SAFARI & BEACH – 13 Days

Safari & Beach - 13 Days

Join us in search of the legendary Big Five! This extensive Big Five Safari gives you the chance to see Africa’s stunning animals and legendary landscapes. Discover the most beautiful national parks with your own private guide and vehicle. Spot the Big Five in the famous Ngorongoro Crater, visit the less known parks of Tarangire and Lake Manyara, and find yourself amidst thousands of wildebeest and zebras during the Big Migration in the Serengeti. An impressive adventure that you will never forget!

After the safari you fly to the tropical island of Zanzibar for a cultural tour in magical Stone Town and a well-deserved rest at the white beaches of the Indian Ocean.

Day 1: Transfer from the airport to Arusha

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met by our transfer driver and transferred to your lodge where the remainder of the day is at leisure – rest in your room, relax in the manicured gardens, enjoy a refreshing swim in the pool or the surrounding areas, the choice is yours. Dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Relax and discover the surroundings

A day to spend as you wish. If you want to do something more than reading a book at your private pool, there are lots of activities to choose from. Go out for more beautiful nature, some fun and new experiences and come back home to retire to the campfire.

Rates 2021/2022

From

$ 2955 per person

Included in the price:

All transport mentioned in the program
Game viewing in 4×4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof, fridge, binoculars and charging points
Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
Accommodation and meals as per itinerary
Mineral water, coffee, and tea while on safari
All Park, village, and concession fees
Walking and night safari in Tarangire NP
Flight Arusha-Zanzibar
Transfers in Zanzibar
Government taxes and levies
AMREF Flying Doctors evacuation insurance

Not included in the price:

Day 3: Elephants and baobabs in Tarangire National Park

From Arusha it is about 2 hours’ drive to Tarangire National Park. This impressive park is known for the many elephants (more than 6,000) that gather along the Tarangire River, where they can quench their thirst. This beautiful park is also home to buffaloes, wildebeests, antelopes, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, lions, leopards and cheetahs. The Park is decorated with thousands of baobab trees, some of which are more than 10 meters wide. With more than 450 bird species, Tarangire is also a paradise for bird lovers. You will get a picnic lunch from the hotel, which you can take on a picnic place surrounded by little monkeys, with beautiful views over the river and the elephants. After an afternoon of game-driving you proceed to your luxury tented camp in the middle of the park.

Day 4: Explore the park, also on foot and by night

This day is fully dedicated to the exploration of this amazing park, by jeep and on foot. Apart from the normal game drive, you will partake in a guided bush walk. There is no better way to up close and personal to the wild than to take a walking safari. Feel the ancient earth beneath every step you take as you tread on the tracks of animals that have walked the same path minutes before. In the company of an experienced guide, learn about the flora as well as the fauna, and begin to understand the true majesty of the indigenous peoples that live and thrive on the land.

Experience the drama and beauty of Africa in one of the most iconic locations that Tarangire has to offer. Sunset Hill is the perfect locations to sit atop and enjoy the deep orange sunsets that often welcome in the starry skies. With food and drinks served by one of the staff, this is truly a magical experience not to be missed.

In the evening, a completely different animal life awakens in the wilderness of Tarangire. During a night safari, you can see things you couldn’t experience during the day. A whole new world is opening up for you. The nocturnal animals that hide during the day emerge during this hour. Many eyes light up in the dark when the lights of the safari vehicle shine into the depth of the night. Animals such as porcupines, several smaller felines, elephants, lions and leopards are often spotted at this hour.

Day 5: Thousands of wildebeest and zebras in the Serengeti

Time to chase the big migration! In general, you will find impala, giraffe, hippo, hyena and often lions and other big cats such as leopards and cheetahs in Serengeti National Park. The migration, consisting of around 2 million animals, is on the move all year round. Usually, the wildebeest and the zebras during the short rainy season in October and November are to be found moving from the hills in the north of the Serengeti, to the plains in the south. During the longer rainy season of April, May and June they return north, always in search for green pastures. With fluctuations of annual rainfall, the exact location of the animals varies from year to year. Your guide however will try to establish the location of the herds and to get the best views. Naturally it also attracts a mass of predators, and you may be able to see a band of lionesses gather for a hunt.

But apart from the Great Migration the savannah has so much more to offer. Herds of cheerful impala and Thomson gazelle, curious zebras and elegant giraffes are all around you. And look also in the sky and the trees to discover all those colourful birds, from hard-working yellow weavers and the smart lilac-breasted rollers to the bigger secretary birds and marabou storks.

Leaving Tarangire and passing the Ngorongoro area, the vast extensions of the Serengeti plains before you will impress you and wanting you to explore this area in deep. Through the Nabi Gate you enter the Serengeti, and you keep on searching for game until you arrive at your accommodation. After taking a refreshing shower, sit down at the campfire and relax with a cold drink. The night will be filled with, far away, the hyena’s laughs and the roar of the lion and who knows, an elephant or giraffe strolling around your tent.

Day 6: Keep on searching for game on the endless plains

A full day to discover as much as possible of the wonders of the Serengeti, the Big Migration, and all other wild animals. Together with your guide you can set up your program: a full day of game driving with picnic lunch, or an early morning drive with back in the camp a late breakfast, rest, and lunch, after which you set off again late afternoon. You drive through a varied landscape, often in the wide-open savannah scattered with the typical kopjes (rock formations), but also through hilly forests and along the hippo pools, where dozens of hippos are relaxing in the water. If you would like to enjoy a real once-in-a-lifetime experience, go for a hot-air balloon safari (optional with supplement).

