9 Day Night Game Drive, Canoeing, and Walking at Crater Rim Safari in Tanzania
Tanzania Safari in the Country's Best National Parks
This is an excellent tour that gives you enough time to explore the Northern Tanzania Wildlife Parks, as you will have the canoeing and walking with an armed ranger at Arusha Park, a wonderful day and night game drive, walking at Lake Manyara National Park, and proceed to Serengeti National Park for a game drive, walking with an armed ranger at the Rim of Ngorongoro and game drive into Ngorongoro crater floor and Tarangire National Park.
Key information
- Starting point and ending point: Arusha town
- Maasai-speaking guide for walking at the rim of Ngorongoro
- Professional English-speaking driver/guide
- All parks fees are included
Meet the guides
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Highlights
- Morning and evening game drives
- Canoe safari on Lake Momella
- Walking safari in Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater Rim with armed ranger
- Explore the world-famous Serengeti National Park
- Opportunity to see elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lion, leopard, cheetah, etc.
- 4WD toyota land cruisers with a pop-up roof, radio call, fridge, electric charger system
- 8 nights accommodation
- Meals as outlined in the itinerary
Styles
Accommodation
Mc-Ellys Hotel
Mc-Ellys Hotel offers you the most convenient location for you to get around. Located at Wasukuma Street in Arusha, Tanzania, the hotel is near Arusha Airport (ARK) and only 30 minutes' drive from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). They provide convenient access to health and fitness clubs in Arusha, and the hotel is near the Arusha International Conference Centre, Forex bureaus, shopping malls, and curio shops. The sights within the bounds of Arusha also provide a window into Tanzania’s exciting cultures, history, and amazing wildlife.
The hotel is known as one of the prominent budget hotels in Arusha town, Tanzania, offering you the most comfortable accommodation with all luxurious amenities. The hotel provides you with quality budget hotel rooms. Whether you are on business or pleasure, a warm reception awaits you!
The hotel offers wireless internet, satellite TV, a business center, modern soundproof and air-conditioned conference facilities, a spacious and always fresh restaurant, CCTV security cameras for your safety, and a spacious and 24-hour secured parking area.
Migombani Camp
Migombani Camp is located in the Great Rift Valley and is central to many beautiful national parks. With the picturesque Lake Manyara at your doorstep, the campsite is the closest accommodation to the entrance of Lake Manyara National Park.
Enjoy the lush green gardens where privacy and tranquility are paramount. Be blown away by the spectacular views and see if you can spot flamingos in Lake Manyara. Cool off in the swimming pool after an exciting safari. Have a barbecue and enjoy your beer, wine, or other refreshing drink in the lounge area while the sun goes down. And finally, end your day delightfully under the sparkling stars with the warmth of the campfire.
Migombani Camp offers a unique mix of comfort and adventure. A place where you can enjoy modern facilities such as hot showers, a spacious kitchen area, a cozy lounge, and free Wi-Fi.
The site is spaciously designed, fully equipped, and safe with 24-hour security available. Choose your favorite spot to put up your tent and enjoy the undisturbed views from the privacy of your canvas.
There are hot showers, clean flushing toilets, and freshwater, thanks to the nearby river. Also, a large, modern kitchen area is at your disposal. Suddenly washing dishes is not so bad any more, thanks to this sensational view.
For those who do not have, or want to bring, their own camping equipment, Migombani offers furnished safari tents as well. The spacious tents are equipped with comfortable beds and crispy bed linen.
The stunning main area has a restaurant, bar, and lounge. Cool drinks, snacks, and simple meals are being served here. And after a long day on safari, there is nothing better than to take a refreshing dip in the infinity pool overlooking Lake Manyara and the valley.
- Accommodation: Budget
Pimbi Campsite
Pimbi Campsite is located in Serengeti National Park. Pimbi means 'hyrax' in Swahili. The camp has cooking and eating enclosures, water tanks and taps for washing, and recently built clean toilets. The facilities are very basic but will ensure an enjoyable stay for the guests.
Food is cooked by an experienced cook and served in a lunch box. Cooking bandas are available as a kitchen area for all the campers. This is a government-run camp where two-man tents are provided to campers.
- Accommodation level: Budget
Simba Campsite
Simba Campsite lies on the very rim of Ngorongoro Crater and has an excellent view across the caldera. A fantastic sunrise over the crater rim makes a fine breakfast scene. Often, there are elephants wandering around the camp. This campsite is guarded.
Tents have mats, and bathrooms are outside the tent. Facilities at Simba Campsite are basic, but this is more than made up for by the atmosphere of this camp in the clouds.
