3-Day Tarangire, Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro tour

Ngorongoro Crater holds more African wildlife per square mile than anywhere else on the continent.

A 3-day guided safari tour through Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, with private transportation and a live guide. You'll drive through nine vegetation zones watching elephants interact in Tarangire, spot tree-climbing lions and flamingos at Lake Manyara, and descend into a crater that functions as a self-contained ecosystem. Hotel pickup and lunch at a riverside observatory with wildlife views are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Tarangire National Park game drive

• Pick up from hotel at 8am
• Drive to Tarangire National Park
• Game drive observing wildlife and baobab trees
• Lunch at observatory with river views
• Afternoon game drive
• Transfer to accommodation

Day 2: Lake Manyara full day game drive

• Pick up from accommodation early morning
• Full day game drive in Lake Manyara National Park
• Observe acacia forest, baboons, and tree climbing lions
• See flamingos, giraffes, elephants, and hippos
• Return to accommodation

Day 3: Ngorongoro Crater wildlife tour

• Breakfast at accommodation
• Drive to Ngorongoro Crater
• Game drive inside Ngorongoro Crater
• Observe diverse wildlife including black rhino and elephants
• Lunch inside the crater area

The experience

The tour starts with an 8am pickup from your hotel for a full day in Tarangire National Park. The landscape shifts through nine distinct vegetation zones, but what catches your eye first are the baobab trees: ancient, massive, and scattered across the plains in numbers you won't see anywhere else. The park holds Tanzania's largest elephant concentration, and the itinerary is built around watching them: how families move together, how they interact at the river, the scale of them next to everything else. Lunch happens at an observatory overlooking the river, positioned so you might watch a hunt unfold while you eat. An afternoon game drive follows before you head to your accommodation.

Day two is a full game drive at Lake Manyara, a smaller park but dense with wildlife. The acacia forest, fig trees, and mahogany create a different setting from Tarangire, greener, more enclosed. Giraffes and buffaloes stand against the lake and its flamingos in the background, which is why photographers favor this park. The lake itself holds hippos. The forest holds tree-climbing lions, a behavior rare enough to be worth the mention. Blue monkeys and baboons move through the canopy. The Ground Hornbill and Crested Eagle are permanent residents.

The final day takes you to Ngorongoro Crater, a conservation area that spreads across 102 square miles with walls 2,000 feet high. Inside is a river, swamps, a soda lake thick with flamingos, forest, and open plains: essentially a contained world. The crater is one of the few places in East Africa where black rhinos still live. The elephants here are notably large, a result of the volcanic soil's mineral content. This is the concentrated wildlife experience: almost every species indigenous to the region lives within those walls.

What’s included

• Private transportation in a vehicle with specialized infant seats available.
• live guide in English, Spanish, Italian, French or one additional language.
• lunch at a riverside observatory on day one with views of the river and wildlife.
• two nights accommodation at Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp.
• game drives in all three parks.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 08:00

Book up to2d before

AgesAdult (19 to 64 years) · Senior (65 to 90 years) · Youth (16 to 18 years) · Child (6 to 15 years) · Infant (1 to 5 years)

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French, German and Italian

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 10 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleInfant seats availableNot for back problems

Operated by Kiware Africa Safaris

Is this one for you?The tour runs early starts each day (8am on day one, early morning on day two), so you maximize daylight hours in each park. This pace is what fits three major parks into three days without rushing the game drives themselves.

Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (16 to 18 years); Child (6 to 15 years); Infant (1 to 5 years).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What animals will I actually see on a 3-day Tanzania safari?

Tarangire holds the country's largest elephant concentration, and the park is built around watching them. Lake Manyara is known for tree-climbing lions, flamingos, hippos, and baboons. Ngorongoro Crater is one of the few places where black rhinos still live, and it holds nearly every East African species within its 2,000-foot walls.

What's included in the price of this tour?

Private transportation throughout the three days, a live guide (available in English, Spanish, Italian, French and one additional language), and lunch at a riverside observatory on day one with views of the river and wildlife are included.

Where do I stay during the 3-day tour?

Accommodation is at Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp for both nights of the tour.