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Northern Circuit Classic

The four northern parks in the order that actually makes sense, with two nights in the Serengeti rather than one. Tarangire for elephant and baobab, Manyara for the forest and the flamingos, the Serengeti for the plains, and Ngorongoro last so the crater is the thing you leave on.

Elephant herd beneath a baobab in Tarangire
8 DaysTarangire · Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1
Arrive Arusha Met at Kilimanjaro airport and driven to Arusha. A quiet evening, an early night, and a proper briefing about what the week actually looks like.
Day 2
Tarangire Two hours south-west to a park most itineraries give half a day. Tarangire in the dry season holds the densest elephant population in northern Tanzania, and the baobabs are the reason every photograph of this park looks the way it does.
Day 3
Lake Manyara The groundwater forest first, which is nothing like the rest of the circuit — figs, mahogany, blue monkeys overhead — then out onto the lake shore for the flamingo flocks and the buffalo herds.
Day 4–5
Into the Serengeti Up through the Ngorongoro highlands and down onto the plains. Two full nights inside the park, which means two dawns and two dusks in the Seronera valley rather than one rushed loop. Where exactly we go depends on where the game is that week.
Day 6
Northern Serengeti or central, by season In migration months we push north toward the Mara river; the rest of the year the central woodlands and kopjes hold the resident lion and leopard. Your guide will tell you honestly which is the better use of the day.
Day 7
Ngorongoro Crater Down the descent road at dawn. Six hours on the crater floor — black rhino, the crater lions, and elephant bulls with tusks you will not see anywhere else. Up the far side for the last night on the rim.
Day 8
Back to Arusha The highland road down through the coffee and banana country, and a transfer to your flight.

Included

  • Private 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, window seat guaranteed
  • Seven nights full board in lodges and tented camps
  • All park entry, crater service and conservation fees
  • Professional guide, fuel and all transfers from Kilimanjaro airport
  • Drinking water throughout

Not Included

  • International flights and Tanzanian visa
  • Travel insurance, which is a condition of booking
  • Drinks other than water
  • Balloon flight over the Serengeti, bookable as an extra
  • Tips for your guide and lodge staff
$3,180 / per person
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