Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO), you will complete the immigration process and collect your bags. Upon exiting, our transfer guide will be waiting holding a placard with your names on it. A warm welcome to Tanzania and we make way to the choice of your Hotel. If you are lucky, enroute you will get to see the stunning snowcapped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Approx. Travel Time (Kilimanjaro Airport to Moshi) - 1 hours
Approx. Travel Distance (Kilimanjaro Airport to Moshi) - 40kms
Note: The hotel cost only includes breakfast. Check-in starts at 2:00 PM.
In the morning after breakfast (around 8:00 AM), your safari guide will arrive at the hotel and inform the receptionist that he is waiting for you. After meeting up with your driver you will have a short introduction and travel to Tarangire National Park, and by 11:00 AM you will already be on your first safari!
In this park you have the chance to see lots of wild Tanzanian animals (lions, buffalos, giraffes, zebras, etc.), but above all else it is famous for its astonishing number of elephants, who typically tend to stay close to their drinking source, the Tarangire River.
You should be aware that this is wild nature, so the guide cannot make any guarantees on the presence of specific wild animals, but you can be sure he will do his best to find everything you're looking for! There is a radio channel that the drivers use to communicate to other guides and collaborate on searches for rare species.
At lunch time you will be enjoy you first meal in the bush, after which the afternoon safari game drives will continue. In the evening you will be transferred to the hotel to relax and savour your first day on Safari.
Recommended Tours this day (US$200 per person): Tarangire Night Game Drive
Approx. Travel Time (Moshi to Tarangire) - 3 hours
Approx. Travel Distance (Moshi to Tarangire) - 260kms
Additional notes:
This is your first day on safari, so we ask that you please pay special attention to the national parks visitor rules and our company recommendations.
- During the safari it is strictly prohibited to exit the vehicle, except for in specially designated areas. Violations of this rule may be accompanied by large fines for the company, including the revocation of its license.
- Off road driving is also prohibited, as such behavior may cause irreparable damage to the fragile balance of the natural ecosystem.
A list of the rules will be available in your vehicle, please ask your guide for further clarification.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Tarangire Night Game Drive
Your safari will begin by 8AM in the morning with an enroute game drive as you exit Tarangire and head towards the Ndutu region. The drive to Ndutu is about 4.5 hours covering a distance of 170 Kms. About 2.5 hours after leaving Tarangire, you will enter the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Ngorongoro) where you will notice the landscape changing from hilly forests to plain and green grasslands. Once you reach Ndutu you will begin a half day game drive with a convenient stop for your picnic lunch. Sweeping grasslands cover the region which gradually fade into the Serengeti. Ndutu forms a part of the route for the annual migration of more than 2 million wildebeests and thousands of zebra, antelope and gazelle through the Serengeti eco system. During game drives between December and April, you will be able to see the great migration in this region. Between Mid Jan and Feb, calving happens here and it attracts hordes of predators prying on vulnerable young wildebeest. Crested with Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek, these waterholes offer plenty of wildlife game during the dry season. The Ndutu is also the home ground for 6 species of big cats – leopard, lion, cheetah, caracal, serval and wildcat. The action-packed game drive will end late in the evening by around 6PM. You will now head towards your choice of accommodation, where a freshly prepared dinner awaits you. Ensure you get some good rest and recharge yourself for another eventful day.
Today you get another chance to view the beautiful wildlife spectacle at Ndutu. You can either have a relaxed breakfast and depart with packed lunch boxes for a full day game drive around 8:00 AM and return to the lodge late afternoon around 5:30 PM. Or you can depart after breakfast at 6:20 AM on an early morning game drive. Later return to accommodation around 10:30 AM to relax for a bit and after a hot lunch at the accommodation, depart at 3:00 PM for afternoon game drives and return by 6:00 PM. Ensure you get some good rest and recharge yourself for another eventful day.
