Wild Africa Safari

If you are not joining us for the trek on Kilimanjaro before doing the Safari, you will need to arrive the day prior to Day 1 by 3 P.M. at the JRO International Airport, where we will pick you up and transfer you to our hotel. Hotel and dinner are included the pre-trip night.

After breakfast at the hotel your guide and driver will deliver a short orientation meeting and safari briefing. You will then depart towards Lake Manyara National Park for today’s game drive. Upon our arrival at the Park we will have our picnic lunch in the company of Olive Baboons welcoming us in large groups. Be careful not to let them get your lunch! The great alkaline Manyara Lake is a paradise for bird lovers, being famous for its large flocks of flamingos, yellow-billed storks, herons and numerous other species of birds.

We will enjoy the amazing views of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment and the famous hot spring known as “Maji Moto” while searching for wildlife during our drive within the Park. This area is well known for being the home of tree-climbing lions. It is also famous for having a large number of elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, impalas, warthogs and more. If we get really lucky, we might see the elusive leopard in the forested areas of the Park.

In the late afternoon, after we have done are best to see as much wildlife as possible, we will head to the Bougainvillea Safari Lodge in the town of Karatu for our accommodation for the next 2 nights. We’ll enjoy a relaxing, delicious dinner and a welcome night’s rest.

Today, after a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we we will shuttle to Lake Eyasi. Today is all about getting to know the people of this region and learn about their traditions, customs and cultures. Our first step is to rendezvous with a local guide to help us find the Hazabe, who roam the African savannah. Being nomadic bushmen, they rely on hunting and gathering. You can try out their handmade weapons and join them on a short local hunt. Don’t worry, they will be the ones doing the hunting; we will only follow along and observe. After our amazing experience with the Hadzabe, we will visit different groups of the Datoga Tribe known for different cultural specialties and aspects. After visiting with the Datoga we will enjoy a hot lunch at a small restaurant nearby before driving back to our accommodation in Karatu. Dinner and another relaxing evening in the Bougainvillea Safari Lodge will bring an end to this incredible day full of unique cultural experiences. Get some rest; tomorrow we head to the Serengeti!

After breakfast we will depart for Serengeti National Park. We will drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area main gate, register and continue to Serengeti National Park. There is plenty to see on our drive as a variety of wildlife can be seen throughout the day. We will serve you a picnic lunch at the Naabi Hill area near the main entrance to the Park. After lunch, it’s all about enjoying the amazing Serengeti Park with a dramatic game drive until evening. We stay in the unique and luxurious Embalakai Tented Camp tonight, where we will enjoy a fresh, wonderful dinner. This one of a kind luxurious camping experience is often cited as the highlight of the trip, and many of our groups have even heard lions at night!

Today we wake up early and depart for a sunrise game drive. Morning is the best time to view wildlife in the Serengeti. After a couple hours on the game drive we will head back to our tented camp for breakfast. Then we’re off for one last drive through the Serengeti to the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater. Descending into the crater we’ll enjoy our picnic lunch on the Ngorongoro Crater floor. We will spend all afternoon enjoying a game drive through the crater, which creates a surreal home for both year round and migrating species of animals and birds. After our full day of game drives, we will go to our accommodation for dinner and relaxation. Tonight, we will be staying at the elegant Marera Valley Lodge.

This morning we will enjoy a leisurely start. You can sleep in and have a later breakfast before we depart the lodge. Today we will travel through the agricultural market town of Mto Wa Mbu near the Lake Manyara National Park. We will stop for souvenirs at the city center, which also has a large, outdoor market with fresh produce. This is a souvenir hunter’s paradise, with locally owned shops and an abundance of small treasures to purchase and bring home. The market is a wonderful cultural experience, whether or not you choose to purchase anything. We will then drive out of town for a visit to a traditional Maasai Boma. Here we will meet the inhabitants of a small Maasai home, who dance and sing for us, and where we enjoy a lunch of traditional African style BBQ (Western cuisine options will be available as well). After experiencing the Maasai way of life, we will drive to the Kibo Palace Hotel in the city of Arusha for our last night and a final, celebratory dinner.

After breakfast, you will have time to relax until your international flight today. You will be transferred from the hotel to the airport at a convenient time for check-in. Flights should be booked for departure after 9 A.M.Please Note: We always do everything in our power to follow the set itinerary, however occasionally trips are subject to itinerary changes based on a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to: lodging/campground availability, extreme weather, political or bureaucratic obstacles, earthquakes, fires, flooding and more.