Day 1: Arusha (arrival)
You will arrive and overnight at Silver Palm Hotel.
Day 2: Arusha - Tarangire National Park
In the morning, you will be picked up from your hotel and you will travel to the Tarangire National Park. This park with its huge baobab trees, the perennial Tarangire River, and seasonal swamps is home to the largest elephant herds in northern Tanzania. Animals gather at the river and you should be able to see elephants, giraffes, bushbucks, hartebeests, dik-diks, waterbucks, warthogs, and reedbucks all year round.
Furthermore, the park is also home to buffaloes, zebras, and wildebeests which are always closely followed by a range of predators such as lions. Leopards are seen every once in a while but cheetahs are rarely spotted. From the open roof of the vehicle, you will be able to absorb the landscape and watch the animals. After an extensive game drive, you will leave the park in the late afternoon and drive to the Eileen's Trees Inn, where you will spend the night.
Meal plan: Lunch and dinner
Day 3: Tarangire Area - Ngorongoro Crater - Karatu
After an early start, you will make your way to the cooler regions of the Ngorongoro highlands. The Ngorongoro Crater is almost 600 meters deep, approximately 20 kilometers wide and the massive caldera is home to an amazing variety of animals. On your game drive, you have the possibility of seeing all different kinds of mammals ranging from the Big Five (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard) to Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles and mountain reedbucks.
You might also see spotted hyenas and some of the more than 500 bird species of the area. After a picnic lunch in the crater and some more game viewing, you will leave the crater in the afternoon and travel to Manyara, where you will overnight at the Eileen's Trees Inn.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 4: Karatu - Lake Manyara National Park - Arusha
After breakfast, you will leave the highlands and continue to Lake Manyara National Park, one of the smallest but most diverse parks in Tanzania. The shallow and alkaline Lake Manyara covers a large area of the park and it is the seasonal home to thousands of flamingos which is an awesome (pink) sight, however, more than 500 other bird species are also found here as well as some wonderful mammals.
Troops of monkeys live in the forests, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, and wildebeests on the grassy plains and elephants and lions in the acacia woodlands. After an intensive game drive and a picnic lunch, you will leave the park to arrive in Arusha by the late afternoon. You will stay overnight at Zawadi House Lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast and lunch
Day 5: Arusha
Transfer from Zawadi House Lodge to the airport for your flight.