This 4-day mid-range safari allows you to experience some of the highlights of the Northern Safari Circuit. You will have the chance to experience breathtaking wildlife in the midst of some of the most diverse landscapes; monkeys in the forest, lions in trees, elephants traveling through the bush, and a huge variety of animals inside a collapsed volcano.
Day 1 Arrival in Arusha
You will be picked up from the airport by a Saiku Adventures representative and driven to your accommodation in Arusha. Depending on your arrival time, you will hopefully have time to relax and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime.
Busy Arusha is an essential part of safari life here in northern Tanzania and most travellers pass through at some stage.
Accommodation
Mid-range: Arusha Planet Lodge
Meals & Drinks: at own expense
Day: 2 Tarangire National Park
Your Saiku Adventuress Safari guide will collect you from your accommodation after breakfast. You will then drive to Tarangire National Park. This transit drive is approximately two and a half hours on good tarmac roads. The Park is named after the Tarangire River which runs through it. This ‘river of warthogs’ is the only source of water for wildlife in the region during the dry season. The Park is well known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffes, bushbuck, and hartebeest. These animals are closely followed by a range of predators, including lions and leopards. There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire than anywhere else on the planet! The huge and ancient Baobab trees can be seen here. Some of them are said to have lived for more than a thousand years.
Lunch will be at a picnic site inside the Park. After your game drive, you will transit to your accommodation in Karatu.
Accommodation
Mid-range: Eileen’s Tree Inn
Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included
Day 2 Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast, you will drive up into the cooler regions of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. Concealed by the steep volcanic walls is a pristine wilderness including sweeping savannah, pockets of acacia woodland, and glistening lakes and swamps. The Crater was created when a large volcano
exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago and it covers an area of 260 km². The Crater is famous for both its geological delights and for being a natural reserve that is home to some of the densest large mammal populations in the whole of the African continent. After you descend into the Crater, you quickly find yourself amongst large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, and more than 500 bird species. The Crater provides you with the best chance of seeing the endangered black rhino.
Lunch will be at a picnic site on the Crater Floor. After your game drive, you will return to your accommodation in Karatu.
Accommodation
Mid-range: Eileen’s Tree Inn
Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included
Day 4 Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha
After breakfast, you will drive to Lake Manyara National Park, a small but diverse park 120km west of Arusha. Everything you’ll see here is on a different scale. It is both compact (this is one of the narrowest parks in Africa) and epic (the Great Rift Escarpment towers over Lake Manyara’s western boundary). The park’s namesake is a shallow, salt lake. It covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons and is home to thousands of wading birds (including flamingos and over 500 other bird species. You may see baboon and elephant in the park’s thick evergreen forest, and watch for the tree-climbing lions that have become famous throughout Africa.
Picnic lunch in the park. After your game drive, you will say farewell to your Guide and will be dropped off at a place of your choosing e.g. Arusha, Kilimanjaro Airport or Arusha Airport. We hope you have enjoyed your adventure with Saiku Adventuress!
No accommodation (End of tour)
Meals & Drink: Breakfast & Lunch, Drinks not included
Included
- Park fees(For non-residents)
- All activities(Unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodation(Unless listed as upgrade)
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation(Unless labeled as optional)
- All Taxes/VAT
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Meals(As specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinks(As specified in the day-by-day section)
Excluded
- International flights(From/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips(Tipping guideline US$15.00 pp per day)
- Personal items(Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
Optional Safari Activities:
- Balloon Safari (USD 500 per person)
- Maasai Village Visit (U$DD 50 per vehicle)
- Night Game Drive Tarangire or Lake Manyara (USD 120 per person)
- Ngorongoro Crater Rim Walk (U$D30 per person)
- Visit to the Olduvai Gorge and museum (U$D 40 per person)