13 Day Best of Northern Tanzania & Zanzibar Luxury Tour

Brief Overview

Day 1 - Arusha

Pick up from Kilimanjaro International Airport and drop off at Arusha Coffee Lodge where you will spend the night. Dinner, bed and breakfast.

Day 2 to 3 - Tarangire

Transfer from Arusha Coffee Lodge to Tarangire Treetops Lodge. Overnight at Tarangire Treetops. Full board and game-viewing activities.

Day 4 to 5 - Ngorongoro

Transfer from Tarangire to Karatu in the Ngorongoro Crater region. Overnight at The Manor on the slopes of Ngorongoro crater. Full board and game-viewing activities.

Day 6 to 7 - Serengeti

Transfer from Karatu to the Serengeti. Overnight at Serengeti Pioneer Camp. Full board and game-viewing activities.

Day 8 - fly to Zanzibar

Transfer from the Serengeti to Seronera Airstrip. Scheduled flight from Seronera Airstrip to Zanzibar Airport.

Day 8 to 12 - on the beach in Zanzibar

Transfer from Zanzibar Airport to Baraza Resort & Spa. Overnight at Baraza Resort & Spa. Fully inclusive.

Day 13 - home

Transfer from Baraza Resort & Spa to Zanzibar Airport.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1

Arusha

On arrival in Arusha, you will be collected from Kilimanjaro International Airport by our local guide and transferred to Arusha Coffee Lodge. Arusha Coffee Lodge's tranquil setting on a lush coffee plantation offers a welcome retreat after a long flight. You can unwind in the colourful gardens, treat yourself to a spa massage or take a dip in the swimming pool.

If time allows, optional activities (at an additional cost) include a three-hour guided tour of Arusha, and a coffee estate tour. You will overnight at the popular Arusha Coffee Lodge, in a luxury wooden chalet surrounded by coffee trees and beautiful gardens.

Day 2 to Day 3

Tarangire National Park

After breakfast, your guide will transfer you to Tarangire National Park, stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. Your accommodation in Tarangire for the next two nights, Elewana Tarangire Treetops, is a luxurious camp built on the path of an annual elephant migration. Set against a backdrop of rolling hills, Tarangire Treetops' spacious "treehouse" suites walk onto private balconies that offer beautiful views over the surrounding baobab and marula trees.

Tarangire National Park is bisected by the Tarangire River, which draws hundreds of animals, especially during the dry season from July to October. Prolific wildlife, tree-climbing lions, migratory wildebeest, a massive elephant population with herds up to 300-strong, majestic baobabs, grasslands, swamps and rolling hills make game-viewing in Tarangire National Park a rewarding experience. And because Tarangire is one of Tanzania's lesser-known game reserves, you'll likely enjoy an uncrowded safari with fewer tourists and more wildlife sightings on your game drives.

Day 4 to Day 5

Karatu, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park

After your final morning game drive and breakfast in Tarangire, you will be transferred to The Manor at Ngorongoro in Karatu, a small, bustling town in the lush hills of Tanzania's northern highlands on the southern slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater.

The Manor at Ngorongoro is a grand old mansion on a working coffee estate and comprises 18 charming cottages with private entrances and sun terraces. Here, you can take a tour of the coffee estate, explore The Manor's surrounding gardens on mountain bikes (included) or horseback (optional extra) and go on game drives in the Ngorongoro Crater (included) and nearby Lake Manyara National Park (included).

The Ngorongoro Crater is a collapsed volcano encompassing an area of about 260 km². Despite its relatively small size, the crater has a remarkable variety of habitats, including montane forests, grasslands, acacia forests, a salt lake, and swamps. This diverse range of environments serves as a sanctuary for a wide range of bird and animal species, including the Big Five, all within a concentrated space. Exceptional game-viewing opportunities, picturesque landscapes, abundant wildlife, the highest concentration of Maasai Lions, and the chance to encounter critically endangered black rhinos make the Ngorongoro Crater an absolute must-do safari destination in Tanzania.

On the way to Karatu, we'll also take you on a game-viewing excursion to nearby Lake Manyara National Park, surrounding the alkaline Lake Manyara. The park is home to tree-climbing lions, a large population of elephants, various mammals and primates, and over 300 migratory bird species, including long-crested eagles and flamingos.

Day 6 to Day 7

After an early morning breakfast, you will be transferred to Serengeti Pioneer Camp, a tented eco-safari camp overlooking Moru Kopjes and Lake Magadi in Southern Serengeti. Serengeti Pioneer Camp has 12 tents with en-suite bathrooms that include flushing toilets, vanity basins and showers.

For the next two days, you will explore the beautiful Serengeti ecosystem. During migration season, Pioneer camp has prime access to the best areas where you can view the annual migration. The Great Wildebeest Migration is the largest mass terrestrial migration of wildlife on Earth and the sight of two million wildebeest, zebra and other species moving through the Serengeti is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But even outside the peak migration season, the park is home to a rich abundance of resident wildlife, including the big cats that rule the Serengeti plains (lions, leopards, and cheetah)

Beyond the drama of the annual migration, the Serengeti is without doubt one of the beautiful game reserves in the world, with endless open plains interrupted now and again by granite outcrops and a scattering of acacia woodlands. Home to diverse flora and fauna, with over 70 species of mammals and more than 500 bird species, the Serengeti is a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts. Year round, your chances of spotting elephants, buffalo, lions, cheetah, giraffe, topi, gazelle, impala, waterbuck, hippos, hyenas and other exciting wild animals are good.

Day 8 to Day 12

Zanzibar

Day 8 sees the start of the tropical island leg of your 13 Day Best of Northern Tanzania & Zanzibar Luxury Tour. After breakfast, you will be transferred to Seronera Airstrip for your scheduled flight to Zanzibar (included). Upon landing on Zanzibar you will be transferred to Baraza Resort & Spa, an all-inclusive, five-star boutique hotel located along the Bwejuu-Paje beach on the east coast of the island.