After a good nights's rest, enjoy a great breakfast to fuel you and get you ready for another day. We will depart by around 8:30 AM enjoying an enroute game drive as we exit Ndutu and head towards Serengeti National Park. As we reach the gate of the Serengeti National Park, we will check into park and enjoy lunch before we head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti's species. We do an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park till around 6:00 PM. The eventful day comes to an end with dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Approx. Travel Time (Ndutu to Serengeti) - 2 hours
Approx. Travel Distance (Tarangire to Serengeti) - 80kms
We depart around 8:00 AM after breakfast, with packed lunch boxes for full day game drives that last for about 8-9 hours in Central Serengeti. We return to camp around 5:30 PM. Your guide will choose the best wildlife viewing locations for the time of year. Spend time at the hippo pool, watching these enormous animals laze about in the cool water alongside the crocodiles, watch a lion stalking its prey or be staggered by the scale of the great wildebeest migration. Journey from wide, open plains to the kopjes, volcanic rocky outcrops that provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals. This diverse and interesting landscape will provide you with the ultimate in game viewing. The long day comes to an end with a good dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Alternatively, you have the option to split the day into two and head out for a morning game drive and head back to your lodge for lunch before heading back out again for an afternoon game drive.
Recommended tours this day: Balloon Safari in the morning ($540 per person) or Walking safari for 3-4 hours ($45 per person sharing or $60 for solo client) in Central Serengeti.
After breakfast, around 8am you will have another morning game drive in Serengeti National Park before making your way to Ngorongoro Conservation Area with picnic lunch. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest collapsed volcanic crater in the world and fourteen kilometers of isolated natural beauty. Ngorongoro Crater is surrounded by a ring of extinct volcanoes and the floor, dotted with watering holes, shelters some 30,000 animals. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.
Recommended tours this day: Maasai Village tour ($25 per person) or Olduvai gorge museum visit ($25 per person) in Ngorongoro on the way from Serengeti.
Approx. Travel Time (Serengeti to Ngorongoro) - 3-4 hours
Approx. Travel Distance (Serengeti to Ngorongoro) - 180 kms
This morning you will have an early start. Finishing up with a quick breakfast you will make an early descent at around 6:30 AM into the crater floor. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. It has a massive floor of about 260 sq kms with a depth of over 2000 feet. The 5-hour game drive on the crater floor will show you a lot of animal action. Keeping the camera ready is definitely recommended. The African elephant, buffalo, Black rhino, Hippos, Hyenas, Cheetahs and Lions are found in plenty. Post the picnic lunch at the beautiful Hippo pool, you will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater. Afterwards you will make way back to the crater rim for overnight to relax from an eventful day.
This morning after a relaxed morning and breakfast around 9.30am you will depart for Lake Manyara National Park with a picnic lunch for a full day game drive. As you enter the national park, lush forests of Acacia and Mahogany trees begin to set the mood for what is waiting ahead. The game drive will go on till you stop for picnic lunch. During the game drive watch out for buffaloes, giraffes, impalas, baboons and the blue monkeys. Another spectacle of Lake Manyara National park is the tree climbing lions, however spotting them is a game of luck. In the right season, you can see the shoreline turning pink with millions of flamingos flocking there. Post the game drive and lunch, you will head back to your hotel in Moshi as you bid farewell to the Northern Parks of Tanzania which will have left footprints in your heart for a lifetime.
Recommended Tours this Day: Canoeing Safari in Lake Manyara (US$55 per person)
Approx. Travel Time (Lake Manyara to Moshi) - 4 hours
Approx. Travel Distance (Ngorongoro to Lake Manyara) - 270 kms
After breakfast, around 8:00 AM we start the 1.5 hour drive to Materuni which is located under the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival, you will do a 35 minutes hike to the waterfalls. If weather is clear, we might get decent views of Mt Kilimanjaro this day. Make sure to wear good boots as the trail can be often muddy. The pool at the bottom of the waterfall is a good place for a refreshing swim after the hike. 25-minute hike back from the waterfalls afterward you will join a local tribe with whom you will a enjoy delicious Swahili/Chagga lunch. After lunch, you will explore the coffee-making process and get to processes your own cup of coffee. Later you will be driven to the airport. With an incredible experience and loads of memories to cherish, our tour comes to an end we bid farewell knowing you will be taking home a lifetime of memories and will always be a part of the African Scenic Family.
The above activity is dependent on your flight timings.
Approx. Travel Time (Usa River to Kilimanjaro Airport) - 1 hours
Approx. Travel Distance (Usa River to Kilimanjaro Airport) - 40kms
