Tarangire, the Serengeti and the crater, with two nights on the plains
Three parks, five days, and the one change that matters most: two nights in the Serengeti instead of one. That gives you a whole day out on the plains without an eye on the clock, which is when the good sightings tend to happen.
You'll be met at Kilimanjaro airport and dropped back there, so the trip tops and tails itself. Tarangire first for the elephants, then west to the Serengeti, then the crater on the way home.
First-timers who want the famous parks done properly rather than quickly, and anyone with a week in Tanzania who wants a couple of days spare at either end.
This is a starting point, not a fixed departure. You can change the route, the pace, the camps and the length, and most people do. Customize this safari
We'll meet you at Kilimanjaro airport and drive to Tarangire, roughly four hours. The afternoon is a game drive: elephants, lions, giraffe, and the baobabs the park is known for.
In the evening you'll carry on up to the Karatu highlands and the coffee lodge, which is cool, green and a long way from anywhere noisy.
After breakfast you'll drive west across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and into the Serengeti through the Naabi Hill gate. It's a game drive as much as a transfer: the plains start before the gate does.
You'll reach Serengeti Serena with time to settle in before dinner.
The whole day is yours out on the plains, which is the point of this itinerary. Lion and cheetah are the likely headliners, with wildebeest and zebra wherever the grass has been good.
Where you go depends entirely on the month and on what your guide hears on the radio at breakfast. Back to the lodge in the evening.
A morning game drive as you make your way out of the park, then the scenic run down to Ngorongoro. The afternoon is spent on the crater floor, which is about as concentrated as wildlife viewing gets: rhino if you're lucky, buffalo and lion if you're not.
The night is on the rim. Bring a fleece.
Breakfast at the lodge, a packed lunch for the road, then the drive to Kilimanjaro airport via Arusha for an evening flight.
So, what does it cost? We price every safari individually, because it really depends on when you travel, which camps you pick and how many of you there are. The same route in February and in August won't cost the same.
Tell us your dates and roughly what you have in mind, and we'll send you a full, itemised quote. Not a vague range, a real quote.
Per person, based on two of you travelling together. The per-person price comes down in a bigger group, and we confirm your exact figure in writing when we quote. Rates as published for 15 January 2026 to 15 January 2027.
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