Day 7: Big Five in the Ngorongoro Crater

With a diameter of 18 kilometres, an area of 260 km² and a 600-meter-high crater wall, the Ngorongoro Crater is the largest still intact crater in the world. From the edge you look out over this amphitheatre with impressive and breath-taking beauty. Green vast plains, rivers, forests, marshes and the often-white Lake Magadi form a home for about 30,000 animals. A lot of people want to witness this. As a result, it is no longer allowed to make a game drive longer than 6 hours per day. But this is enough to discover the whole crater. This Noah’s Ark is an ideal breeding ground for this unique ecosystem teeming with wildlife. Predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs but also elephants, monkeys, zebras, gazelles, rhinos, buffaloes, wildebeest, and hippos live here. Most of these animals, whenever they want, can walk in and out of the crater through the steep crater walls as they please.

Day 8: Lion in trees? Yes, for sure, in Manyara National Park!

Nestling at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara National Park is recognized for its incredible beauty and special inhabitants. Upon entering the park you imagine yourself being in the jungle: this part is a green oasis with high trees and waterfalls, the ideal habitat for big groups of baboons, waterbuck, aardvark and blue meerkats. Deeper into the park this tropical rainforest converts into wide-open savannah, where you can see many game animals such as buffalo, elephant, giraffe, impala, hippo and others.

Enjoy an afternoon of game viewing in search of the famous but rare tree climbing lion. From a sea of pink flamingos as far as the eye can see to bull elephants at close range, Lake Manyara showcases a superb variety of herd animals and birdlife.

Late afternoon, the Rhotia Valley Children’s Home can be visited. It’s nice to play football with the kids or help with their homework. The orphanage was founded in 2005 by the Dutch medical couple Marise and Joris Koch. The orphanage currently houses 38 children between the ages of 3 and 18. The goal is to support the orphans in Rhotia Valley with education, shelter and work in order to give these children a safe place to stay so that they can face a happier future. Staying at the Rhotia lodge is a contribution to the children’s home.

Day 9: Onwards to Zanzibar!

Your wildlife safari ends here, and you head back towards Arusha. On the way you visit Mto wa Mbu, a melting pot of Tanzanian tribes with a vibrant atmosphere. The village is famous for its rare exotic red bananas. A visit Mto Wa Mbu is a great cultural experience, busy markets with all kinds of handcrafts, Tinga Tinga artists, women who sell bananas at the side of the roads, small shops, terraces… Then you proceed towards Arusha Airport for your flight to Zanzibar.

A flight of about one and a half hour takes you to the Zanzibar Archipelago, located in the Indian Ocean 15 miles off the coast of Tanzania, a breath-taking spot to escape from the world. You’ll enjoy clear, turquoise-blue water; shallow sandbars perfect for wading; and many small, nearly deserted islands virtually unvisited by tourists. Explore the World Heritage Site of Stone Town, Zanzibar City’s old quarter. Or just go beach to beach between tiny fishing villages—each one’s better than the next.

Steeped in culture and history, Zanzibar enticed adventurers, seafarers and traders from far and wide. Known as the spice island, from the centuries old trade of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, today the Zanzibar Archipelago is still bathed in the heady scents of spices and traditional dhows still drift across the horizon.

From the airport of Zanzibar, a comfortable, air-conditioned minibus will take you to your hotel. After such a long and impressive safari, it is wonderful to spend some quiet hours in Stone Town. Your hotel for the first night, a beautiful, authentic Arabic house, is in the heart of the old town. You can stroll around, enjoy the ocean views, have a drink with your feet in the sand or dine on the hotel’s rooftop terrace.

Day 10: Walk along the narrow streets of Stone Town

Stone Town is the old city and cultural heart of Zanzibar, and little has changed in the last 200 years. It is a place of winding alleys, bustling bazaars, mosques and grand Arab houses. Stone Town has brought together many different elements of the cultures of Africa, the Arab region, India, and Europe over more than a thousand years. You can spend endless hours just wandering through the fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways, absorbing the years of history. If you wish, you can enjoy a guided tour of this fascinating town, recently and deservedly declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In the afternoon you proceed to the coast.

Day 11: And then just nothing....

Over the next few days, you will be able to relax and enjoy everything the island has to offer. You can lounge on the beach or by the pool or take part in some of the many activities. There are several optional day trips to small islands or to the coral reefs. Professional PADI diving schools offer a full range of scuba diving with professional equipment. Other water sports such as kiting, kayaking, catamaran sailing, wind surfing, deep sea fishing, water skiing, parasailing and jet skiing are also on offer. Zanzibar is known as the Spice Islands and was once the world’s leading producer of cloves. A guided tour of one of the spice farms is also an option here. You will be able to see, smell and taste aromatic spices and scented plants including guava, mangoes, vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, chillies, black pepper and cinnamon. Your stay in Zanzibar includes breakfast, dinner and overnight.

Day 12: Another day at leisure to discover your beach and surroundings

A day to enjoy sun, sea and beach. Zanzibar’s coast offers not only vast white sandy beaches flanked by swaying palm trees, but also a unique glimpse into the daily life of the fishing villages. During low tide, large parts of the beach fall dry, where the villagers are busy with their daily work. Take a walk across the beach and see how the locals live. Often the men fish with trawls, and the women harvest seaweed that they grow in these shallow waters.

Day 13: Time to say goodbye....

Unfortunately, your holiday ends here and after breakfast it is time to head back to the airport. With lots of pictures in your pocket and hopefully many happy memories you fly back home. Kwa heri!