Grand Tour of Tanzania

Take a guided walk around the workings of the coffee plantation to see how the coffee is grown, harvested, dried, and produced into the aromatic coffee that we drink every day, culminating in that all-important coffee tasting!

Tours are an additional cost to accommodation.

The Trader's Walk is a collection of 5 boutique shops and gourmet food places within the ground of Arusha Coffee Lodge showcasing some of the best creativity and ingenuity of Tanzania.

Shanga - A workshop creating gift arts and crafts.
Watch beautiful jewellery, arts and crafts being created out of recycled materials.

Soko - The gift shop
From safari clothing to wonderful keepsakes and gifts.

Jikoni - The authentic African kitchen
An open-to-air restaurant with traditional Swahili food on offer.

The Tanzanite Experience - The jewellery store
Tanzanite Experience specialises in authentic, ethically-mined Tanzanite gemstones and jewellery. Tanzanite, a beautiful blue stone, is said to be a 1000 times rarer than diamonds.

Kahawa - The cafe
A delightful gourmet cafe selling freshly ground coffee and fresh-baked cakes either 'to go' or served on Kahawa's shaded terrace.

Take a picnic lunch and enjoy an excursion to the slopes of Mt Meru where Arusha National Park is located. The park enjoys an abundance of birdlife, and quite a variety of wildlife. The landscape within its relatively small 137km2 is impressively varied and offers some spectacular views.

A day excursion to Arusha National Park is an additional cost to accommodation.

Arusha is a bustling town with one of the fastest growing populations in Africa. Shopping and cultural experiences are on offer, including Masai Markets, the Tanzanite Museum, Museum of Natural History and Arusha Cultural Heritage Centre, plus a variety of boutique gift shops, cafes and restaurants.

City tour of Arusha is at an additional cost to accommodation.

Indulge in a pampering and relaxing treatment at Peaberries. Select from bouquet of treatments, including massages, pedicures, manicures, waxes and facials.

Spa treatments are not included in accommodation price.

A big highlight of any stay here, the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa's most iconic wildlife destinations. The beauty of Entamanu Ngorongoro is that it sits within the Conservation area and only 30 minutes drive from the descent road into the Crater. An early start is highly recommended to enjoy the Crater before the majority of visitors make it in from other camps. You will set off with your guide and a packed breakfast and return to camp in time for lunch. Or, head out in the afternoon and enjoy sundowners on the rim on your way back to camp.

Entamanu Ngorongoro offers guided walks along the rim of the Crater and in the surrounding highlands. You will head out with your guide and a member of the local Maasai community and learn all about medicinal plants, Maasai beliefs, as well as track any local wildlife that has wondered close to camp. Walks are all about soaking up the view at a slower pace and learning to appreciate the little things and they come highly recommended.

Sometimes we drop round to see our Maasai neighbours, who are living a largely traditional life in the boma in the next valley, and still grazing their cattle in the conservation area. It will be just us and them, and a warm welcome, with insights into the pastoral life, from building huts to warrior ceremonies.

Explore the Northern Serengeti with our fabulous and very experienced guides. Game drives allow you to get closer to the big game and cover greater distances so that you can explore further afield in this beautiful part of the Serengeti.

**Game drives are on a shared basis unless a private guide and vehicle have been pre-booked. Max six in a vehicle.

Walking safaris are available at Lamai in certain seasons. At times of year when the grass can be a bit higher walking is sometimes not possible so it is important to bear this in mind (typically between January - March and June).

Walking in the bush is a fantastic experience and one of our favourite safari pastimes. It gives you the chance to really learn about the intricacies of the African bush; to taste, touch, smell and feel Africa. You don't get as up close and personal to the big game, but you do meet the little guys, all equally important in the grand scheme of things.

Set out to explore Katavi with Nomad Tanzania's expert guides. Game drives typically run in the early morning from dawn until late morning, and in the afternoon from 3:30pm to sunset. Full day game drives are also available but preferably as part of a privately guided safari as most activities are on a shared basis. Private guide and vehicle available if pre-booked and there is a supplement to be paid. Night drives are also possible from Chada Katavi and must be pre-booked.

There's walking and then there's real walking; bush walking in a good pair of boots where you want to keep going on and on. Katavi makes you feel like this, it might be something to do with the endless plains around you and vast open skies. Not to mention what you might see whilst you're out there.

With your guide, and an armed scout, along for the ride, you could find yourself watching elephants from up close marveling at how, despite their size, they can move so quietly; or be meandering along the river line seeing all the different birds around the pools, and crocs and hippos who are a big feature of Katavi life. Animals who would often take flight at the sound of a vehicle, won't even know you're there and that's what makes walking out here such an incredible experience.

