4 day itinerary

4 Day Private Camping Safari: Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro

Four private camping days from Arusha covering Tarangire, a Serengeti night and a crater morning.

From $4,800 per personFinal quote depends on travel dates, lodge choice and group size.

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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) Land Cruiser
  6. Karatu (Day 3) Land Cruiser
  7. Ngorongoro Crater (Day 4) Land Cruiser
  8. End Arusha (Day 4) Land Cruiser

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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 a safari tent in the Karatu highlands, with a cook and a hot bucket shower
  2. Day 2 Karatu to Serengeti National Park in a safari tent in the Serengeti — hyena, not a hotel generator
  3. Day 3 Serengeti to Ngorongoro in a safari tent at Simba rim camp or a Karatu farm site
  4. Day 4 Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

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Camping Safaris

Four camping days add the Serengeti to the short loop. You sleep in Super Luxury tents at public or farm campsites, with a cook and a private Land Cruiser — the same day order as our four-day lodge safari, closer to the ground. Night sounds instead of a generator. Stars instead of a corridor.

Lake Manyara is not on this itinerary. Choose the six-day camping safari if you want that extra park. Any night can move up a stay class; camping is the quote we start from.

Baobab trees in Tarangire National Park

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Tarangire baobabs

Leave Arusha after breakfast. In about two hours you have left the farms, found the baobabs, passed the park gate and reached the river. That sequence is the safari starting, not a transfer with a short game drive tacked on. You sit in a private Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof; the window seat is yours for the whole trip.

Elephants own these hours. In the dry months whole families walk the Tarangire River and the Silale swamp. Giraffe work the acacias. Lion take shade under the same giants you came to photograph. We picnic so you remain in the park as the light tilts and the herds move toward water.

The quiet track that week is your Super Luxury Safaris’ Guide’s call. You are not in a convoy from a distant call centre. WhatsApp still reaches the Super Luxury Safaris Team after dinner.

Overnight in a safari tent in the Karatu highlands, with a cook and a hot bucket shower.

Day 2: Karatu to Serengeti National Park

Serengeti camp country

The horizon opens as you climb through Iraqw farmland, stop at the Ngorongoro viewpoint, and drop through Naabi onto the Serengeti. Grassland this wide rearranges how you think about space. Afternoon is for the Seronera River — lion on the kopjes, leopard in the sausage trees if the day is kind, zebra and gazelle on the open grass.

Most guests have held this moment since they booked. We do not rush it. A picnic or a late lodge lunch, then a slower drive, so camp is reached with the sun still on the plains.

Overnight in a safari tent in the Serengeti — hyena, not a hotel generator.

Day 3: Serengeti to Ngorongoro

Ngorongoro

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

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

Overnight in a safari tent at Simba rim camp or a Karatu farm site.

Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

Crater-floor wildlife

We never pretend black rhino are guaranteed. They are never guaranteed. This closed caldera is still the fairest chance you will have, on the morning that sells the northern circuit, as we drop roughly 600 metres onto the crater floor while the grass is still cold. Zebra, wildebeest and buffalo pack the short grass. Hippo hold the pools. Lion are often in the open.

Climb out with time to wash off the dust. Picnic lunch is on the floor, not a rushed snack at the gate. You will talk about this day for years because we pace it so you are still looking, not watching the clock.

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.
  • Two-person safari tents, sleeping mats, camp chairs, tables and a cook for meals in camp.
  • Park-side or farm campsites 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
  • Sleeping bag (bring your own or rent one in Arusha before departure)

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

  • This itinerary is quoted on camping. Any night can move to mid-range, luxury or high-end — see the stay table on this page.
  • Tents, mats, a cook and camp furniture are included. Bring a sleeping bag or rent one in Arusha before we leave.
  • Public campsites are simple: shared wash blocks, no generator luxury.
  • No Lake Manyara day. Day 4 is crater plus the drive to Arusha — do not book a flight before 21:00.

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