8 Day Tanzania Safari: Serengeti in Depth

Arusha to Tarangire National Park

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

Karatu to Serengeti National Park

Once you climb through Iraqw farmland and pause at the Ngorongoro viewpoint, Naabi drops you onto the Serengeti and the horizon opens. The grassland is so wide it rearranges how you think about space. Afternoon sits on the Seronera River — kopjes for lion, sausage trees for leopard if the day is kind, open grass for zebra and gazelle.

This is what most guests have been holding in their heads since they booked, so we do not rush it. After a picnic or a late lodge lunch, a slower drive brings you to camp with the sun still on the plains.

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

Overnight: in the Serengeti, in the camp or lodge class named on your quote

Full day in Serengeti National Park

Drive through the Serengeti and you miss the point. Sleeping in the Serengeti means today has no long transfer. We leave in the cool, carry a picnic, and stay with the morning: a hunt, a crossing of resident herds, a kopje that has a leopard on it if you sit still.

We work the riverine strips in the dry months. When calves are on the short grass from December to March we can lean south toward Ndutu. A balloon at first light is available if you want it and is not hidden inside the base package. The rest of the day is yours, own vehicle, 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.

Overnight: in the Serengeti, in the camp or lodge class named on your quote

Serengeti, central or north

Four nights in the Serengeti is how we treat the park as a stay, not a drive-through. Dawn, a rest in the heat, a second drive before dark. In river-crossing months we work the Mara River and the Kogatende woodlands. The rest of the year Seronera, the Retina Hippo Pool and the kopjes east of camp are the right country.

You will remember the light more than the mileage. That is why we refuse to squeeze this into a shorter loop.

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

Overnight: in the Serengeti, in the camp or lodge class named on your quote

Serengeti game drives

The safari settles on a second full day on the plains. Return to a corner you liked, or push a little north or south if the herds have moved. Sit with a cat. Do not cover kilometres for the sake of a checklist.

Many guests choose a balloon this day, or 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.

Overnight: in the Serengeti, in the camp or lodge class named on your quote

Serengeti to Ngorongoro

A last dawn on the plains. Then east, game-driving toward the crater highlands. Giraffe, eland and Maasai herds on the open slopes mean the transfer is not empty tarmac; the conservation area still holds them.

The lodge class you chose may sit on the edge, caldera below you. Evening is on the rim or in Karatu. Sleep early. Tomorrow is the descent.

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

Ngorongoro Crater

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.

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

Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha

We look for tree-climbing lion in the acacias some seasons. We do not promise. Lake Manyara still has a personality of its own — groundwater forest under the Rift escarpment, a soda lake that draws flamingos when the water is right, woodland elephants that feed in the open.

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