Your international inbound flights should be booked to arrive in Tanzania – Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport irrespective of the time and the airline. After clearing with customs, immigration and confirming you have collected all your luggage, please proceed outside the building to the paging area where you will find our Safari/Airport representative holding a pager with the DK Grand Safaris logo and your surname/Group name printed below the logo. After a warm introduction to each other with a Hug, you will be assisted with your luggage and taken to the vehicle. You will proceed to your city hotel for check-in and overnight. Mount Meru Hotel is an oasis of tranquility, situated at the foothills and with an uninterrupted view of Mount Meru with pristine gardens overlooking the Golf club is the perfect destination for your first night in Africa. Arusha is the safari capital of the country. Guests embarking on the popular northern safari circuit all stop here to prepare for their journeys into the African bush. Arusha is also called the ‘Geneva of Africa’ because of the picturesque street markets, craft shops, museums, Makonde carving workshops, restaurants, street cafes, and bars.
Superior Accommodation: Mount Meru Hotel
Premium Luxury: Gran Melia Hotel
Meals Plan: Bed Only
Day 2
Lake Manyara National Park/Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast, check out and depart for Ngorongoro Crater via Lake Manyara National Park with a picnic lunch. Lake Manyara National Park covers an area of approximately 330 sq km / 125 sq mile including a lake surface of 230 sq km / 89 sq miles, it was once quoted by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. The park is famous for the tree-climbing lions and its huge populations of flamingos but its diverse eco-systems is habitant to a huge variety of animal which includes elephants, giraffe, impalas, troops of baboons, waterbucks, etc, and more than 400 different birds species which have been recorded. Later you will proceed by road to Ngorongoro Crater Conservancy which was established in 1959 as a multiple-land use area, where wildlife could co-exist with the semi-nomadic Maasai, who move from one place to another in search of water and pasture. The Maasai, Datooga, and Hadza are the major communities who have been living around the crater though they cannot engage in farming but they can rear livestock. The name Ngorongoro is a name given by the native Maasi people meaning “the black hole”. Extensive archaeological research has yielded evidence of human evolution including early hominid footprints dating back 3.6 million. The area was first inscribed on the World Heritage list as a natural site in 1979 because of its biodiversity conservation. You will arrive at the lodge in the evening followed by some refreshments before dinner.
Superior Accommodation: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge
Premium Luxury: Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge
Meals Plan: Breakfast(B), Lunch(L) & Dinner(D)
Day 3
Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, check out and depart for Serengeti National Park with a picnic lunch driving through Ngorongoro Conservational Area and within the Maasai people’s villages where they graze their cattle on the slopes of the Ngorongoro escarpment. You will proceed by road game viewing en route up to Naabi Hills where there is free parking, toilets, and a picnic lunch site for the lunch. After lunch, the official game viewing will start scouting over the vast savannah grasslands in search of the plain’s abundant wildlife including the big five Giraffes, Café buffalos, Lions, Cheetahs, Gazelles, Elephants, Topi, Zebras, Wildebeest, Impala among others mammals and more than 500 birds species making . Serengeti an excelling destination for avid birders. Besides some iconic species, such as the Kori bustard, ostrich, and African Fish Eagle. The name “Serengeti” comes from the Maasai word Siringet which means the place where the land runs forever. The park was established in the 1920s but it was gazetted as a national park in 1951. Initially, it was a grazing land for the Maasai People and later they were relocated to Ngorongoro Highlands where they live as of now. Later you will proceed to the camp/lodge for check-in followed by dinner.
Superior Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Lodge
Premium Luxury: Four Seasons Safari Lodge or Elewana Pioneer Camp
Meals Plan: Breakfast(B), Lunch(L) & Dinner(D)
Day 4
Serengeti National Park
This day will be spent at Serengeti National Park with morning and afternoon game viewing along the flowing rivers of Seronera, the savannah grass, and the woodland that support a variety of birds, mammals, and reptiles. The park is also famous for the annual Wildebeest migration, where several millions of herbivores including Wildebeest, zebras, Topis, and Gazelles from the south migrate to Masai Mara Game Reserve for the lush green grass and water from the Mara River. The voyage of more than one million wildebeest, zebras, and other hoofed animals starts from here as they travel towards the famous Masai Mara Games Reserve – Kenya where they are known to offer a dramatic show as they cross the Mara River full of crocodiles, its where “survival is for the fittest” from July to October every year. You might decide to spice up your adventure with a Balloon safari. It starts before the golden sunrise, enchanting sceneries, and plain game below as the winds gently blow the basket deeper into the reserve. Soar silently with 360 degrees from a unique bird’s-eye view, a spectacular savannah below with plenty of photographic opportunities unfolding. Thereafter your adventure safari will continue or enjoy a leisurely game drive back to the camp/lodge reliving the memories of the morning’s flight.
Superior Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Lodge
Premium Luxury: Four Seasons Safari Lodge or Elewana Pioneer Camp
Meals Plan: Breakfast(B), Lunch(L) & Dinner(D)
Day 5
Ngorongoro Crater
An early morning breakfast will be served at the lodge followed by check-out and proceed towards Ngorongoro Crater. You will descent down to the crater which is a unique refuge for both animals offering different topography ranging from the basins, swamps, springs, rivers, plains, forests, and salt lakes. Spend a memorable morning ensconced in the crater, exploring its breadth and depth. Ngorongoro Crater is one of the natural wonders of the world, and it’s often called “Africa’s Eden” due to its dazzling beauty and is a paradise for animals. Millions of years ago a smoldering volcano collapsed, creating a crater and a home for thousands of animals amidst its many types of vegetation grown and nourished over the centuries. The crater supports a vast number of animals such as elephants, café buffalos, hyenas, lions, jackals, zebras, wildebeest, and more than 550 bird species because of the freshwater it holds. There are no giraffes in the crater because of the steep descent. The major highlights of Ngorongoro Crater are, Lake Magadi which is home to several bird species, Hippo pool popular picnic site, Mandusi swamp popular with elephants, Lerai forest popular with baboons and the old stone burial mound believed to have been the burial place for the Datooga people. Later you will ascent back to the lodge/camp for check-in and an afternoon of leisure, a hot shower before dinner.
Superior Accommodation: Ngorongoro Serena/Sopa
Premium Luxury: Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge
Meals Plan: Breakfast(B), Lunch(L) & Dinner(D)
Day 6
Depart
After breakfast, you will check out depart for Arusha Town for Arusha town for lunch. Later you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your international outbound flight.