- Accommodation level: Budget
Program
Day 1: Arusha National Park walking with armed ranger and canoeing
Pickup from your hotel in Arusha town or airport at 8:30 a.m. and drive to Arusha National Park for 4 hours of walking with an armed ranger. You should expect so many wild animals to see giraffes, zebras, antelope, buffalo, black and white colobus monkeys, etc. and potentially elephants near the trail.
After lunch, they will take you for a canoe safari on Lake Momella, a unique opportunity to get close to the animals. You can see different animals, for example, hippos, buffalos, giraffes, waterbucks, and many different species of birds. In addition, you have spectacular views of the Kilimanjaro and Meru mountains.
Late evening drive to McElly's Hotel for dinner and overnight.
- Main destination: Arusha National Park
- Accommodation: Mc-Elly’s Hotel, budget hotel located in or near Arusha
Meals and drinks: Lunch and dinner (breakfast not included). Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 2: Lake Manyara National Park - night game drives - walking safari
Meet your professional driver guide at the McEllys Hotel in Arusha town at 08.30 a.m. and drive with picnic lunch boxes to Lake Manyara Park for a morning game drive till the afternoon. Enjoy your time with lions, hippos, antelopes, impalas, and zebras just beside your safari vehicle. When in flamingo season, Lake Manyara is covered by flamingos feeding algae in the lake shore.
After lunch, start walking inside the park; the walks are guided and normally accompanied by an armed ranger. A walking safari is an excellent break from game drives.
Night game drives:
After an early dinner, leave the camp at about 8 p.m. and explore the park for approximately three hours of evening game drive. Your expert guide will take you through the park’s diverse habitats in search of nocturnal animals and sounds. At 10:30 p.m., drive to Migombani camp.
- Main destination: Lake Manyara National Park
- Accommodation: Migombani Campsite, just outside Lake Manyara NP
- Meals and drinks: All meals included. Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 3: Serengeti National Park, game drive en route
After an early breakfast, you will drive to Serengeti National Park and enjoy a game drive and photographing in Serengeti National Park. Today, you will have a long and interesting journey with a game drive en route to Nabi Hill Gate, where you are going to have lunch around 2:30 p.m. while your driver confirms the entrance fees. Grab all the best viewpoints of superb landscapes on your way to Serengeti and have a view of the Ngorongoro Crater, but not to do a game drive.
Late in the afternoon, you will have a game watching in Serengeti until sunset. After seeing the sunset in Serengeti National Park, prepare for a shower and dinner at the public campsite. Wildlife statistics currently measure that Serengeti has large herbivore species of over 1,300,000 wildebeests, 250,000 Thomson’s gazelles, 200,000 zebras, 70,000 impalas, 50,000 topis, 30,000 Grants gazelles, 10,000 lands, and many antelopes and hundreds of predators. Dinner and overnight at Pimbi campsite.
- Main destination: Serengeti National Park
- Accommodation: Budget camping inside Serengeti NP
- Meals and drinks: All meals included, non-alcoholic drinks
Day 4: Serengeti wildebeest migration
Early in the morning at 05:45 a.m., you will take your breakfast box and picnic lunch boxes, then embark on an exciting sunrise game drive, and enjoy a full-day game drive in Serengeti National Park. Your driver guide will choose the best locations for you to see the park’s wildlife and the Wildebeest Migration, depending on the season.
You may spend time at the hippo pool watching these enormous animals lazing about in the cool water, happily living alongside the crocodile. You may view a large pride of lions as they gather in the middle of the wildebeest migration.
You will travel from the wide-open plains up to the rocky outcrops, called Kopjes, that provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals. From this vantage point, you can look out across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti and see elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lion, leopard, and cheetah, as well as a wide variety of birdlife. Dinner and overnight at Pimbi Campsite.
- Main destination: Serengeti National Park
- Accommodation: Budget camping inside Serengeti NP
- Meals and drinks: All meals included. Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 5: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater Rim
After early breakfast, have a full game drive en route with a picnic lunch to Simba campsite at the top of the rim of Ngorongoro crater via the small but very interesting Dr. Leakey Museum at Olduvai Gorge (your option to visit or not).
On the way, you will pass through the Serengeti Plains, the world's natural wonder and the first natural African icon. Explore wild predators such as lions, cheetahs, leopards kidding in the branches of trees, flamingos, and water birds on Lake Magadi, as well as lovebirds and kingfishers across the Seronera River Valley.
Only in Serengeti will you see millions of big wild mammals and maybe wildebeest migration. Then, you will depart with en route game-watching across the Kopies of Serengeti to explore the cheetahs, lions, and leopards. Hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, elephants, and small antelopes are plenty, finding their survival in this plain. Dinner and overnight stay at Simba Campsite.