Walk out from camp to your flycamp where you will spend a night out under the stars. You'll sleep in a mosquito netted tent, small but with enough room for a bedroll kitted out with soft mattress, sheets and a feather pillow. Nomad don't scrimp on the dining either; you'll sit down to a three-course candlelit meal and a glass of chilled wine. But, these are only the peripheral things, the backdrop to the main event. The whole point about flycamping is being out there at night, lying on your back looking up at the night sky through the roof of your netted tent; listening to the animal sounds, so different from those you hear during the day. Under the careful guard of your guide and armed ranger you can drift off to the bush lullaby and just take it all in.

Without sounding too dramatic, it is hard to imagine your life not being changed in even the smallest of ways after something like this.

Nomad share the mountains and the lake with so many animals, but it's the chimps that inspire; it's hard not to compare their daily lives, their movements, feeding, squabbling, foraging and grooming, with our own. Time spent with them is time away from everything else that is ordinary. The Greystoke guides have watched, over the years, as families have grown, alpha males have come and gone, bonds and friendships have been created and then broken, and then created again. They are not so different from us.

After tracking them, for an hour or two, maybe more, only aware of the sounds they are making ahead of you, you find them; suddenly they are everywhere. You sit quietly on the forest floor and take a deep breath, this is what it's all about. For the next hour it's as if you scarcely breathe, so wrapped up are you in watching them go about their daily life. You become aware of the subtleties of different relationships, through gesture, sound and expression. One dictating the pace, another courting favour, yet another perhaps plotting a coup. There is humour too as the young chimps fall about the floor and play remarkably human games.

It's all acted out on this natural chimpanzee stage, and witnessing it is a true privilege.

Hike the forest paths looking for birds and butterflies, as well as the other shy mammals who quietly live there. Swim in ice-cold pools up in the mountain waterfalls, take a kayak out for a dawn paddle towards the middle of the lake; drink your morning coffee there and enjoy the sunrise coming up over the mountains.

Go for sundowners on the old wooden dhow, lazily following the shoreline and stopping to fish along the way, or just relax on the warm sands of the beach with a drink in hand.

The road network around camp was primarily developed by our knowledgeable guides and therefore perfectly placed for superlative game drives, with the blood-pumping thrills of tracking animals and the reverential calm of learning about this incredible environment. With only four seats in the majority of our 4WD open sided vehicles, privacy is easily delivered. However, our game drives are a shared experience with fellow guests, so if you would prefer to be alone, there is an opportunity to hire a private vehicle with a driver guide in advance for a daily surcharge.

Offered to guests aged 16 or over, game walks are probably the most fascinating way to truly experience the wonders of Ruaha. Out of the 4WD vehicle and being on foot is a humbling experience in this vast, untouched land. Set at a leisurely pace, the walks are not intended to find big game, instead it offers guests an education into the lives of the smaller animals as well as the birdlife, insects, flora and fauna. The walking season begins when the bush is less thick approximately late June or July and runs until the beginning of the rains in early December.

Would you like to have the definitive wilderness experience? If so you must prebook a walking safari, also known as fly-camping. During the day walk and discover the hidden depths of Ruaha while for one or twoovernight sleep under a canopy of stars after sharing stories around the camp fire and showering under the trees. This is the perfect idyllic adventure for a one or two night stay for a minimum of two to a maximum of six guests, bookable from 15th August to 15th November.

Accompanied by our expert driver guides, travel in our comfortable 4WD open sided vehicles around the Reserve. Our game drives are a shared experience with fellow guests, but Siwandu does offer a private vehicle with a driver guide which is available to book in advance for a daily surcharge.

Walking is a wonderful way to get close to nature and to learn about some of the smaller species and ecosystems in the reserve as well as the flora and fauna. The walk is slow paced, stopping under shade to hear interesting things from your knowledgeable guide. Game Walks are offered to guests aged 16 and over but we do offer Children's Walks within our camp grounds just before afternoon tea.

Explore the sinuous waterways of the Rufiji River delta, the largest in East Africa. When the rains have fallen, cruises venture into the river but for the rest of the year Siwandu guests boat on Lake Nzerakera both in sturdy metal boats with covered canopies as well as our glorious pontoon boat, that allows guests the ultimate luxury of dining or sipping a sundowner on the move, while watching animals come down to drink and enjoying the wonderful variety of bird life.