Following an early breakfast, your driver collects you from your accommodation and takes you to the airport for the flight to Arusha. Your safari guide greets you when you land. From there you travel southwest towards Tarangire National Park, a scenic drive of roughly 1 to 2 hours across the rolling hills and rural countryside of northern Tanzania.

Your first full-day game drive starts at the park entrance, in one of Tanzania's most overlooked treasures. Tarangire National Park is famed for soaring baobab trees and sweeping savannahs, and is home to the largest elephant concentration in northern Tanzania.

In the dry season the Tarangire River draws wildlife in numbers, with vast herds of zebras, wildebeest, buffalo and giraffes, and predators such as lions and leopards following them.

Around midday you pause at an official picnic spot for a bush lunch, with the sounds of the wild all around you. The afternoon brings more game viewing across the park’s varied habitats, and you can watch for shy residents such as cheetahs and even pythons that climb trees. As the sun sinks behind the baobabs, you drive out of the park to your nearby, characterful lodge.

Overnight: Suricata Boma Lodge
Meals: Picnic Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast you travel to Lake Manyara National Park, a charming little reserve set below the dramatic cliffs of the Great Rift Valley. Although small, it is rich in biodiversity and renowned for its tree-climbing lions, pink flamingos and more than 400 bird species.

Your morning game drive meanders through groundwater forest, acacia woodland and open grassland. By the lake edge, look for elephants, hippos, baboons and a stunning range of birdlife.

A picnic lunch in the park breaks up the day, and the afternoon safari continues with scenery and wildlife until early evening. You then return to Suricata Boma Lodge to unwind. For something different, you could instead opt for a guided nature walk or a cultural visit to a local Maasai village.

Accommodation: Suricata Boma Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After an early, invigorating breakfast, you check out of the lodge in Mto wa Mbu and start the scenic drive to the world-renowned Serengeti National Park. Your route crosses the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where the road snakes along the edge of the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, treating you to stunning panoramic views of this ancient volcanic caldera.

From here you drop down onto the wide, open grasslands of the Serengeti, a name taken from the Maasai phrase for “endless plains”. Few reserves on Earth are as celebrated for their wildlife. The park is best known for the Great Migration and for sheltering the Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino.

At the Serengeti gate you have a picnic lunch in the bush, and then your first exciting game drive in the park begins. Keep your camera handy while crossing golden grasslands full of animals, where you might see herds of wildebeest and zebras, graceful giraffes, basking hippos and predators on the hunt.

Late in the afternoon you get to your safari-style lodging in the Serengeti's core, with just enough time to freshen up ahead of a tasty supper beneath the night sky.

Overnight: Moyo Tented Camp, Serengeti
Meals: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner

Once you have had an early breakfast at Moyo Tented Camp, a full morning game drive takes you through the famous Serengeti National Park. Open plains run to the horizon, supporting a remarkable concentration of wildlife and providing the setting for the legendary Great Migration.

The morning is spent following herds of wildebeest and zebras and watching for predators such as lions and cheetahs. Elephants, giraffes and plenty of birds also show themselves in their natural habitat.

At midday a picnic lunch is served at a scenic spot in the park, amid the sights and sounds of the African wild. Your afternoon game drive then continues as you make your way back to Moyo Tented Camp. You arrive with time to rest and freshen up before a delicious dinner beneath the stars.

Overnight: Moyo Tented Camp, Serengeti
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner

Wake to the gentle light of dawn. For something truly extraordinary, you can book an optional hot air balloon safari above the Serengeti, which needs booking in advance and costs extra. You float over the golden plains at sunrise while long shadows stretch across herds of wildebeest, antelope and perhaps a pride of lions starting their day.

Following the balloon flight, or a slower start to the day, you sit down to a hearty breakfast at camp. A final morning game drive through the Serengeti comes next, giving you one more chance to see wildlife you might have missed, since the changing landscape springs fresh surprises around every turn.

The afternoon drive heads southeast to the Ngorongoro Highlands across the fertile farmland of the conservation area. Dry grasslands turn into lush green hills, Maasai villages and terraced fields as you go.

Early in the evening you reach the pleasant town of Karatu, where cool highland air and calm surroundings make a welcome change from the wild Serengeti. You check in at your lodge, enjoy a freshly cooked dinner and unwind after a busy day on the road.

Overnight: Karatu Simba Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner

Get up at dawn to drive down into the Ngorongoro Crater, frequently called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” This enormous, intact caldera holds UNESCO World Heritage status and is home to a striking density of animals, among them lions, elephants, hyenas, hippos, flamingos and the elusive black rhino.

You descend 600 metres into the crater first, a wildlife sanctuary unlike any other, where the drama of the African savannah plays out in a natural amphitheatre. Lunch is a picnic at a scenic spot beside a hippo pool, and then your game drive continues, with spectacular scenery and wildlife until mid-afternoon.

Once your crater adventure is over, you go back to Arusha and can freshen up if you need to. You then continue to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) for your booked flight to Zanzibar or home. On reaching the island, our team meets you and takes you straight to your accommodation.