Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Tarangire: 5-Day Safari with Lodges

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/9

Duration5d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · DE +3

PickupAt your hotel

Chasing elephants in Tarangire then sunrise over Ngorongoro

You’ll wake up under canvas in Serengeti listening for lions, count elephants beneath Tarangire’s baobabs, descend into Ngorongoro’s misty crater with your guide pointing out hidden wildlife, then finish by watching flamingos sweep across Lake Manyara’s shallows. It’s five days of wild motion and small moments you’ll keep replaying long after you’re home.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival and relaxation in Arusha

Pick up from airport
Transfer to Arusha Planet Lodge
Overnight at lodge

Day 2 — Safari in Tarangire National Park

Breakfast at lodge
Drive to Tarangire National Park
Game drive from open roof truck
Picnic lunch in park
Drive to Eileen's Trees Inn
Dinner and overnight at lodge

Day 3 — Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti

Early breakfast
Drive to Ngorongoro Crater
Explore Ngorongoro Crater wildlife
Drive to Serengeti National Park
Arrive at Serengeti Heritage Luxury Tented Camp
Dinner and overnight at camp

Day 4 — Serengeti game drive and Karatu

Early breakfast
Morning game drive in Serengeti
Drive to Karatu
Dinner and overnight at Eileen's Trees Inn

Day 5 — Lake Manyara and return to Arusha

Breakfast at lodge
Drive to Lake Manyara National Park
Explore Lake Manyara wildlife
Return to Arusha

The Experience

We bumped along the road out of Arusha before sunrise, dust curling behind our wheels — I remember the way my coffee tasted a bit like campfire as our guide, Joseph, grinned and pointed out the first streaks of pink over Mount Meru. By the time we rolled into Tarangire, the air was thick and warm and there were elephants everywhere. I mean everywhere. Their skin looked almost blue-grey against those fat baobab trunks. We stopped for a picnic lunch near the river and I tried to count how many giraffes you could see from one spot (gave up at seven). Joseph had this way of spotting animals before anyone else — he’d just go quiet, squinting into the grass, then suddenly gesture: “There.”

The next morning was an early one — boots on before dawn for Ngorongoro Crater. There’s this moment as you drive down into the caldera where everything goes silent except for birds and your own heartbeat. Wildebeest flicked their tails in the mist; lions sprawled on sun-warmed dirt like they owned it (which, I guess, they do). The crater feels like its own world. After lunch we started towards the Serengeti — that drive is long but somehow hypnotic; Maasai kids waved at us from beside the road. The light changes as you get closer to those endless plains. Our tented camp was waiting with hot showers and something that smelled like cinnamon stew (I still don’t know what it was).

Game drives in Serengeti are wild — literally and otherwise. We left before sunrise to catch the herds moving through golden grass, dust hanging in the air behind them. Zebras made this low chuffing sound I’d never heard before. At one point we saw a cheetah crouched so still I thought it was a rock until it flicked its tail. Lunch was eaten with dusty hands on the hood of our truck while vultures circled above (not for us, thankfully). That night back at camp everyone swapped stories around a little fire — someone tried to teach me Swahili numbers; I failed miserably but got a laugh out of it.

On our last day we hit Lake Manyara — flamingos everywhere, their pink just ridiculous against all that green water and sky. Monkeys darted through fig trees right above us while buffalo lazed in muddy pools nearby. It felt both busy and peaceful at once; maybe that’s just what safaris do to your head after a few days out here.

What’s included

Your journey includes airport pickup in Arusha, all park entry fees across Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Lake Manyara.
four nights’ accommodation in comfortable lodges or tented camps.
daily breakfast, lunch (often picnic-style), dinner.
plus game drives led by an expert local guide before returning to Arusha at tour’s end.

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Lion King Adventures