Super Luxury SafarisSuper Luxury Safaris
4 day itinerary

4 Day Tanzania Safari: Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro

Four private days from Arusha covering Tarangire elephants, a night in the central Serengeti, and a crater-floor morning before the drive home.

From $6,400 per personFinal quote depends on travel dates, lodge choice and group size.

Open digital itinerary Get a free quote

Route map

From start to finish

Starts in Arusha and ends in Arusha.

Start: Arusha End: Arusha

Tanzania

  1. Start Arusha (Day 1)
  2. Tarangire National Park (Day 1) Land Cruiser
  3. Karatu (Day 1-2) Land Cruiser
  4. Serengeti (Day 2-3) Land Cruiser
  5. Ngorongoro Crater (Day 3-4) Land Cruiser
  6. End Arusha (Day 4) Land Cruiser

Open digital itinerary WhatsApp this itinerary

Digital itinerary

Day by day

Every package has a shareable digital itinerary: overnight notes, the route, and a print-ready PDF view.

  1. Day 1 Arusha to Tarangire National Park in the Karatu highlands, in the camping, mid-range, luxury or high-end lodge named on your
  2. Day 2 Karatu to Serengeti National Park in the Serengeti, in the camp or lodge class named on your quote
  3. Day 3 Serengeti to Ngorongoro Conservation Area on the Ngorongoro rim or in Karatu, depending on the lodge class you chose
  4. Day 4 Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

Open digital itinerary

Lodge Safaris Mid-range Safaris

Four days lets us add the Serengeti without turning the trip into a highway tour. We start with Tarangire, cross the Ngorongoro highlands into Seronera, and save the crater floor for the last morning, when you still have energy for the descent. Lake Manyara is not on this loop — it belongs to the three-day and six-day itineraries, where it has its own morning.

The vehicle is yours alone. Your Super Luxury Safaris’ Guide plans picnic stops, crater timing and the Serengeti gate so you are not queued behind a convoy. Sleep is camping, mid-range, luxury or high-end — you choose, we name the property on the quote. Pickup is from Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport.

Leopard in a Serengeti sausage tree

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Elephant family walking Tarangire

After breakfast you leave Arusha. In about two hours the farms give way: baobabs, then the gate, then the river. We treat Tarangire as the start of the safari, not a transfer with a short game drive tacked on. The vehicle is a private Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof. The window seat is yours for the whole trip.

Elephants define the park. Dry months pull whole families onto the Tarangire River and into the Silale swamp. Giraffe browse the acacias. Lion lie up in the shade of those same giants. A picnic keeps you inside until the light tilts and the herds walk toward water.

The Super Luxury Safaris’ Guide chooses the quiet track for that week. This is not a convoy run from a distant call centre. The Super Luxury Safaris Team still answers WhatsApp after dinner.

Overnight in the Karatu highlands, in the camping, mid-range, luxury or high-end lodge named on your quote.

Day 2: Karatu to Serengeti National Park

Wildebeest on the Serengeti plains

Today the horizon opens. You climb through Iraqw farmland, pause at the Ngorongoro viewpoint, and drop through Naabi onto the Serengeti — a grassland so wide it rearranges how you think about space. The afternoon belongs to the Seronera River: lion on the kopjes, leopard in the sausage trees if the day is kind, zebra and gazelle on the open grass.

This is the moment most guests have been holding in their heads since they booked. We do not rush it. Picnic or a late lodge lunch, then a slower drive so you arrive in camp with the sun still on the plains.

Dinner and overnight in the Serengeti, in the camp or lodge class named on your quote.

Day 3: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Cheetah on the Serengeti at first light

A last dawn on the plains, then you game-drive east toward the crater highlands. The transfer is not empty tarmac — the conservation area still holds giraffe, eland and Maasai herds on the open slopes.

Evening is on the rim or in Karatu, with the caldera below you if the lodge class you chose sits on the edge. Sleep early. Tomorrow is the descent.

Overnight on the Ngorongoro rim or in Karatu, depending on the lodge class you chose.

Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

Zebra on the Ngorongoro Crater floor

The morning that sells the northern circuit starts with a drop of roughly 600 metres onto the crater floor while the grass is still cold. Short grass packed with zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Pools held by hippo. Lion often in the open. Black rhino are never guaranteed — we never pretend they are. This closed caldera is still the fairest chance you will have.

Not a rushed snack at the gate: picnic lunch is on the floor. Climb out with time to wash off the dust. We pace the day so you are still looking, not watching the clock — you will talk about this day for years.

The package

What is included — and what is not

Two separate lists, so you can see what the itinerary price covers before you request a quote.

