant, Cape buffalo, black rhinoceros (Ngorongoro is your best chance).

Other large mammals: Cheetah, hippo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, eland, Thomson's gazelle, Grant's gazelle, lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx, warthog, hyena, jackal, blue monkey, baboon, vervet monkey, dik-dik, waterbuck.

Birds: Over 500 species across the four parks. Standouts include the lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird, Kori bustard, fish eagle, southern ground hornbill, ostrich, and (in Manyara and Ngorongoro) huge flocks of greater and lesser flamingos.

Smaller and stranger: Agama lizards, rock hyrax, mongoose, honey badger, serval, caracal (rare but possible).

PARKS COVERED

Lake Manyara National Park — 330 km², Rift Valley escarpment and alkaline lake; famous for tree-climbing lions and flamingos.
Serengeti National Park — 14,750 km², UNESCO World Heritage Site; the great wildebeest migration and Africa's most iconic plains.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area — 8,300 km² including the 260 km² Ngorongoro Crater; one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa.
Tarangire National Park — 2,850 km², the "Elephant Playground"; baobab country and specialty species like kudu and oryx.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long is the Tanzania Classic Safari?

The Tanzania Classic is a 7-day, 6-night safari starting and ending at Kilimanjaro International Airport. You'll spend one night in Arusha and five nights at tented camps inside or adjacent to the parks.

What parks does the Tanzania Classic Safari cover?

Four parks on Tanzania's northern circuit: Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater (within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area), and Tarangire National Park.

How much does the Tanzania Classic Safari cost?

From $2,825 USD per person, double occupancy. Final pricing depends on group size, season, and any optional add-ons such as the hot-air balloon safari. Contact us for a personalized quote.

When is the best time to go on safari in Tanzania?

The dry season from June to October is the prime time for wildlife viewing, with peak game density around water sources. November to May is the green season — lower prices, fewer crowds, lush landscapes, and excellent birding. Every month of the year offers excellent wildlife sightings.

What's the group size on this safari?

Maximum six travelers per safari vehicle. We cap group size to ensure everyone has a window seat, plenty of room for camera gear, and direct access to the guide. Private departures are also available.

Is this safari suitable for first-time travelers to Africa?

Yes — it's specifically designed for first-time safari-goers. The itinerary covers the four most famous parks in northern Tanzania in a logical order, the activity level is easy, and you're never far from comfortable accommodations and reliable infrastructure.

Will I need a visa for Tanzania?

Most travelers do. U.S., U.K., Canadian, and Australian citizens can obtain a tourist visa online through Tanzania's e-visa portal in advance (recommended) or on arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport. The visa fee is approximately $100 USD, and it must be paid in cash USD if obtained on arrival.

What vaccinations do I need?

A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required if you're arriving from or transiting through a yellow-fever-risk country. We strongly recommend you also be up to date on routine vaccinations and consult your doctor about anti-malarial medication. Hepatitis A and typhoid are commonly recommended.

Is the water safe to drink?

Don't drink tap water. Bottled water is provided in your safari vehicle throughout the trip, and lodges and camps will provide bottled or filtered drinking water.

What's the food like on safari?

Lodges and tented camps serve full-board meals — typically a buffet breakfast, a packed picnic lunch during game drives, and a three-course dinner. Cuisine is a mix of international (pasta, grilled meats, soups) and Tanzanian (ugali, sukuma wiki, samosas). Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and other dietary requirements are easily accommodated with advance notice.

Will I have internet and phone signal?

Most lodges and tented camps offer Wi-Fi, though it can be slow or unreliable in remote camps. Your safari vehicle is equipped with onboard Wi-Fi. Cell coverage is good in towns and patchy in the parks.

What if I want to extend my trip?

Popular extensions include 3–7 nights in Zanzibar for beach time, a Kilimanjaro climb (typically 6–9 days), or a chimpanzee-tracking trip to Gombe or Mahale on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Tell us what you're dreaming about and we'll build it in.

Is travel insurance required?

Yes. Travel insurance with emergency medical and evacuation coverage is mandatory for all travelers. We recommend InsureMyTrip or Global Rescue.

Can I bring a drone?

No. Drones are prohibited in Tanzania without special permits and will be confiscated at the airport.

How much should I tip my guide and camp staff?

Tipping is customary and appreciated. Suggested guidelines: $25 USD per day for your driver-guide (per couple); $5–7 USD per day per traveler for lodge and camp staff (placed in the tip box at each property).

DEPARTURES & PRICING).

Pricing varies by:

Group size (smaller groups have a higher per-person rate)
Season (peak season June–October and December–February is higher)
Single supplement (add ~$650 if traveling solo and you want a private room)

We offer scheduled fixed departures year-round and private departures on demand for any group size. Contact us for live availability and a personalized quote.

Ready to make this safari yours?

This trip books up 4–6 months ahead in peak season. Send us a quick note with your travel dates and group size, and we'll come back to you within 24 hours with availability, pricing, and any tailoring you'd like — extra nights in Arusha, a Zanzibar add-on, a Kilimanjaro climb, or a private departure.

[Request a Quote / Inquire Button]

Email: info@flashpackerconnect.com Call: +1 970-889-0567WhatsApp: +1 970-889-0567

info@flashpackerconnect.com

+1 206-892-8877

Tanzania

Tanzania Classic - 7 Days

Track the Big Five across Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Serengeti & the Ngorongoro Crater