7 Day Tanzania Safari: Northern Circuit

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Farms fall away about two hours after you leave Arusha after breakfast. Baobabs appear, then the park gate, then the river. Skip the idea of a transfer with a short game drive tacked on — Tarangire is where this safari starts. Private Land Cruiser, pop-up roof, window seat yours for the whole trip.

This is elephant country. Whole families walk the Tarangire River and the Silale swamp in the dry months. Giraffe work the acacias, and lion use the shade of the same giants you came to photograph. A picnic holds you in the park until the light tilts and the herds move toward water.

A distant call centre does not set the day. Your Super Luxury Safaris’ Guide knows the quiet track that week, and 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: Tarangire to Central Serengeti

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

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

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

Day 3: Full day in Serengeti National Park

The point of sleeping in the Serengeti is today: no long transfer, no driving through. We leave in the cool with a picnic and stay with whatever the morning offers. A hunt. A crossing of resident herds. A kopje with a leopard on it if you sit still.

Riverine strips in the dry months. A lean south toward Ndutu from December to March when the calves are on the short grass. A balloon at first light if you want it, not hidden inside the base package. Your own vehicle for the rest of the day, and a Super Luxury Safaris’ Guide who would rather you see one pride well than ten animals from a traffic jam.

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

Day 4: Second full day in Serengeti National Park

A second full day on the plains is when the safari settles. You go back to a corner you liked, or you push a little north or south if the herds have moved. There is time to sit with a cat instead of covering kilometres for the sake of a checklist.

This is also the day many guests choose a balloon, a walking safari where it is legal, or simply a long picnic under a sausage tree. The vehicle is still private. The radio is still your guide’s, not a loudspeaker in a packed truck.

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

Day 5: Serengeti to Ngorongoro

East toward the crater highlands, on a game drive, after a last dawn on the plains. Not empty tarmac: giraffe, eland and Maasai herds still hold the open slopes of the conservation area.

Sleep early because tomorrow is the descent. Evening is on the rim or in Karatu. The caldera is below you if the lodge class you chose sits on the edge.

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

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater

Northern-circuit mornings do not come better than this. Roughly 600 metres down onto the crater floor while the grass is still cold. Zebra, wildebeest and buffalo on the short grass. Hippo holding the pools. Lion often in the open. Black rhino are never guaranteed — we never pretend they are — but a closed caldera is the fairest chance you will have.

A rushed snack at the gate is not the plan. Picnic lunch is on the floor. Time to wash off the dust as we climb out. Still looking, not watching the clock. You will talk about this day for years.

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

Day 7: Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha

Groundwater forest under the Rift escarpment, a soda lake that draws flamingos when the water is right, woodland elephants that feed in the open: Lake Manyara is a park with a personality of its own. Tree-climbing lion use the acacias some seasons. We look; we do not promise.

As your ticket requires, after the game drive we continue to Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport. This is a committed morning, not an optional extra on the way to the airport. If your flight is too early we skip the park, we do not charge the fees, and we tell you that before you pay.