9 Day Tanzania Adventure Big Cats Safari 9 days

Day 1 Arrival in Arusha

Arrive anytime at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). We will arrange a private transfer from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arusha's Coffee Lodge. Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania, proceed to get your tourist visa. After clearing customs and immigration, our representative will meet you and assist you with transfer to the hotel.

Dinner and overnight at Arusha Coffee Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast, and Lunch.

Day 2 Arusha - Lake Manyara National Park

Morning at leisure and safari briefing followed by lunch. In the afternoon you will depart Arusha passing through the Masai Steppe filled with many picturesque African villages as well as maize, coffee, and banana plantations. At the town of Makuyuni, you turn North West and continue the journey up through a scenic escarpment that brings you to your lodge, perched on the edge of the Rift Valley with stunning views over the distant Lake Manyara. Arrive at your Lodge by late afternoon check-in at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. This highly unusual lodge is built in traditional African style, perched on the very edge of the cliffs, with stunning views over the lake you find the pool bar and observation point. Dotted around the grounds, all with views of the lake, are a series of circular two-story ‘rondavels’, which house the rooms.

Dinner and overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch.

Day 3 Lake Manyara National Park - Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, there is a Game Drive in Lake Manyara National Park that returns to the lodge for lunch. Lake Manyara is a marvelous sight, once described by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest lake I had seen in Africa”. While the lake is mostly known for its tree-climbing lions and baboons, but it is also home to herbivores such as hippos, impalas, elephants, wildebeests, buffalo, warthogs, and giraffes. After lunch you leave Lake Manyara behind, the journey continues North West across the stunning hilly countryside of the Highlands, enjoy views of wheat and coffee plantations, and then into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. From here lie the vast plains of the Serengeti, where you’ll start spotting game well before you get into the park. Arrive at your Lodge, Serengeti Sopa Lodge; the lodge is set in the Nyarboro Hills, in the South West overlooking the Serengeti Plains. The rooms have en-suite bathrooms, hairdryers, and a veranda facing the plains, ideal for relaxing and watching the games.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch.

Day 4 Serengeti National Park

Today enjoy early morning and afternoon game drives in Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti is one of the oldest and most beautiful ecosystems in Africa and is one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in the world. The park boasts more than two million wildebeest, half a million Thomson’s gazelle, and a quarter of a million zebra. Animals that you can also watch out for being - lions, leopards, elephants, rhino, hippo, giraffes, baboons and wild dogs.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch.

Day 5 Serengeti National Park - Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast you depart for Ngorongoro viewing game across the vast Serengeti plains, stopping off en route for a picnic lunch. You then continue your journey towards Ngorongoro where you visit a Masai Village before you continue to your lodge, arriving by late afternoon. The Ngorongoro Crater is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is often cited as one of the eight wonders of the world. Your lodge sets high on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, its position on the Eastern rim allows the most spectacular and uninterrupted views of the sunset.

Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch.

Day 6 Ngorongoro Crater

A highlight awaits you this morning as you depart to explore what is commonly referred to as the World’s largest wildlife zoo. After breakfast, you descend with a picnic lunch through the early morning mists and 2,000 feet into the crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the World’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes, and springs, to open grassland and some sand dunes. It’s an awesome wildlife experience. Lunch is served near a small lake filled with hippos. In the late afternoon, we make a short journey from Ngorongoro Crater to our special lodge.

Dinner and Overnight at Ngorongoro Farm House Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch.

Day 7 Ngorongoro Farm House - Tarangire National Park

Departing Ngorongoro after breakfast, head southeast past Lake Manyara and Mto Wa Mbu village. Through the highlands and the Karatu district, you’ll view the scenic wheat plains and coffee plantations here before journeying down the spectacular escarpment where you turn south onto the main Arusha - Dodoma road and into the park. From here to the lodge, you’ll enjoy a game drive en-route. Surrounded by ancient baobab trees, the lodge has seventy-five spacious rooms with mosquito nets, ceiling fans, and a balcony, with a great view of the landscape beyond, where wildlife can sometimes be spotted. After lunch and perhaps a swim, enjoy an afternoon game drive, Tarangire is the home of the greatest concentration of elephants in Africa and other game including the elusive leopard. Over 400 bird species can be spotted here as well. With water constantly available in the area, the greenery is lush providing a wonderful contrast to the burnt ground.

Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Safari Lodge: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch.

Day 8 Tarangire National Park - Marangu

After breakfast at the lodge, followed by en-route game drive we will stop in Arusha for hot lunch, shopping, and proceed with a short journey to Marangu Kilimanjaro.

Dinner and overnight at Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort: Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch.

Day 9 Marangu Village

Today we have an opportunity to see one of the highest mountains in Africa Mount Kilimanjaro, our activities include waterfalls, Kilimanjaro viewpoint, and coffee plantations, Changa Museum, Underground Tunnel, Changa Traditional, Chaga Local Food, and Banana Beer Experience with the unique view of Mount Kilimanjaro. After the walking tour, we will return to the hotel for a hot lunch and prepare for the departure. End of our safari service.

Note: You need a yellow fever vaccination certificate when entering Tanzania. Your passport has to be valid for six months past your return date, and most have empty pages.