7 Days Tanzania Safari to Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara

Day 1 — Moshi / Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Depart Moshi or Arusha early in the morning and drive southwest toward Tarangire National Park for a full day of game driving. Arrive at the park gate mid-morning and spend the day exploring the iconic Tarangire River corridor, ancient baobab forests, open grasslands, and seasonal swamps that define one of Tanzania's most visually dramatic safari landscapes.

Tarangire is Tanzania's elephant capital, with herds numbering in the hundreds regularly encountered along the river throughout the dry season. Lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, and more than 550 recorded bird species round out an outstanding first day in the wild. A hot bush lunch is served in the park before continuing the afternoon game drive as the golden Tanzanian light settles across the baobab plains.

At the close of the day, exit Tarangire and drive to your overnight accommodation in Karatu.

Accommodation: Lodge or Camping in Karatu Meals: Lunch and Dinner

Day 2 — Karatu to Serengeti National Park

After an early breakfast, depart Karatu and drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area highlands — passing the crater rim with sweeping panoramic views across the caldera — before descending into the vast expanse of the Serengeti National Park. Enter the park through the Naabi Hill Gate and begin afternoon game drives across the open savannah of the central Serengeti.

The Serengeti is the greatest wildlife arena on earth — home to lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, hippo, wild dog, and the staggering herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle that define this landscape in every direction. Your Kilipark guide will position the vehicle in areas of highest wildlife activity from the moment you enter the park, reading the plains with expert precision and local knowledge to maximize every sighting. A packed lunch is enjoyed in the bush before continuing into the heart of the Serengeti.

Arrive at your Serengeti camp or lodge in the late afternoon in time for dinner under a vast, open African sky.

Accommodation: Lodge or Camping in the Serengeti Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 

Day 3 — Full Day Serengeti National Park

A full day dedicated entirely to the Serengeti. Depart camp at first light for an early morning game drive when predator activity is at its peak and the Serengeti light is at its most spectacular. Lion prides are frequently encountered on morning hunts, cheetah scan the open plains from termite mounds, and leopards descend from their overnight perches in the riverine acacia trees along the Seronera Valley.

Your Kilipark guide will position you to witness the most dramatic wildlife events the Serengeti has to offer depending on your travel season — from the thundering Mara River crossings of the Great Wildebeest Migration between July and October, to the extraordinary calving season on the southern plains between January and February, to the outstanding year-round predator density of the central Seronera corridor. A hot lunch is served at a bush picnic site before continuing deep into the park for an extended afternoon game drive.

Return to camp as the sun sets over the Serengeti plains for dinner and a second night in the heart of Africa's greatest wildlife wilderness.

Accommodation: Lodge or Camping in the Serengeti Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4 — Full Day Serengeti National Park

A third consecutive day in the Serengeti — and with it, the opportunity to explore regions and wildlife corridors that shorter itineraries never reach. Depart camp at dawn and drive into a different section of the park, venturing beyond the central Seronera Valley into the northern, western, or southern Serengeti depending on the season and the current position of the Migration.

The northern Serengeti — with its dramatic kopjes, riverine forest, and proximity to the Mara River — delivers some of the most intense and spectacular wildlife encounters on the entire circuit, particularly during the Migration crossing season. The western corridor offers outstanding sightings of crocodile, hippo, and river wildlife alongside the annual wildebeest river crossings of the Grumeti River. The southern plains are unparalleled during the calving season, with cheetah, wild dog, and serval all commonly encountered in the open short-grass ecosystem.

A hot bush lunch is served in the field before continuing your afternoon game drive and returning to camp for a final evening in the Serengeti.

Accommodation: Lodge or Camping in the Serengeti Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 

Day 5 — Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater

Rise at dawn for one final early morning game drive in the Serengeti — a last opportunity to explore the plains and river corridors of Africa's most celebrated national park in the spectacular light of the Serengeti morning before departing for the Ngorongoro highlands.

After a bush lunch, begin the drive east out of the Serengeti, ascending gradually through the lush Ngorongoro Conservation Area toward the crater rim. As the afternoon light softens, descend into the Ngorongoro Crater — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the undisputed natural wonders of Africa — for a late afternoon game drive across the crater floor. Encounter lion, buffalo, hippo, wildebeest, zebra, and the extraordinary birdlife of Lake Magadi as the crater fills with the warm, golden light of the late afternoon sun — one of the most atmospheric game viewing experiences on the entire northern Tanzania circuit.

As the day draws to a close, exit the crater and transfer to your overnight accommodation on the crater rim or in the Ngorongoro highlands.

Accommodation: Lodge or Camping in the Ngorongoro Highlands Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 

Day 6 — Full Day Ngorongoro Crater Game Drive

Rise before dawn for an early breakfast before making a second, full-day descent into the Ngorongoro Crater — maximizing your time within one of the most extraordinary and concentrated wildlife ecosystems on the African continent. With a full day on the crater floor, you have the time and freedom to explore every corner of this remarkable self-contained world at a relaxed, unhurried pace.

The crater permanently shelters approximately 25,000 large animals within its ancient volcanic walls — lion, Cape buffalo, elephant, hippo, hyena, wildebeest, zebra, and the critically endangered black rhinoceros are all regularly encountered across a full day of game driving. With a complete morning and afternoon on the crater floor, your chances of witnessing a predator hunt, a rhinoceros sighting, or a dramatic predator-prey encounter on the open crater grasslands are at their very highest.

The shallow waters of Lake Magadi host spectacular concentrations of flamingos, crowned cranes, and a rich variety of waterbirds throughout the day. A packed picnic lunch is enjoyed at a designated crater floor picnic site before continuing the afternoon game drive as the crater light turns warm and golden in the hours before the ascent.

Ascend the crater rim in the late afternoon and return to your overnight accommodation in the Ngorongoro highlands for a final evening in the highlands.

Accommodation: Lodge or Camping in the Ngorongoro Highlands Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 

Day 7 — Lake Manyara National Park and Return to Moshi / Arusha

After breakfast, depart the Ngorongoro highlands and descend toward Lake Manyara National Park — a compact but exceptionally diverse park stretching along the base of the dramatic Great Rift Valley escarpment, with the shimmering alkaline waters of Lake Manyara forming its western boundary and providing one of the most scenic backdrops of the entire northern Tanzania circuit.

Despite its relatively small size, Lake Manyara delivers a remarkable variety of wildlife and ecosystems within a single game drive — dense groundwater forest alive with troops of olive baboons and blue monkeys, open floodplains where large herds of buffalo and elephant graze, and the lake shoreline itself where thousands of lesser and greater flamingos gather in spectacular pink formations alongside pelicans, storks, and herons. Lake Manyara is celebrated for its famous tree-climbing lions — a unique behavioral phenomenon observed here and in very few other locations in Africa — and is widely regarded as one of Tanzania's finest birdwatching destinations with more than 400 recorded species.

A hot lunch is served at a park picnic site before a final afternoon game drive through the park's varied habitats. Depart Lake Manyara in the mid-afternoon and drive back to Moshi or Arusha, arriving in the early evening — bringing to a close one of the finest seven-day safari circuits available anywhere in Tanzania.

Accommodation: N/A — Return to Moshi or Arusha Meals: Breakfast and Lunch 

Please note that our prices may be discounted based on the season and number of clients. For further inquiry regarding budget and customized destinations please contact us