7-Day Tanzania Safari with Lake Eyasi: Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Manyara

Summary

• Destination
  Arusha, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Karatu, Lake Eyasi, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Arusha
• Duration
  7 days / 6 nights

A wildlife-rich northern circuit with a cultural stop at Lake Eyasi. Visit Tarangire and Lake Manyara, spend time with the Hadzabe and Datoga, enjoy two days in the Serengeti and finish in Ngorongoro Crater.

Travel: By road in a 4×4 safari vehicle

Highlights

• Tarangire and Lake Manyara
• Hadzabe and Datoga visits at Lake Eyasi, including an early-morning hunt
• Full day in the Serengeti
• Ngorongoro Crater game drive
• Optional Maasai boma visit or Olduvai Gorge stop on the way to the Serengeti (extra cost)

Day by day

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire

Meet your driver-guide in Arusha and head to Tarangire National Park for a full day of game viewing. Baobabs and acacias line the Tarangire River, which draws large herds in the dry season, and the park is one of the best places to see greater kudu and fringe-eared oryx. Lunch is a picnic overlooking the river, though the resident monkeys will happily help themselves. Overnight near the park.

Day 2: Lake Manyara

Spend the day in Lake Manyara National Park, famous for lions that rest in the branches of acacia trees. Birdlife is outstanding, from flocks of flamingos on the lake to birds of prey and colourful lilac-breasted rollers. In the evening, drive up to Karatu for dinner and the night.

Day 3: Lake Eyasi cultural visit

Drive to the shores of Lake Eyasi, a scenic and little-visited soda lake beneath the Eyasi escarpment on the southern edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In the afternoon, meet the Hadzabe, one of Africa’s last hunter-gatherer peoples, and the neighbouring Datoga, visiting their homesteads and learning about tracking, medicinal plants and daily life. Walks by the lake for birdlife can also be arranged.

Day 4: Lake Eyasi to the Serengeti

Rise early to join Hadzabe hunters as they go about a real hunt, using bows and home-made poisons; it is not a show, so quiet and patience are needed. After breakfast, cross the Ngorongoro highlands, with optional stops at a Maasai boma or Olduvai Gorge, and continue into the Serengeti for an afternoon game drive among the great herds and their predators.

Day 5: Full day in the Serengeti

Set out at first light, when lions and leopards are often hunting, or swap the early drive for an optional sunrise hot-air balloon flight with champagne breakfast. After breakfast you take a packed lunch and spend the whole day on the plains, with your guide planning the route to give you the best chance of the Big Five and the migrating herds.

Day 6: Serengeti to Ngorongoro

Enjoy a final game drive in the Serengeti, returning by a different route to look for anything you missed earlier. Then make your way up to the Ngorongoro highlands for dinner and the night.

Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

Descend from the crater rim into Ngorongoro Crater, a vast green caldera that is home to more than 120 mammal species, including all of the Big Five. It is one of Tanzania’s best places to see the endangered black rhino, with hippo pools, buffalo, big herds of wildebeest and zebra, and predators such as lion, cheetah, jackal and hyena. In the afternoon, drive back to Arusha for your onward journey.

Where you stay

Mid-range:

• Sangaiwe Tented Camp
• Marera Valley Lodge
• Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge
• Tamba Tented Camp
• Ngorongoro Tortilis

Luxury option:

• Tarangire Sopa
• Ngorongoro Coffee Lodge
• Kisimangeda Camp
• Serengeti Acacia Bliss
• Ngorongoro Serena

Included

• Safari and accommodation as set out in the itinerary
• 4×4 safari vehicle (6/7-seat extended vehicle)
• Professional English-speaking driver-guide
• Full-board meals as per the itinerary
• Drinking water during the safari
• All activities mentioned in the programme
• All national park and conservation entry fees
• Flying Doctors emergency evacuation cover during the safari

Not included

• Domestic and international flights
• Optional activities
• Alcoholic and soft drinks
• Visa fees
• Tips for your driver-guide
• Personal spending (souvenirs and similar)
• Travel insurance
• Serengeti hot-air balloon safari

Senior-friendly and wheelchair accessible

Accessible Travel Kenya caters to everyone. As specialists in inclusive tourism, the company can adapt this trip as a senior-friendly holiday or a wheelchair accessible safari. Tell Accessible Travel Kenya your access needs before you book. The company confirms lodge rooms and bathrooms, arrange a suitable safari vehicle and set a comfortable daily pace, and suggest alternatives where a stop would be difficult.

Prices on request: contact Accessible Travel Kenya for a quote for your dates and group.