Arusha, Tanzania · Licensed Tour Operator
Classic Northern Circuit
The perfect first-timer's safari — Tarangire elephants, Serengeti big cats and the crater floor, all at a relaxed pace.
Trip overview
If you've never been on safari before, this is where we'd start you. Six comfortable days in three iconic parks, with mid-range lodges, no rushing, and a guide who knows exactly when to stay quiet and let the animals do the talking.
Day-by-day itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival in Arusha
Airport pick-up and transfer to a quiet garden lodge on the edge of town, with the rest of the day free to recover from the flight. Meet-and-greet at Kilimanjaro International Airport and assistance with arrival formalities. Evening safari briefing with your guide: route, packing, camera settings and expectations. Pool, garden and an early dinner — most guests are in bed by nine before the first game drive.
- Accommodation:
- Garden lodge, Arusha
- Meals:
- Dinner
- Travel:
- 45 km / about 1 hour
- Day 2: Tarangire National Park
A two-hour drive south-west brings you to Tarangire — baobab-studded hills above a river that draws the largest elephant concentrations in northern Tanzania. Morning game drive along the Tarangire river circuit, where breeding herds of 100-plus elephants dig for water in the sand. Ancient baobabs, dry-country specials like fringe-eared oryx, gerenuk and lesser kudu. Picnic lunch at a river viewpoint, followed by an afternoon loop through the silale swamps for lion and python. Sunset drive out to Motto Cottages Lodge in Mto wa Mbu.
- Accommodation:
- Motto Cottages Lodge, Mto wa Mbu
- Meals:
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Travel:
- 150 km / about 2.5 hours plus game driving
- Day 3: Serengeti National Park
The big transfer day, climbing the Ngorongoro rim and crossing the short-grass plains into the Serengeti. Crater rim viewpoint stop for photographs of the caldera below. Optional Olduvai Gorge museum visit and a short talk on early human origins. Naabi Hill Gate entry with a walk up the kopje for a 360-degree view of the plains. Afternoon game drive all the way to your Seronera-area camp.
- Accommodation:
- Tented camp, central Serengeti
- Meals:
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Travel:
- 245 km / about 5 hours with stops
- Day 4: Full day in the Serengeti
Dawn-to-dusk game viewing with a picnic lunch, covering river valleys, kopjes and open plains. Early start for the golden hour — the best light and the most active predators. Seronera valley leopard search, plus lion prides on the kopjes made famous by The Lion King. Hippo pool stop and a chance of cheetah on the open grassland. If the migration is nearby your guide will run a longer loop to reach the herds.
- Accommodation:
- Tented camp, central Serengeti
- Meals:
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Travel:
- Full-day game driving
- Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater
Morning game drive out of the Serengeti, then the descent into the crater for a half-day on the floor. Game drive east across the plains with stops for whatever we find en route. Descent into the caldera and a circuit of the Lerai forest, Munge river and Lake Magadi. Black rhino, big-tusked elephant bulls, golden jackal, flamingo and some of the densest lion density in Africa. Picnic lunch beside the hippo pool, then up the Lemala road to your rim-side lodge.
- Accommodation:
- Lodge, Ngorongoro highlands
- Meals:
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Travel:
- 150 km plus a half-day crater drive
- Day 6: Departure
Breakfast on the rim, then the drive back down the Rift to Arusha and the airport. Optional Maasai boma or Mto wa Mbu cultural stop on the way. Souvenir shopping at the Arusha cultural heritage centre. Day room available on request for late flights. Transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
- Accommodation:
- Departure
- Meals:
- Breakfast
- Travel:
- 190 km / about 3.5 hours
