Best of North Tanzania - Join the Group - 2024

You will be met at the airport by your Shadows of Africa driver. You will be whisked away to your hotel to recover from your flight and enjoy your first taste of African hospitality. Upon request, Shadows of Africa can assist in arranging additional guided tours and day trips. After a good night's rest you will be ready for the start of your safari tomorrow!

The drive from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Moshi takes approximately 1 hour. 

You’ll take a guided walk to Materuni Waterfall. Your walk takes you through local fruit and vegetable plantations, and your guide will teach you about the local culture along the way.

Finish your day trip with a refreshing dip in the waterfall pool and a delicious picnic lunch.

After breakfast, you'll depart for the drive to the park. You will have a game drive through the park, passing such landmarks such as the Momella Lakes and Ngurdoto Crater - sometimes known as 'Little Ngorongoro'.

You will also have a guided walking safari through the park. While on your walking safari, you can expect to see endless acres of forest, home to black and white colobus monkeys, zebras, buffalos, and a variety of antelopes. You will also have a chance to observe more than 400 bird species including the Crowned Eagle, Lanner Falcon, and Levaillants Cuckoo.

Available at extra cost, you'll trade the car for a canoe as you take a guided canoe safari out on the Momella Lakes to see bushbuck, giraffes, hippos, and buffalo.

You can spend the day at leisure - either enjoying the pool and gardens of your lodge - or you can choose to have an optional activities in Arusha.

This morning you will be picked up by your Shadows of Africa guide. He will take you to Tarangire National Park for a game drive, the drive is approximately 2 hours from Arusha.

Once you've entered Tarangire, you'll begin your game drive across a rich vista of endless golden savannah that surrounds the Tarangire River. The river itself runs throughout the year and is a vital source of water for the animals of the region during the dry season. Lined with acacia and Baobab trees, the river is regularly visited by the park's large elephant population as well as other herbivores such as zebras and antelopes.

A hot picnic lunch with a view of the river is a great way to take it all in, but you'll have to keep on your toes as the local monkey population does its best to separate you from your lunch!

Driving through the park you'll also have the opportunity to see lions, leopards, cape buffalo, and a huge variety of antelopes. If you're particularly lucky, you might even see endangered animals such as the Greater Kudu or the Fringe-Eared Oryx.

After the fantastic game, your guide will bring you to your camp or lodge for dinner and overnight.

You'll depart from your lodge after breakfast for the drive to Lake Manyara National Park.

The park is truly a photographer's playground and offers some of the best game viewing in the world. You can expect to see many of Africa's most well-known animals, with the tree-climbing lions a particular treat. These proud predators lounge in acacia trees practically begging to be photographed.

Bird-watchers will find Lake Manyara is an absolute delight, with a huge variety of birds on display in the park. Even the novice can expect to be amazed by large flamingo flocks, circling birds of prey, and the brightly coloured lilac breasted roller.

You will drive to Lake Eyasi in the afternoon, where you will experience some exciting activities tomorrow.

You'll be up before breakfast today, as you'll be joining the Hadzabe bushmen for the opportunity to hunt for your own food!

One of the last true bushman tribes in Africa, the Hadzabe live very much as they always have despite the rapid development of Tanzania. With only 2,000 members, the Hadzabe tribe are a fascinating people who offer us a window into how life in Tanzania was in the past.

The local hunters will prepare a demonstration of hunting techniques just for us. Far from being a mere performance, this display reveals a great deal about their everyday lives when they must hunt for animals to feed their families. You will see firsthand how the Hadzabe use distinctive motions and even the body parts of certain animals to lure their prey close enough that they can be brought down with hand-crafted poisons.

After a late breakfast, you'll have the opportunity for a drive around Lake Eyasi proper. While this shallow soda lake is not home to the same variety of wildlife you'll find in a national park, you'll have the chance to spot a variety of bird and mammal life. On occasion, flamingos and hippos even call the lake home.

