5 Days Affordable Tanzania Safari Vacation

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be welcomed by your guide and transferred to your hotel in Arusha. The transit time from Kilimanjaro International Airport to the hotel is around 1 hour and 30 minutes' drive covering a distance of 65.4 kilometers (40.6 miles).

In the morning, you will be picked up at your hotel to start your safari to Lake Manyara National Park. The drive is approximately 125 km / 78 miles and takes about 2-3 hours. Established in 1960, the small Lake Manyara National Park is home to tree climbing lions, elephants, and large troops of baboons and monkeys. The park is dominated by the shallow, alkaline lake and boasts diverse habitats like grassy plains, escarpment, and forest. Here, hundreds of bird species gather, most notably thousands of pink flamingos. In addition to the striking scenery, you have a chance to see giraffes, buffaloes, hippos, wildebeests, and the comical warthogs. The safari vehicle has an open roof and is the ideal viewing platform to appreciate the nature and animals of this park. In the afternoon, you will have your picnic lunch before you leave the park and travel to the lodge, where you will spend the night.

Take an early drive towards the fertile crater highlands immediately after your breakfast and get mesmerized by the beauty of the crop fields that grow wheat, corn, and coffee. The drive is approximately 122km / 76miles and takes about 2-3 hours. At mid-day, you will reach the plains of the Serengeti, one of the largest National Parks in Tanzania. Serengeti has a diversity of landscapes including short grass plains, savannah, thick bush, swamps, and lakes and it is famous for the yearly migration when hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebras trek to find fresh grass and water. On your way to your accommodation, you will understand where the word Serengeti (plains in the language of the Maasai) comes from. In the early evening, you will reach the lodge, where you will spend the night.

The whole day will be spent on a game drive in the Serengeti National Park. During the short rainy season in November and December, the herds move from the hills in the north to the plains in the south while during the longer rainy season from April to June they return back up north. This circle of life is determined by the rainfalls and locations of the herds might vary from year to year, but your guide will know where to find the animals and where to see them best. A visit to the Serengeti Visitor Centre is also possible. Here you can learn more about the history of the park and the research that is done by the Frankfurter Zoological Society. You will spend another night at the lodge in the park.

After breakfast, you will continue your safari in Serengeti. In the Seronera Valley, you might be lucky to see predators hunt as animals gather at the waters during the dry season. After lunch at a picnic spot, you will slowly drive in the direction of Ngorongoro Crater. The drive is approximately 67km / 42miles and takes about 1-2 hours. As soon as you reach the crater, you will have a superb view of the caldera. This approximate 20 km wide crater is part of an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to over 20,000 animals. You will stay at the lodge possibly (depends on availability) on the crater rim from where you will be able to enjoy an incredible sunset.

Rise and shine! Take your breakfast and drive down the steep path of the world’s greatest caldera, Ngorongoro Crater, the largest, unbroken, and unflooded caldera in the world. The crater is not only scenically beautiful, rather it houses an unbelievable diversity of wildlife, including the rare black rhino and other members of the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard. The crater is also home to other animals that include hyenas, waterbucks, bushbucks, eland, and more than 500 bird species. After an extensive game drive and a picnic lunch, you will leave the caldera in the afternoon and drive back to Arusha. The drive is approximately 190 km / 118 miles and takes about 3-4 hours.

This is the final day of your safari, so enjoy a delicious breakfast and relax while you wait for your guide. Your guide will pick you up, and you will begin your journey to Kilimanjaro International Airport via Arusha, covering a distance of 65.4 kilometers (40.6 miles).