Tanzania - A Safari in the Great Serengeti Savannah

Fly into Arusha the commercial capital of Tanzania. You will be met at the airport by our representative who will guide you through arrival. You will then be driven by your driver-guide to your hotel, the Arusha Coffee Lodge.  

The Arusha Coffee Lodge is one of Arusha’s finest hotels at the foot of Mt Meru, Africa’s fifth highest mountain. The Lodge is set in an emerald coffee plantation that dates from the early 1900’s.  

Rejuvenate in the vibrant gardens, and the spa, or dive into the pool for a refreshing swim. You are welcome to enjoy souvenir shopping at a collection of five boutiques on site browsing the arts and crafts, jewelry, clothing, gourmet coffee and cakes and traditional Swahili food. 

The day is at leisure.  

6 p.m. - Meet at the lounge for cocktails and toast to the start of an exciting African adventure. 

8 p.m. – Tonight we’ll dine at the Bacchus Grill or the Bistro 3° South that boast menus to satisfy the most discerning palates, successfully fusing international culinary prowess with locally-sourced ingredients, before calling it a night. 

We’ll have an early start to the day. After a hearty breakfast, an hour’s flight will bring us to the great Serengeti. We will enjoy a game drive en route to Lemala Nanyukie, the stunning wildlife camp by the Seronera circuit with flowing rivers, allowing for private game viewing of Africa’s big cats and mega-herbivores.  

November is the ideal time to watch the annual wildebeest migration from the camp which boasts a large, open floor lounge and bar with your favorite tipple or a Vodka Martini - shaken not stirred! 

At 4.00 p.m. after a sumptuous lunch followed by a siesta, you will embark on the late afternoon game drive in our custom-made safari cruisers driven by expert driver guides. 

The Serengeti lies in the greater 30,000-square-kilometer ecosystem that the Maasai call "the endless plains". The park is spectacular for its wildlife and tapestry of sun-sculpted stone kopjes that are a favorite of the lions, vast grassland and forest. 

At 7.30 p.m. we will meet for a cocktail at the bar and then dine on delicious foods reliving the day’s magical moments. We may be entertained by the local Maasai performing traditional dances with their signature high leaps and throaty chants celebrating love, lion hunts, war and happiness. You may want to join in. 

The Maasai have co-existed for many years with African wildlife because both the wildlife and the large herds of cattle owned by the Masai need wide spaces to survive.  

It’s an early start to the day at 6 a.m. Wake up calls can be arranged.  

Enjoy a cuppa coffee or tea and biscuits before you set out for an early morning game drive at 6.30 a.m. This is the best time to enjoy wildlife as well as late afternoons before the sun goes down. It’s the time when the animals are most active before the sun becomes too hot for them and lethargy sets in. The lionesses would rather hunt when it’s cooler but being opportunistic the hunt is on if the quarry is easy. Lions do not have sweat glands and you’ll hear them panting a lot. 

 By 9 a.m. we will be back at the lodge for breakfast. 

Take time to relax, swim, read a book and enjoy the grounds. 

We will meet for lunch and after some ‘me’ time 

We will leave for the afternoon game drive. 

Serengeti is where Elsa’s cubs – the lioness of the epic Born Free fame -were released and her lineage continues in this great wilderness.  

We will return to the lodge by 6.30 p.m. 

Take some time to refresh with a cold beer at the bar or a cool shower. 

At 7.30 p.m. we’ll meet for another gourmet feast and a nightcap by the fire pit to end the day.  

After breakfast we will depart to the airstrip for a short flight over the vast expanse of the Serengeti to land on the ridge of the Great Rift Valley overlooking Lake Manyara famous for its waterbirds and other wildlife. 

We will be met by our driver guides in their safari cruisers and be driven to the rim of Africa’s most famous crater – Ngorongoro. 

Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is the world's largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera which formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago.  

Lemala Ngorongoro Tented Camp is set in a delightful ancient acacia forest close to the rim of the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater by the quiet Lemala crater on the eastern side. 