You'll also have time to meet with the Datoga people. Mostly farmers and cattle breeders, these fascinating people offer another insight into tribal life in Tanzania.

Once your day's activities have been completed, you'll make your way to Karatu Town for dinner and overnight.

We'll take an early breakfast, as we've got a big day of exploration and adventure ahead of us!

We'll begin the day with the scenic drive towards the Serengeti. Along the way we'll pass through the mist-shrouded rainforests of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where you might be lucky enough to glimpse cape buffalo, baboons, or even elephants and leopards in the dense undergrowth.

It's a nearly four hour drive to the Serengeti park gates, but you can choose to break up the drive with one of the optional activities.

After a delicious lunch at the Serengeti National Park picnic area, it’s time to explore the Serengeti itself. Witness Africa’s iconic savannah landscape and be amazed by the sheer number of animals that roam these grassy plains.

Dinner and overnight in the heart of the Serengeti National Park according to the standard and the type of accommodation requested from our options.

Today you can choose when you will do game drive and when you want to relax in the lodge. You can wake before dawn to take part in a sunrise game drive. As the sun sets fire to the savannah, you'll have the best opportunity to see predators in action as they take advantage of the low light and cooler temperatures to look for an early meal. It's an ideal time to see lions, leopards, and cheetahs in action as well as the early morning movements of the wildebeest, zebra, and other herbivores.

After your unforgettable morning, you'll return to your lodge for a late breakfast and to freshen up before hitting the road again with a picnic lunch / or to stay in the lodge in the afternoon to enjoy the view from the mess tent or the platform in front of your room . Your driver will select the best possible route based upon the time of year and the kind of animals you'd like to see, catering your day so that your opportunities to see the Serengeti's diverse wildlife are maximized.

You can also have a normal morning game drive after breakfast, and return to the lodge for hot lunch. From 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm, it is hotter than the rest of the day, so you may choose to stay in the lodge after lunch, and start another game drive in the late afternoon.

You have another option to take to the skies with a sunrise hot air balloon safari and champagne breakfast. Speak with your safari expert about adding this once in a lifetime experience to your safari.

After breakfast, we get right on the road back towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Our drive takes us back through the Serengeti via a different route, offering plenty of opportunities to spot the animals that eluded you on day two. As far as the eye can see, you’ll spot thousands upon thousands of animals in herds; wildebeests and zebras migrating together, tall and graceful giraffes, jumping antelopes and gazelles, the powerful African elephant and the most respected group of animals: the predators. You will have the chance to spot lean cheetahs and shy leopards, foraging hyenas, and last but not least, the king himself; the lion.

Once arrived in Ngorongoro Conservation Area you have the chance to visit an original Maasai Boma. The Maasai is the only tribe that is allowed to live inside this area.

Dinner and overnight on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater or in nearby Karatu Town according to the standard and the type of accommodation requested from our options.

After breakfast, you'll depart for Ngorongoro Crater considered by some to be the Eighth Wonder of the World. When you get your first glimpse of this vast, verdant caldera from the panoramic viewpoint, you'll soon understand why it has earned such a lofty reputation.

Home to over 120 species of mammal including the fabled Big Five, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the most sought after safari destinations in the world. It's a particularly good place to see the endangered black rhinoceros enjoying a lonely meal out on the grass plains, as well as a place to see large numbers of hippopotamus enjoying the cool water.

From the comfort of your open-top vehicle, you'll be able to observe and photograph some of Africa's most recognizable faces. The crater is home to a large number of predators including lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas, as well as a large population of wildebeest, zebras, antelope, cape buffalo, and more. It is truly one of Africa's premier safari destinations.

After the thrills and excitement of the day, you will have a picnic lunch by the park's famous hippo pool then drive back to Kilimanjaro International Airport (Note: you need a late departure time).

Next day is the last day of your adventure! You will be picked up by a Shadows team member to be brought to the airport in time for your international flight.

EVEN GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END

Today is the last day of your adventure! You will be picked up to and taken to the airport in time for your international flight.