Tanzania Luxury Wildlife and Beach Safari

A Fantastic 12 Night Safari taking in the Wildlife and Beach Highlights of Tanzania - From £5,825 Per Person Sharing, Excluding International Flights

Day 1

On your arrival into Kilimanjaro International Airport you will be met by your driver/guide who will transfer you to the Tarangire National Park, enjoying a game drive en-route. A packed lunch will be provided.

Overnight: Oliver’s Camp – there are only 8 guest tents which are well spaced, ensuring a feeling of exclusivity and intimacy.  The camp design and atmosphere provide a classical bush experience: solid wooden furniture, comfortable chairs and a library with books on the surrounding nature & wildlife. The tents have excellent bathroom facilities, with flush toilets, running water and bush showers looking out over the Minyonyo floodplains.  After a day of safari activities, guests can reflect and relax on their private veranda or in the lounge/library tent. Dinners are served in the dining tent or under the Tarangire sky beside the camp fire (L/D)

Day 2

Oliver's Camp is situated in the exclusive southern part of Tarangire National Park. The camp is ideally located to encounter large concentrations of elephants, the big cats and other animals around the stunning Silale swamps and in the trademark baobab country of Tarangire National Park.

Oliver’s Camp offers a diverse range of safari activities: game drives, fantastic walking safaris and fly-camping (private light-weight camping under the Tarangire stars – Supplement payable for this excursion) inside the national park. This all makes a stay at Oliver’s Camp a classic safari experience. You have the unique opportunity to leave the vehicle behind and experience Tarangire National Park and its wildlife on foot. Walking safaris are guided by experienced walking guides and an armed ranger accompanies the walks. Guests learn about nature, wildlife behaviour and animal tracks on walking safaris. Although animals are usually spotted on walking safaris, the goal is not to get as close as possible to the wildlife, but rather to observe their undisturbed behaviour. Enjoy a morning walk and an afternoon game drive.

Tarangire is not as famous as the Serengeti or Ngorongoro Crater but it still offers a huge amount to the African enthusiast forming an integral part of your safari in Tanzania. Tarangire comes into its own during the months of July to November when it is the dry season and the various grazing herds are attracted to the waters of the Tarangire River. Covered in more vegetation than the Serengeti, wildlife is slightly harder to see here although it is still just as diverse. Primarily famous for its large herds of elephants one can expect to see up to 500 along the river banks in the dry season!

Overnight: Oliver’s Camp (B/L/D)

Day 3

Enroute to the Ngorongoro Crater you set off westwards to Mto-Wameu. Here, you will enjoy a guided village/cultural walk. Here, you will learn about how the villagers grow sugarcane, millet, rice, banana (7 species, of which the leaves can also be used for roofing), beans, oranges, spinach, etc. You will visit the village carving business where they make souvenirs out of ebony (grown in the Masaailands in the mountains & transported by donkey), mahogany and rosewood. You may get the opportunity to visit a local pub to try out the fermented local brew made from banana plantain.

You will then enjoy a wonderful lunch made by one of the local families in the village. This is a great way to learn about some of the local foods as well as having an opportunity to visit their house. You will enjoy a true jungle experience as you dine amongst the banana plantations, and banana leaves. By late afternoon you will experience the impressive rise of the Western stretches of the Great Rift Valley Escarpment before heading to your lodge for the next couple of nights very close to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area gate.

Overnight: Gibbs Farm, New Farm Cottages – is on the Crater’s forested outer slopes, high up in the Ngorongoro Highlands. This luxurious converted coffee farm has fabulous views over the surrounding countryside and consists of twenty gorgeous cottages, an organic garden, a farm full of fruit and vegetables which provide food for the excellent meals, and an African spa. This working coffee farm is one of the oldest in the region. The cottages feature rich wooden floors and classic interiors with wraparound windows. En-suite garden bathrooms offer twin basins, luxurious bathtubs and indoor/outdoor showers. A wraparound fireplace warms the bathroom and living area (B/L/D)

Day 4

We suggest that an early morning start is definitely the order of the day, as you head towards the Ngorongoro Crater and onto the Crater floor to experience this wildlife spectacular, with the world’s densest population of lions and spotted hyena. The crater is one of the few places in Tanzania where you can reliably see black rhino and many old tuskers, who come to spend their retirement peacefully feeding in the Gorigor swamp. Enjoy a picnic lunch at Ngoitokitok Springs; where hippos wallow and Black Kites might nab your lunch! This afternoon you continue your explorations in search of the Big Five that roam the plains of this natural amphitheatre before heading back to the lodge.

