5 days Tanzania safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti Plains, Ngorogoro Crater

Day 1 – Arusha – Lake Manyara

Non game-viewing travel time: 2½ hours

Distance: 130 km

 

Pick up from Arusha and transfer to Lake Manyara national park on your first day of 5 Days Tanzania Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti Plains, Ngorongoro Crater.

 

We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch do we head into the Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive.

 

This national park is one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park), located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment.

 

The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, Lake Manyara’s unique tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae in the lake.

 

Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

 

Day 2 – Lake Manyara – Serengeti Plains

Non game-viewing travel time: 6 hours

Distance: 205 km

 

After breakfast on your second day of 5 Days Tanzania Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti Plains, Ngorongoro Crater we head towards the Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

 

Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa – the Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see.

 

We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species.

 

We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti national park.

 

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

 

Day 3 – Serengeti Plains

Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement).

 

Floating silently above the awakening bush, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages.

 

We do an after breakfast game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, and which is good for possible Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings.

 

The Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites, is well worth a visit after the morning’s game drive. This nicely designed centre offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area.

 

The centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby kopje. We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the centre in the shade of the giant acacia trees.

 

In the afternoon we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lion and some formidably large cobras.

 

Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains.

 

This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons – including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink!

 

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

 

Day 4 – Serengeti Plains – Ngorongoro crater

Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours

Distance: 145 km

 

After breakfast at the lodge do we depart to Ngorongoro Conservation area on your fourth day of 5 Days Tanzania Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti Plains, Ngorongoro Crater.

 

We will stopover at Olduvai Gorge, boasting with a history dating back to the dawn of time. It was here, that the anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of ‘Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.

 

We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch we will descend over 600 meters into the crater to view wildlife for a half day’s safari tour.

 

Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants.

 

Another big draw card to this picturesque national park, is it’s dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot.

 

We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually been seen here.

 

Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

 

Day 5 – Ngorongoro crater – Arusha

Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours

Distance: 190 km

 

Enjoy breakfast on your last day of 5 Days Tanzania Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti Plains, Ngorongoro Crater, after which we will transfer back to Arusha.

 

Upon arrival in Arusha will we have lunch and then we will end our African safari adventure. The group should tip the guide around $20 a day. You will be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.

 

Please note this itinerary is subject to change with or without prior notice according to local conditions / park rules. The order of places visited could also be changed according to the guide’s decision.

International prices – 2019 / 2020
5 Day safari prices – Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro crater
2019 / 2020 US$ Rates:	Group size – Rate per person sharing
	1 Pax	2 Pax	3 Pax	4 Pax	5 Pax	6 Pax	SSR*
Luxury lodges – Option 1 Lodges used: Lake Manyara Serena lodge, Serengeti Serena Lodge and Ngorongoro Serena lodge
01 Apr – 25 May 2019	2 983	2 090	1 791	1 643	1 554	1 494	0
26 May – 31 Oct 2019	3 968	2 838	2 539	2 390	2 301	2 241	238
01 Nov – 20 Dec 2019	3396	2 329	2 030	1 881	1 793	1 733	175
21 Dec – 31 Dec 2019	3 968	2 838	2 539	2 390	2 301	2 241	238
01 Jan – 28 Feb 2020	4 166	2 980	2 666	2 510	2 416	2 353	250
01 Mar – 31 Mar 2020	3 566	2 445	2 132	1 975	1 883	1 820	184
01 Apr – 25 May 2020	3 132	2 195	1 881	1 725	1 632	1 569	0
26 May – 31 Oct 2020	4 166	2 980	2 666	2 510	2 416	2 353	250
01 Nov – 20 Dec 2020	3 566	2 445	2 132	1 975	1 883	1 820	184
21 Dec – 31 Dec 2020	4 166	2 980	2 666	2 510	2 416	2 353	250
Semi luxury lodges – Option 2 Lodges used: Kirurumu Manyara Lodge, Serengeti Sopa lodge and Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
01 Apr – 25 May 2019	2884	1994	1698	1550	1461	1401	0
26 May – 31 Oct 2019	3599	2471	2175	2028	1939	1879	238
01 Nov – 16 Dec 2019	3391	2295	1999	1851	1763	1703	206
17 Dec – 31 Dec 2019	3599	2471	2175	2028	1939	1879	238
01 Jan – 28 Feb 2020	3779	2595	2284	2129	2036	1973	250
01 Mar – 31 Mar 2020	3561	2410	2099	1944	1851	1788	216
01 Apr – 25 May 2020	3028	2094	1783	1628	1534	1471	0
26 May – 31 Oct 2020	3779	2595	2284	2129	2036	1973	250
01 Nov – 16 Dec 2020	3561	2410	2099	1944	1851	1788	216
17 Dec – 31 Dec 2020	3779	2595	2284	2129	2036	1973	250
Tented Camps & Lodges – Option 3 Lodges used: Migunga Forest Camp, Serengeti Kati Kati Camp and Ngorongoro Farmhouse
01 Apr – 25 May 2019	3 115	2 049	1 750	1 600	1 510	1 450	169
26 May – 31 Oct 2019	3 279	2 144	1 845	1 695	1 605	1 545	238
01 Nov – 16 Dec 2019	3 264	2 135	1 836	1 686	1 596	1 536	231
17 Dec – 31 Dec 2019	3 279	2 144	1 845	1 695	1 605	1 545	238
01 Jan – 28 Feb 2020	3 443	2 251	1 937	1 780	1 685	1 622	250
01 Mar – 31 Mar 2020	3 427	2 242	1 928	1 770	1 676	1 613	243
01 Apr – 25 May 2020	3 271	2 151	1 838	1 680	1 586	1 523	177
26 May – 31 Oct 2020	3 443	2 251	1 937	1 780	1 685	1 622	250
01 Nov – 16 Dec 2020	3 427	2 242	1 928	1 770	1 676	1 613	243
17 Dec – 31 Dec 2020	3 443	2 251	1 937	1 780	1 685	1 622	250
*SSR = Single Supplement Rate for a non-sharing person in a room Supplements: All Lodges & Tented Camps: US$ 35 p/p/p/n applicable on 19 to 22 April 2019 / 10 to 13 April 2020 & US$ 40 p/p/p/n applicable on 24, 25, 26, 31 Dec & 1 Jan. Children Rates: Discounted rates will apply for children 15 years and younger.