Tanzania from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar

Day 1 - Sunday, September 14: Kilimanjaro

Arrival Kilimanjaro airport around 8:00 PM. Following customs and baggage claim, transfer for dinner and overnight at Rivertrees Country Inn located in the Arusha region on the edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley.

Day 2 - Monday, September 15: Arusha

The day begins with breakfast at the hotel before getting our feet well with the small safari in Arusha National Park, offering spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, (weather permitting). At 5,890 feet, Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. Arusha National Park also boasts a diverse flora and fauna, including giraffes, zebras, and the rare colobus monkeys. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3 - Tuesday, September 16: Lake Manyara

Today we embark on an exciting safari at Lake Manyara National Park, home to a diverse array of wildlife. You’ll have the chance to see elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos, leopards, and even tree-climbing lions! The area around Lake Manyara is particularly famous for its thousands of flamingos and over 400 other bird species.  Enjoy a delightful picnic lunch within the park, surrounded by nature’s beauty. In the evening, retreat to the 4-star Bashay Rift Lodge in the Karatu region. This lodge, nestled amidst coffee plantations, offers a perfect blend of comfort and scenic views for your dinner and overnight stay.

Day 4 - Wednesday, September 17: Ngorongoro Crater

Today we explore the Ngorongoro Crater, measuring no less than 20 kilometers in diameter, which is home to an incredible rich variety of fauna, including rhinos as well as lions, leopards, and elephants... A picnic lunch will again be included. Late afternoon arrival in Olduvai Camp situated at an altitude of 1400 meters in the world famous Olduvai Gorge. Escorted by Maasai warriors, we enjoy a leisurely walk to the top of a nearby Kopje (small hill) in order to admire the great Serengeti Plain at sunset. Dinner and overnight in very comfortable, fully equipped tents!

The Olduvai Gorge, a 50 kilometer long ravine, is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world, and has provided a major contribution to the understanding of early human evolution. Millions of years ago it was inhabited by early species of humans, such at ashomo habilis and homo erectus. Olduvai is therefore known as The Cradle of Mankind”.

Day 5 - Thursday, September 18: Serengeti

After breakfast, departure for Serengeti, an immense National Park, featuring a combination of Savannah and forests, valleys and kopjes,  inhabited by the greatest concentration of felines in the world plus countless buffaloes giraffes antelopes crocodiles and hippos. Picnic lunch enroute. Arrive in the Serengeti around noon where we will meet our guides for safari. In the late afternoon we arrive at Mara River Post, our home for the next two nights.  Dinner and overnight. 

Day 6 - Friday, September 19: Serengeti

A full day safari on the Serengeti Plain.  Opportunity for a hot air balloon ride before breakfast (weather dependent). Return to the Mara River Post in the late afternoon for “sun downers” followed by dinner.

Day 7 - Saturday, September 20: Serengeti

A third day on safari in Serengeti.  To ensure we cover as much of the park as possible today’s travels will end at another fabulous accommodation, Ronjo Camp, located in the heart of Serengeti National Park, slightly north of Seronera and an ideal place  to take in the fantastic wildlife, some of which we may even find wandering around the camp.

Day 8 - Sunday, September 21: Olduvai

Today we return to the Ngorongoro area via the "Road of the Kopjes.” Look out for “big cats” such as lions, leopards and cheetahs! Picnic lunch enroute. In the afternoon we explore the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which, unlike the regular National parks, is also inhabited by humans. This is the homeland of the Maasai, a tribe of nomadic pastoralists who have maintained their traditional lifestyle and coexist with the local wildlife. Visiting a Maasai village, you will experience Africa as it was a few hundred years ago! Today we will also be able to admire some remarkable geological features, such as the Nassera Rock, a huge monolith that is home to all sorts of game and birds, shifting dunes of volcanic ash, sacred to the Maasai, and Olkarien Gorge, a canyon inhabited by a colony of vultures. Late afternoon arrival in Olduvai Camp.  Dinner and overnight.  

Day 9 - Monday, September 22: Tarangirie

Breakfast at the hotel before heading to Tarangire National Park, the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem, and famous for its rare antelopes, such as the kudu, the oryx and the gerenuk - a smorgasbord for predators! Picnic lunch included.  Dinner and overnight at Maweninga, another fabulous camp perched on the top of an imposing granite rock.  The camp has the privilege of being located within the park, overlooking Lake Manyara and Burunge.  Dinner and overnight both night.  An evening game drive will also be included during our stay in Tarangire.

Day 10 - Tuesday, September 23: Terangirie

A second full day of sightseeing in Tarangirie National Park.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided.

Day 11 - Wednesday, September 24: Zanzibar

Today we take a short domestic flight from Arusha to Zanzibar. This autonomous part of Tanzania, formerly an independent sultanate a.k.a. “the spice island”, and a British protectorate before becoming independent and merging with Tanzania, is a small island, approximately 90km long and 30km wide, situated in the Indian Ocean just off Tanzania’s “Swahili Coast”. Arrival and transfer to the beautiful Karafuu Beach Resort Hotel, where we will stay in fully equipped air-conditioned cottages. Balance of the day at leisure, and dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. 

Day 12 - Thursday, September 25: Zanzibar

Today is yours to enjoy entirely at leisure. Breakfast and dinner will be served and some optional excursions and activities will be available. For example, a boat trip to Kae, one of the most beautiful beaches of the island including a BBQ lunch as well as a boat tour featuring a chance to snorkel with a colony of Bottlenose Dolphins!

Day 13 - Friday, September 26: Zanzibar

Departure from the hotel after breakfast. We’re off on a “spice tour” of this “spice island”, one of the few places in the world where saffron an many other Middle Eastern/Asian spices such as cardamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg etc. are grown.  Also visit to the Jozani Forest, featuring some very exotic (and large) trees and ferns and other tropical types of vegetation and inhabited by the native species of monkeys, the red Columbus, now nearly extinct.  Return to hotel in the afternoon.  Dinner at the hotel.

Day 14 - Saturday, September 27: Departure

Breakfast followed by transfer to Stone Town, capital of Zanzibar with a unique blend of Moorish, Middle Eastern, Indian and African traditions and architectures, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Guided walking tour of the Old Town, the waterfront, and the harbor, with sites such as the Arab fort and the old slave market followed by free time for lunch.  In the afternoon transfer to airport for short flight to Dar Es Salaam before connecting on your return flight to Toronto or elsewhere.  Arrival in North Amdrica will be the folowing day.