Covered

Included in this itinerary

In the package price, for the dates and lodge or camp class on your quote.

  • Current TANAPA and Ngorongoro conservation fees for every park named in the day plan.
  • Private 4×4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof, fridge and a window seat for every guest.
  • Arusha-based Super Luxury Safaris' Guide and all game drives written in the day plan.
  • Lodge or camp nights as confirmed on your quote.
  • Bottled water in the vehicle.
  • Hotel or airport collection in Arusha or at Kilimanjaro International Airport, and the return drop-off.
  • All meals (full board) at the lodges, camps or hotels named on your itinerary.
  • An evening of live music and traditional dance performances at select camps, arranged for your dates.

You arrange these

Not included

Budget separately, or ask us to add them to your proposal.

  • International flights
  • Airport taxes and visa or eTA fees
  • Alcoholic drinks and any specialty dining not named on your quote
  • Tips and gratuities
  • Items of a personal nature, laundry and souvenirs
  • Travel insurance
  • Optional extras such as a hot-air balloon, Maasai village visit or spa, unless added to the quote

When to travel

Season and routing

Year-round wildlife. December to March we can sleep toward Ndutu if calving is on. July to October we can place Serengeti nights toward the Mara River if you want crossings. The day order below is the standard loop; we only change camp locations, not the number of nights, when you send dates.

Where you sleep

Choose your stay style

Four ways to travel the same parks. Pick one style for the whole safari, or mix nights — we quote what you actually want. Names below are properties we often confirm. The lodge or camp on your quote is the booking; nothing here is reserved until you approve it.

  1. Camping Safari tents, a cook, the night sounds of the park. The honest, close-to-the-ground way to safari.
  2. Mid-range En-suite lodges and tented camps we use most — a proper bed, a shower, and the game still at the door.
  3. Luxury Pools, full-service dining, the better rooms in the same parks.
  4. High-end Suite camps and private houses when the trip is built around silence and space.

Tarangire National Park

Camping

Tarangire public campsite or a private farm site on the park edge — Super Luxury tents, a cook, baobabs at first light.

Mid-range

Tarangire Safari Lodge, Tarangire Sopa Lodge — classic rooms above the river, elephants on the floodplain below.

Luxury

Tarangire Treetops, Sanctuary Swala — raised decks and a quieter night inside the park.

High-end

Oliver’s Camp, Chem Chem Lodge — suite tents and private guiding when the quote is built around Tarangire.

Karatu highlands (Manyara and crater gateway)

Camping

Pamoja Farm Camp, Kizumba Campsite, or a similar private farm campsite with a cook, tents and a hot bucket shower.

Mid-range

Farm of Dreams Lodge, Eileen’s Trees Inn, Marera Valley Lodge — en-suite rooms, gardens and a quiet night after the parks.

Luxury

Ngorongoro Farm House, Tloma Lodge, Kitela Lodge — larger rooms, a pool, and coffee-estate grounds above Karatu.

High-end

The Manor at Ngorongoro, Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge — butler service, wide views and a slower evening before the crater.

Central Serengeti

Camping

Seronera public campsite or a designated special campsite. We pitch Super Luxury tents, cook on site, and you fall asleep to hyena.

Mid-range

Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp, ThornTree Camp, Kati Kati Tented Camp — comfortable canvas, proper beds, close to the Seronera game.

Luxury

Serena Serengeti Safari Lodge, Melia Serengeti Lodge, Mbalageti Serengeti — pools, full-service dining and a view over the plains.

High-end

Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Singita Faru Faru, &Beyond Klein’s Camp — private suites, guiding extras, and the kind of silence you pay for. In calving months we quote Ndutu; in river-crossing months we quote the north.

Ngorongoro rim

Camping

Simba public campsite on the crater rim — simple wash blocks, an unmatched dawn over the caldera.

Mid-range

Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge — rim rooms with a crater view and an early descent the next morning.

Luxury

Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge — stone rooms on the rim, a short drive to the gate.

High-end

&Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Melia Ngorongoro Lodge — suite-level rim stays with the caldera at your feet at dawn.

Before you book

Practical notes

  • There is no Lake Manyara day on this itinerary. Six days is the first length with a dedicated Manyara morning.
  • Day 4 is the crater descent plus the drive to Arusha. Expect to reach town in the late afternoon. Do not book an international departure before 21:00. If you fly earlier, we add an Arusha hotel night the evening before and shorten the crater morning.

OUR AFFILIATES

Singita Elewana Collection Meliá Karibu Africa Safaris Legendary Expeditions