5-Day Upper Mid-Range Best of Tanzania Safari

On this 5-day safari, you will experience the best Tanzania has to offer. The accommodation is between mid-range and luxury, experience breathtaking wildlife, including monkeys in the forest, lions in trees, elephants travelling through the bush, and a huge variety of animals inside a collapsed volcano, visit the iconic Serengeti National Park, which is home to 3 million animals, and have countless awe, and with a bit of luck, you will see the Big Five.

• Destination: Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Lake Manyara National Park
• Best time: June to October: Worst time:  April and May
• For a 5-Day Upper Mid-Range Best of Tanzania Safari packing list, pack lightweight, neutral-colored clothing (khaki, beige, olive) in breathable fabrics, aiming for 5-7 sets for layering, including long sleeves/pants for protection. Key items include a warm fleece/jacket, sunhat, binoculars, sunscreen, insect repellent, comfortable walking shoes, and a soft-sided bag.

Day 1: Arrival in Arusha

You will be picked up from the airport by a Foot Slopes Tours and Safaris representative and driven to your accommodation in Arusha. Depending on your arrival time, you will hopefully have time to relax and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime! Busy Arusha is an essential part of safari life here in northern Tanzania, and most travellers pass through at some stage. Overnight at Mount Meru hotel.

Day 2: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Your Safari guide will collect you from your accommodation after breakfast. Then drive to Tarangire National Park transit drive is approximately two and a half hours on good tarmac roads, named after the Tarangire River, which runs through the ‘river of warthogs’, and is the only source of water for wildlife in the region during the dry season, a well known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river.

During the trip, you may also see giraffes, bushbucks, and hartebeests, which are closely followed by a range of predators, including lions and leopards. There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire than anywhere else on the planet,  and huge and ancient baobab trees can be seen here. Some of them are said to have lived for more than a thousand years. Lunch will be at a picnic site inside the park. After your game drive, you will transit to your accommodation in Karatu. Dinner and overnight at  Marera Valley Lodge

Day 3: Ngorongoro Crater to Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, you will drive up into the cooler regions of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area for 5-6 hours. When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. Concealed by the steep volcanic walls is a pristine wilderness including sweeping savannah, pockets of acacia woodland, and glistening lakes and swamps. The crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago, and it covers an area of 260sq km. 

Crater is famous for both its geological delights and for being a natural reserve that is home to some of the densest large mammal populations in the whole of the African continent. After you descend into the Crater, you quickly find yourself amongst large numbers of wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, and more than 500 bird species. The Crater provides you with the best chance of seeing the endangered black rhinos. Later, proceed to the Serengeti. Dinner and overnight at mid-range accommodations

Day 4: Serengeti National Park to Karatu

The Serengeti is truly spectacular, famous for its vast open grasslands, which allow for excellent sightings of wildlife. Serengeti’s climate and vegetation have remained largely untouched for millions of years. Whilst it boasts abundant wildlife, it is perhaps best known for the annual Great Migration. Vast numbers of wildebeest, accompanied by large numbers of zebras and antelopes, move in an annual pattern, constantly seeking fresh grazing. 

Migration can be found during any given month; you just need to know where to look! The question should really be about the ‘best places’ to see the animals during a certain time of year. In addition to the iconic landscapes, you will have a good chance of encountering predators, and you may see lions, cheetahs, and leopards. It is a truly life-changing experience.

In the afternoon, you will start your journey back to Karatu, hopefully enjoying more wonders on the way! Dinner and overnight at  Marera Valley Lodge

Day 5: Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha Airport, end of tours

After breakfast, you will drive to Lake Manyara National Park, a small but diverse park 120km west of Arusha. Everything you’ll see here is on a different scale. It is both compact (this is one of the narrowest parks in Africa) and epic (the Great Rift Escarpment towers over Lake Manyara’s western boundary). The park’s namesake is a shallow, salt lake. It covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons, and is home to thousands of wading birds (including flamingos and over 500 other bird species). 

You may see baboons and elephants in the park’s thick evergreen forest, and watch for the tree-climbing lions that have become famous throughout Africa. Have a picnic lunch in the park. After your game drive, you will say farewell to your guide and will be dropped off at a place of your choosing, e.g., Arusha, Kilimanjaro Airport, or Arusha Airport.