- Main destination: Ngorongoro Highlands
- Accommodation: Budget camping on the crater rim of Ngorongoro Highlands
- Meals and drinks: All meals included, non-alcoholic drinks
Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater floor
Descend 610 meters into the Ngorongoro Crater floor for 6 hours of game viewing with a picnic lunch. Spot the endangered black rhinos, lions, elephants, zebras, buffaloes, wildebeests, and other wild animals. Also in Ngorongoro Crater Soda Lake, you will see many species of birds including flamingos. All these animals in turn support large predators such as lions and leopards and scavengers such as hyenas and jackals. Dinner and overnight at the rim of Ngorongoro crater rim Simba campsite.
- Main destination: Ngorongoro Crater
- Accommodation: Budget camping on the crater rim of Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals and drinks: All meals included. Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 7: 7-hour walk in Ngorongoro Crater rim through acacia forest
Early after breakfast, drive one kilometer with picnic lunch boxes from Simba campsite to the starting point at the northern part of the rim of Ngorongoro and start walking through the acacia forest accompanied by Maasai warriors, donkeys (to carry your luggage), and an armed ranger. Have a nice view of Ngorongoro crater.
Walk 17 km through the Acacia forest on the rim of Ngorongoro and see so many birds and wild animals, such as giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, bushbacks, and different species. Dinner and overnight at Leianai Bush campsite.
- Main destination: Ngorongoro Crater
- Accommodation: Budget camping on the crater rim of Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals and drinks: All meals included. Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 8: Walk on Crater Rim (7 hours, Leyanai to Elkiepusi)
Early after breakfast, proceed walking 17 km with picnic lunch boxes accompanied with Maasai warriors, donkeys, and armed rangers on the crater rim from Leianai to Ilkiepusi 6-7 hours cross the acacia forest and view the crater from the top of the rim.
You will see many wild animals, such as buffaloes, zebras, wildebeests, elephants, giraffes, birds, etc. Dinner and overnight at Ilkiepusi Bush camp.
- Main destination: Ngorongoro Crater
- Accommodation: Budget camping on the crater rim of Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals and drinks: All meals included. Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 9: Tarangire National Park game drives
After breakfast, walk about half a kilometer, and the car will pick you up and proceed to Tarangire National Park for a full-day game drive with picnic lunches. Tarangire National Park covers 2,600 square kilometers, and at dry times, the concentration of animals rivals that of the much better-known Serengeti—the game numbers are staggering: e.g., 30,000 zebras, 25,000 wildebeests, 5,000 buffaloes, 3,000 elephants, 2,500 Maasai giraffes, and over 1,000 fringe-eared oryxes (gemsbok).
Predators include lions, cheetahs, and leopards. Also flocks of birds: e.g., green wood hoopoes, fisherlovebirds, white-bellied go-away birds, and giant kingfishers. Late evening drive back to Arusha Town
- Main destination: Tarangire National Park
- Accommodation: No accommodation (end of tour)
- Meals and drinks: Breakfast and lunch (dinner not included). Non-alcoholic drinks
Guides
Guides
AAA Express Adventure employs approximately 5 professional driver-guides with an average experience of 15 years. They have very high standards when it comes to hiring and retaining personnel, and can say without reservation that these individuals are quite simply the most knowledgeable, hard-working and passionate guides in the industry. All of their guides are local Tanzanians, fluent in English, and most have advanced wildlife certificates. Course work includes wildlife ecology, conservation, field skills, identification, biology, and advanced tour guiding.
Location
During this safari tour, you will visit various game parks and destinations such as Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Highlands, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire National Park.
Food
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
What's included
- All parks fees
- Camping fees
- Crater service fees
- Armed ranger
- Maasai-speaking guide for walking at the Rim of Ngorongoro
- During walking on the crater rim: donkeys to carry luggage / food / camping equipment
- Camping equipment: tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, pillows, chairs, table, etc
- Professional English-speaking driver driver / guide
- 4WD toyota land cruisers with a pop-up roof / radio call / fridge / electric charger system
- All taxes / VAT
- Three meals a day
- Cook
- Mineral water
- 8 nights accommodation
What's not included
- Tips
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Arusha Airport
6 km
Transfer not provided
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Arusha Airport (ARK). Airport transfer is not included in the price. If you request that AAA Express Adventure pick you up at the airport, the cost for transfer will be added because this program does not include airport transfer. Their driver will pick up clients from their hotel in Arusha at 8:30 a.m.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 20% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookAllSafaris.com. All major credit cards supported.