5 Days Classic Tanzania luxury Safari Itinerary

Your safari adventure begins with a morning pick-up from your hotel in Arusha or Moshi, where you’ll meet your experienced safari guide. You’ll be driven in a comfortable 4x4 safari vehicle that will provide a smooth and safe journey through Tanzania’s varied landscapes. The drive will take you through lush forests, quaint villages, and the stunning Great Rift Valley before arriving at Tarangire National Park.

Tarangire National Park is one of Tanzania's most underrated gems, known for its large elephant herds and breathtaking landscapes dominated by ancient baobab trees. The park is also a haven for predators, including lions, leopards, and cheetahs, which you will have the chance to spot on your first game drive.

Upon arrival at the park, you’ll enjoy a morning game drive. Tarangire’s river and wetland areas attract many wildlife species, particularly during the dry season. You’ll have the chance to see elephants gathering along the riverbanks, giraffes gracefully grazing, and zebras and wildebeests roaming the open plains. You may also spot lions lounging in the shade of the trees or hidden leopards perched on branches, watching their prey.

In the afternoon, you’ll stop at a designated picnic site to enjoy a packed lunch amidst the beautiful surroundings. After lunch, you’ll continue your exploration of Tarangire’s diverse ecosystems, including swamps and savannahs. The park is also home to a rich variety of birdlife, including the endangered yellow-collared lovebird and the bustard. As the evening approaches, you’ll head to your lodge or campsite near the park, where you’ll enjoy a delicious dinner and relax for the night.

You’ll depart early for Lake Manyara National Park, a beautiful park located on the western edge of the Great Rift Valley. The drive to Lake Manyara takes you through scenic villages and lush forests, providing more opportunities to observe Tanzanian life as it unfolds along the way.

Lake Manyara is a park known for its diversity of habitats, from groundwater forests to soda lakes, and its unique wildlife. Upon arrival, your guide will introduce you to the park’s geography, and then you’ll begin your first game drive. The park is famous for its tree-climbing lions, a rare behavior that you might be lucky enough to witness. As you explore the park’s ecosystems, you’ll encounter herds of elephants, giraffes, zebras, and impalas. The Lake Manyara soda lake, which is often home to vast flocks of flamingos, will provide the perfect backdrop for a memorable wildlife experience.

After a morning of game viewing, you’ll stop for a picnic lunch at a scenic location within the park. You can relax, enjoying your lunch while observing the surroundings, with elephants grazing nearby and birds singing in the trees. Following lunch, you’ll continue your game drive, exploring other areas of the park, including the grassy floodplains, the hot springs, and the shores of the lake. Lake Manyara is also a great place for birdwatching, with over 400 species of birds recorded in the park, including pelicans, hornbills, and kingfishers. In the evening, you’ll leave Lake Manyara and make your way to your accommodation.

After breakfast, you will travel to one of the most iconic wildlife destinations in the world: Serengeti National Park. The drive takes you through Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where you’ll stop for panoramic views of the Ngorongoro Crater. After passing through picturesque landscapes, you’ll enter the vast Serengeti plains, where you’ll be treated to the sight of endless grasslands stretching as far as the eye can see.
The Serengeti is home to a vast variety of wildlife, including the famous “Big Five” – lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinos – as well as cheetahs, zebras, wildebeests, and gazelles. The park is also renowned for the Great Migration, where millions of wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles move across the plains in search of fresh grazing grounds. This seasonal spectacle is one of the most amazing wildlife events on the planet, and depending on the time of year, you may have the opportunity to witness it. You’ll embark on a full-day game drive, starting with a morning drive to catch predators in action as they hunt for prey. You may witness lions stalking their next meal or cheetahs sprinting at high speed to catch their prey. In the afternoon, you’ll pause for a packed picnic lunch in the park, and then continue exploring different areas of the Serengeti, such as kopjes (rocky outcrops), riverbanks, and woodlands.
As evening approaches, you’ll return to your lodge or campsite for a well-earned rest and a delicious dinner.

You’ll enjoy another full-day game drive in the Serengeti. You’ll explore new areas of the park and focus on spotting more wildlife. The Serengeti is vast, and there is always something new to discover. Depending on the time of year, you might be able to witness the Great Migration in full swing, with herds of wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles crossing the plains.

You’ll also have the chance to visit the Seronera River area, where wildlife gathers around the water source. This is an excellent location for predator sightings, as lions, leopards, and cheetahs often stake out territories here. You’ll also come across elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes in the riverbanks, and plenty of bird species, such as vultures, eagles, and secretary birds. In the late afternoon, you’ll return to your accommodation to relax and enjoy a hearty dinner.

After breakfast, you’ll head to the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in the world. Known as the “Garden of Eden,” the Ngorongoro Crater is an extinct volcanic caldera that measures over 260 square kilometers and is home to over 30,000 animals, including the Big Five.
You’ll begin your descent into the crater, where you’ll spend the morning game driving through the lush vegetation and open grasslands of the crater floor. Here, you will have the chance to see lions, elephants, buffaloes, rhinos, and hippos, as well as many other species such as zebras, wildebeests, and hyenas. Birdwatchers will also delight in the variety of species that inhabit the crater, including flamingos that feed on the soda lake. After a picnic lunch at a scenic spot on the crater floor, you’ll continue your game drive, soaking in the beauty and serenity of this incredible ecosystem. In the late afternoon, you’ll ascend the crater walls and begin your journey back to Arusha or Moshi, where your safari adventure ends