Overnight: Gibbs Farm, New Farm Cottages (B/L/D)

Day 5

Today you leave the crater and head to the Serengeti National Park with your driver/guide and stop for a packed lunch at Oldupai Gorge, an archaeological excavations in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. From here, you will venture along the winding sandy tracks through open grasslands with acacia trees to the Shifting Sands. You will then continue your journey into the Serengeti National Park. From November through to March, the migration is usually in the Southern Serengeti and it is here that you will enjoy a game drive through the southern Serengeti; the Ndutu area, the southern plains, and the Moru Kopjes. The migratory wildebeest and zebra share the land with many large cats, elephant, giraffe, Thomson gazelle and a host of other species. Finally, you drive through the savannah plains to the lovely Dunia Camp.

Overnight: Dunia Camp – located in the southwest Serengeti with 6 large en-suite luxury tents ideal for prime game viewing (B/L/D)

Day 6

Today you will head to the northern part of the Serengeti game driving through the central Serengeti valley. The central Serengeti has one of the highest concentrations of lion prides and leopard and cheetah are often spotted. If you are lucky you may have a chance to spot the rare black rhino in the Moru Kopjes area. Finally you head to the famed ‘Mara Triangle’ and the Mara River in the far north of the Serengeti National Park, an area that borders the Maasai Mara in Kenya.

Overnight: Sayari Camp - offers another genuine wilderness experience as it is off the beaten track but it does offer all the comforts and friendly service of a luxury tented camp. The 8 spacious tents are designed to blend perfectly into the majestic landscape. Each tent is beautifully designed with original and traditional cloths and furniture. Each tent has a king-size bed, en-suite bathroom and a private veranda with a comfortable couch, overlooking the Serengeti. The dining area, lounge area and campfire create a perfect bush setting, with Africa as the backdrop. The camp was chosen as one of the "Special Places" in Africa by Africa Geographic - (B/L/D)

Days 7, 8

The majestic landscape of the northern Serengeti is one of the best kept secrets of Tanzania. Far from the tourist track, this area of open grasslands and riverine woodlands supports some of the densest grazer populations in East Africa. If you are lucky you may get to see the Big 5 (rhinos sometimes cross from Kenya’s Maasai Mara) and its home to lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, large herds of antelope and a host of other wildlife. The stunning Mara River, filled with hippos and crocodiles, cuts through this land and is hosts to one of the greatest spectacles nature has to offer: the dramatic wildebeest crossings of the Mara River. Between mid July and November, the Great Migration typically visits the area and crosses the Mara River back and forth in search of green grass. This area does offer a truly unique safari experience; undisturbed exploration of this majestic part of the Serengeti National Park. Over the next couple of days you will be taken out each morning and afternoon to enjoy the wonderful landscapes and wildlife. During this period you can also enjoy morning and afternoon walks in the Serengeti National Park.

Overnight: Sayari Camp (B/L/D)

Day 9

Time permitting there maybe time for a final morning’s game drive before your transfer to the Kogatende airstrip, with packed lunch in hand, to catch a charter flight via Arusha to Zanzibar (10:50 - 14:15). Upon arrival you will be met and transferred to the luxury surroundings of Matemwe Retreat where you settle into your rooms, on a full-board basis. Here you can relax on the beach, by the pool or in your suite and reflect upon the adventures of the last few days, or you can take a day or two to explore more of Zanzibar.

Overnight: Matemwe Retreat – consists of 3 extremely spacious villas with a private deck, a roof-top sitting area & a private plunge pool. Each villa is light and airy and contains huge walk-in showers and baths that look out to sea. With a personal bar and a private chef guests need never to leave their rooms (B/L/D)

Days 10, 11, 12

Your days are spent at leisure relaxing on the beach or exploring Zanzibar. Matemwe Retreat offers the ultimate experience for those seeking absolute privacy, relaxation and indulgence. It is beautifully situated a few feet above a small, private beach opposite Mnemba Atoll. There is fantastic diving and snorkelling, reef walks, dhow trips, blokarting, kayaking, amongst others. The Retreat also offers excursions to explore Stone Town and its world famous spice tours and its narrow streets, shops and markets. Experience the colours, the sounds and the spices of the capital and visit the mosques, palaces, shops, and old historic houses. You can learn about its dark history as one of the slave-trading ports of East Africa. Other excursions might include the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, the Zala Park Reptile Sanctuary and the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre.

Overnight: Matemwe Retreat (B/L/D)

Day 13

Today you depart the comfort of Matemwe Retreat and make your way to the Zanzibar International Airport for your international flight back home (B)