Settle into your luxurious abode, explore the grounds or chat by the lounge. 

1.00 P.M. – Lunch will be served on the crater’s rim 

4.00 P.M. – Time to stretch our legs with an escorted walk into the forest and along the crater rim with an armed ranger and Maasai guide. 

The Maasai belong to the Nilotic ethnic group that came into present day Tanzania from the north along the Nile some five centuries ago. A pastoral people, cattle are their God-given assets. 

6.00 P.M. – Return to the camp for a sundowner and a mouth-watering gourmet meal. 

Enjoy your evening and a good night’s sleep in your luxurious tent. 

6.15 a.m. - It’s an exciting early morning drive to the crater’s floor in search of its black rhino, lion, leopard and more. You will enjoy the day in the crater that’s 610 meters (2,000 feet) deep and 260 square kilometers -100 square miles – in area.  

6.00 P.M. - Return for sundowners and dinner.  

Enjoy a night cap by the campfire and finally to a peaceful slumber in your ‘tent’. 

After breakfast, a 60-minute flight from over the Great Rift Valley that is the planet’s longest valley on land stretching 6,000km from Lebanon in the Middle East to Mozambique in South-eastern Africa will have us land in the best kept secret on this side of the equator - the Tarangire boasting its ancient baobabs and mighty elephants, the big cats and stunning vistas.  

We will be collected from the airstrip and driven to the glam canvas camp with a short game drive en route. The camp sits on top of an escarpment with sweeping views across the perennial Tarangire River and valley below in the sixth largest national park in Tanzania,  

After check-in, relax and enjoy an exquisite lunch before leaving for the afternoon game drive at 3.30 p.m. to return at sunset to the camp. 

You will enjoy sundowners in the bush and return for dinner with lots of lively exchanges and talks with the resident naturalist about the Terrific Tarangire. 

6.30 A.M. – Depart for an early morning game drive to return at 9 A.M. for a leisurely breakfast. 

Enjoy the rest of the morning at the spa in the wild or a walk on the wild side with the naturalist. 

1 P.M. – Delicious al-fresco lunch. 

3.30 P.M. – Depart on another exciting game drive before returning to camp at sunset for sundowners and a grand dinner under Tarangire’s starlit skies. 

8 a.m. - After a sumtuous breakfast in the Tarangire, we’ll fly back to Arusha for your return flights the next day or that night. You will have many memories to take back home of your amazing African safari with new friends met. 

After a safari with two game drives a day, you’ll be ready for a rest. 

Join the extension and fly off to Zanzibar the ‘Spice Island’ which is rich with its history of the Sultans of Oman who made the tropical island their capital. 

You will be transferred from the airport to the seaside resort – which is all inclusive - on Kendwa Beach set in a lush tropical garden with its secluded beachfront. 

Designed originally for Benny Andersson - one of the members of the 1970's pop group ABBA, each villa by the shores of the Indian Ocean has its own private plunge pool and is tended to by your personal Guest Ambassador.  

Rejuvenate in the delightful spa with African natural ingredients with both modern and traditional methods in the art of beauty, offering the ultimate in pampering. 

Welcome to Zanzibar! Sleep in late and enjoy a sumptuous breakfast while soaking in the view of the glorious Indian Ocean. Kendwa beach is perfect for barefoot walks and swimming.  

Activities you might choose once there (at extra cost) include: 

• A spice Island tour 
• A Dolphin tour 
• Scuba diving or snorkeling  

Pick and choose or just lay on your sun bed, read, swim and relax.  

We'll convene later for dinner together. All of your meals are included at the resort.  

Rejuvenate and pamper yourself on your last day in paradise. 

Optional 2-3 hour cruise on a hand-crafted dhow, the traditional boat used for thousands of years along the coastline of Zanzibar.  

Let’s raise a toast to our last night on this beautiful island. 

After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your connecting flight back home. 

We look forward to welcoming you back to the fabled Spice Island.