12 Day Tanzania Safari: Serengeti, Olduvai, Ngorongoro, Gibb’s Farm, Manyara, Tarangire & Sinya
This twelve-day Tanzania safari takes in the whole of the northern circuit, and a corner of it few visitors see. Fly from Arusha straight into the Serengeti for three nights under canvas, then drive back east via Olduvai Gorge, the “cradle of mankind”, to the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Spend two nights at Gibb’s Farm, a historic coffee farm in the Karatu highlands, before game viewing at Lake Manyara and Tarangire.
The trip ends with two nights at Sinya, a remote wilderness in the shadow of Kilimanjaro on the Kenyan border, known for its big-tusked elephant bulls and walking safaris with Maasai warriors. Your guide throughout is one of Explorer Kenya’s Tanzania-based driver-guides.
Accommodation
| Night 1 · Arusha | Mountain Village Lodge or Moivaro Lodge |
|---|---|
| Nights 2–4 · Serengeti | Kontiki Serengeti Camp |
| Night 5 · Ngorongoro Crater rim | Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge |
| Nights 6–7 · Karatu | Gibb’s Farm |
| Night 8 · Lake Manyara | Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge |
| Night 9 · Tarangire | Tarangire Simba Lodge |
| Nights 10–11 · Sinya | Sinya Tented Camp |
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Arusha
On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, our representative meets you after customs and immigration and drives you to your lodge outside Arusha, where cottages are set among gardens with views of the surrounding hills. Overnight at Mountain Village Lodge or Moivaro Lodge.
Overnight
Day 2: Arusha – Fly to the Serengeti (FB)
After breakfast, fly by light aircraft to the Serengeti. Your Explorer Kenya driver-guide meets you at the airstrip, and you game drive to Kontiki Serengeti Camp for lunch. In the afternoon, head out again, returning for sundowners around the fire before dinner. Dinner and overnight at Kontiki Serengeti Camp.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3: Serengeti National Park (FB)
Wake at dawn and, after tea or coffee, set out on an early game drive, then return for breakfast and go out again, perhaps with a picnic lunch so you can spend the whole day in the park. The Serengeti covers about 14,763 square kilometres and supports the largest populations of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles on earth, along with lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, hyenas and some 500 species of birds. Dinner and overnight at Kontiki Serengeti Camp.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: Serengeti National Park (FB)
Another full day following the wildlife, with your guide heading wherever the herds are that season: from January to March, up to 1.5 million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles gather on the short-grass plains of Ndutu and the southern Serengeti to give birth, drawing lions, cheetahs and hyenas. Look out, too, for leopards resting on the granite kopjes, the rocky islands that rise from the grassland. Sundowners by the fire, then dinner and overnight at Kontiki Serengeti Camp.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Serengeti – Olduvai Gorge – Ngorongoro Crater Rim (FB)
Enjoy a morning game drive and a final drive through the park on the road out, then leave with a packed lunch and head east to Olduvai Gorge. Here, in 1959, Mary Leakey found the 1.75-million-year-old skull of an early hominin, one of the discoveries that made the gorge famous as the “cradle of mankind”; visit the small museum overlooking the site. Continue up into the Ngorongoro highlands to Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge on the crater rim for rest, dinner and overnight.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater – Gibb’s Farm (FB)
After an early breakfast, descend about 600 metres into Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest unbroken volcanic caldera, for a game drive with a picnic lunch. The crater floor is home to lions, elephants, buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, flamingos and some of Tanzania’s last black rhinos. In the afternoon, climb out and drive the short distance to Gibb’s Farm near Karatu, a historic coffee farm on the forested slopes of the highlands. Dinner and overnight at Gibb’s Farm.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7: Gibb’s Farm (FB)
A slower day to enjoy the farm, known for its gardens and food grown on site. Walk through the coffee plantation and organic gardens, or take a guided forest walk up the slopes of the Ngorongoro highlands. The rest of the day is yours to relax. Dinner and overnight at Gibb’s Farm.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8: Gibb’s Farm – Lake Manyara National Park (FB)
After breakfast, drive down the Rift Valley escarpment to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive. Its groundwater forest, floodplain and soda lake support elephants, baboons, hippos, giraffes and around 400 species of birds, and it is one of the few places in Africa where lions are known to climb trees. Dinner and overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9: Lake Manyara – Tarangire National Park (FB)
After breakfast, drive to Tarangire National Park for a full day of game viewing with a packed lunch. In the dry season, the Tarangire River draws some of the largest elephant herds in Tanzania, and the park is famous for its ancient baobab trees and more than 550 species of birds. Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Simba Lodge.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10: Tarangire – Sinya (FB)
After breakfast, drive north past Arusha and around Mount Meru into the remote, arid country of Sinya, on the Kenyan border beneath Kilimanjaro, with views to Mount Meru and the Longido peaks. Sinya is one of the few places in Africa where elephant bulls more than 50 years old, carrying large tusks, are regularly seen; they move between the acacia woodland here and the swamps of Amboseli in Kenya. Check in at Sinya Tented Camp and spend the evening by the fire under the stars. Dinner and overnight at Sinya Tented Camp.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11: Sinya (FB)
Rise early to photograph Kilimanjaro when the cloud lifts, and head out on a game drive in an open vehicle before returning for breakfast. In the afternoon, join a walking safari or birdwatching walk escorted by Maasai warriors, or visit a Maasai village, where life still follows traditional ways. Drinks around the campfire, then dinner and overnight at Sinya Tented Camp.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12: Sinya – Arusha – Departure (B)
Enjoy a final morning game drive, then return to camp for breakfast before driving to Arusha, where you have a day room until your evening transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight home.
Breakfast
Package Includes
- Park and conservation area entrance fees, including the Ngorongoro Crater descent
- Olduvai Gorge museum entry
- Scheduled light-aircraft flight Arusha – Serengeti
- Accommodation and meals as per the itinerary
- Game drives, walking safaris and Maasai village visits at Sinya
- Services of an English-speaking, experienced Explorer Kenya driver-guide based in Tanzania
- Transport in a 4×4 safari Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, for your exclusive use
- 1.5 litres of bottled water per person per day in the vehicle
- Day room in Arusha on Day 12
- Transfers to and from Kilimanjaro International Airport
- All government taxes and levies
Package Excludes
- Flying Doctors (AMREF) air ambulance evacuation cover – US$ 10 per person
- Driver tips
- Drinks, international flights, visas, travel insurance and personal expenses
