13 Day Northern Tanzania Safari Adventure and Zanzibar

A Wayfairer representative will meet you at Kilimanjaro Airport and drive you to your lodge in Arusha where you’ll spend two nights. This afternoon you can explore the bustling city centre. Arusha is a fascinating city where you’ll find modern office buildings, 5 star hotels, upmarket coffee shops, alongside busy markets selling fruit, vegetables, fish and meat.

Within the city centre, you’ll see women wearing brightly coloured dresses either walking along the streets carrying huge baskets on their heads or sitting on the side of the roads selling huge avocados or cooking corn on the cob on a fire. You will also see Maasai men walking around in their traditional shukas.

While staying in the town of Arusha, we recommend a visit to Arusha National Park which is right on the town’s doorstep. You have the day to explore this national park by vehicle and also included is canoeing on Momela Lake, a wonderful experience and a great introduction to your safari experience in Tanzania.

After breakfast, you will meet your guide who will be with you for the rest of your time on safari. They will drive you to Lake Manyara National Park, located beneath the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the edge of the Rift Valley.

The alkaline soda of Lake Manyara, which covers 230sq km, attracts pink flamingos and other birdlife. You’ll also see resident hippo pods at the lake.

The park is known for its tree-climbing lions, plus you may be lucky enough to spot leopards and hyenas. You can also expect to see large herds of elephants, wildebeests, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, warthogs and impalas. There’s also a huge primate population including common monkeys, vervet monkeys and baboons.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a unique natural phenomenon and it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking wildlife safari sites in the world with a backdrop of the 600m/1968ft high crater wall, offering incredible wildlife viewing opportunities.

A visit to the Ngorongoro Crater is an experience of a lifetime! You can expect to see an abundance of wildlife including buffalo, warthog, wildebeest, zebra, hippo and elephant. There’s also a huge population of predators such as lion, hyena, jackal, cheetah and leopard. The resident population of black rhino is a real treat, as they’re very difficult to spot elsewhere in Tanzania.

Today you will depart the Karatu area and travel through the Ngorongoro Highlands to Ndutu region in the southern Serengeti, Tanzania’s most famous national park. You will stay at Ndutu Safari Lodge for the next two nights.

The Ndutu area is without doubt one of the best places for predator sightings in the Serengeti. The Ndutu Safari Lodge is extremely well-positioned and is a great value base while you explore this area.

The Serengeti offers some of the best wildlife viewing in Africa and is home to the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth, the great migration. Every year, over 2.5 million wildebeest migrate from the Serengeti National Park to the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

If you’re visiting at the right time (roughly between December and March), you’ll see herds of wildebeest and zebra in the Ndutu area stretching to the horizon.

Today you will travel through the Serengeti plains from the Ndutu area to the central area of the Serengeti known as Seronera. Your destination is the luxury tented camp of Kiota. “Kiota” means “nest” in Swahilli and this beautiful tented camp certainly has a bird’s eye view of one Tanzania and Africa’s most famous areas. Kiota is situated in the central Serengeti’s Seronera River Valley and although there are a number of other lodges and camps in this area, Kiota Camp manages to maintain a wild, adventurous feel.

On the second day in this area, you’ll have the opportunity for a morning and afternoon game drive on the vast plains of the Serengeti where you’ll spot an abundance of African wildlife. This spectacular national park offers amazing wildlife viewing opportunities and is highly likely that you’ll see zebra, impala, Grants gazelle, wildebeest, buffalo, rhino and elephant, plus lions, cheetahs and leopards.

After breakfast and a final safari activity in the Serengeti, you are driven to the airstrip for a flight to Zanzibar. You will be met on arrival in Zanzibar and driven to your accommodation where you will stay for the next four nights.

It’s home to relax and unwind in the beautiful Z-Hotel on Zanzibar’s popular northern area of Nungwi. This is a more modern, boutique hotel and the rooms have been furnished to a high but minimalist spec with 4-poster beds and air-conditioning. Your stay is on a bed and breakfast basis in a deluxe garden room.

We offer a range of accommodation options on the island and we will ensure that we match you to the most suitable accommodation for your requirements and sense of style—whether that is a rustic beach lodge or a luxurious 5 star resort.

With its beautiful sandy beaches, clear turquoise waters and colourful coral reefs, Zanzibar is the perfect destination for post-safari relaxation.

Should you wish to be active, there are plenty of excursions that you can join, including visits to historic Stone Town, Jozani Forest, Prison Island, the spice plantations and cultural tours to local villages.

There’s also a wide choice of adventure activities that you can participate in, including mountain biking, hiking, bird watching, wind surfing, kite surfing, sea kayaking and sailing. Also, the island has fantastic coral reefs which are perfect for diving and snorkeling—and you may even be lucky enough to see dolphins and green turtles.

Sadly your ‘Northern Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar’ adventure has come to an end. After breakfast at your accommodation, you’ll be driven back to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) for your journey home.