Self-drive – Tanzania’s north and Zanzibar

On arrival, our driver will be waiting for you at Kilimanjaro Airport to take you to your lodge in Moshi. If the weather is good, you will have an unobstructed view of Mount Kilimajaro on the way. After your arrival at the lodge, you have the opportunity to relax after the long flight or to gather your first impressions of Tanzania in the center of Moshi.

After breakfast, you will pick up your rental car at the lodge. Your vehicle, a TATA Xenon double-cab pickup with which you will quickly become familiar and which. After the briefing, we head towards Arusha National Park. The park is located between Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, about 1.5 hours’ drive from Moshi. The national park is home to bushbuck, buffalo, colobus monkeys, elephants, hippos, giraffes, baboons, jackals and warthogs. The different landscapes and species-rich flora together with the Ngurdoto Crater and the Momella Lakes offer you a fantastic introduction to your Tanzanian adventure.

In the morning you start your drive to Tarangire NP. Once you have left Arusha behind you, the route leads along a well-maintained road to the northern entrance to the park. From here we set off on a game drive. The Tarangire River is the lifeline for the impressive herds of elephants and the various other animal species. With a bit of luck you will see lions and leopards, giraffes and zebras will cross your path alongside the elephants. The hilly landscape and the huge baobab trees will inspire you. You will spend the night in a comfortable lodge.

Today, after breakfast, you can set off on a game drive in Tarangire NP. A huge number of elephants live here. The Tarangire River is the lifeline for the animals and the entire park. In addition to elephants, there are also lions, various species of antelope and giraffes. The hilly savannah landscape with its huge baobab trees and swamps characterize the park. Enjoy the fantastic wildlife and landscape on today’s game drive before returning to your lodge in the afternoon.

After a hearty breakfast, we continue to Lake Manyara National Park. The park lies at the foot of the East African Rift Valley. With a bit of luck, you may spot the tree lions for which the national park is famous. The barely overgrown plain at the salt lake Lake Manyara offers you a clear view of the natural spectacle with baboons, giraffes, zebras, hippos and numerous elephants. Towards evening you will continue to your tent lodge where you can experience a fantastic sunset from a hill.

Today the journey continues towards the Serengeti. You pass the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and enjoy a first glimpse of the animal paradise from the crater rim. We then continue for about 80 km along a rutted corrugated road that stretches right into the heart of the Serengeti. You should never drive faster than 40 km/h here, even if you are repeatedly overtaken at full speed by local guides. With its varied vegetation, small hills and extinct volcanoes, you won’t get bored on the journey. Before we reach Nabi Gate, the entrance to the Serengeti, around midday, you will see the first wildebeest and zebras and, with a bit of luck, lions and elephants. In the afternoon there is time for a first game drive in the Serengeti.

Today we go on an early morning game drive. After a coffee and a small snack, you set off into the park. The first rays of sunshine cast long shadows. It’s the best time for good photos! You can often see lions having breakfast and watch the hyenas and jackals trying to get a piece. Near the waterhole, colorful birds glisten in the sunlight. They also like to sit on the backs of buffaloes and elephants – letting themselves be carried as far as the journey takes them. Back at the lodge we have brunch and another game drive in the afternoon.

After breakfast, you will set off for the southern part of the Serengeti. Here, too, you will have the opportunity to take beautiful photos of lions, elephants, the huge herds of wildebeest with the zebras that are always close by and, with luck, you will also see leopards today. You leave Serengeiti through the Nabi Gate and continue towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Today you will spend the day in the Ngorongoro Crater. The diameter of this unique animal paradise is around 20  kilometers, the height difference between the crater rim and the ground is around 600 meters and the crater rim is around 2,300 meters above sea level.  The crater is home to around 25,000 large animals, including the BIG 5 with rhinos, lions, elephants, buffalos and leopards. 

After a hearty breakfast, we return to Kilimanjaro Airport. Our employee will be waiting for you there and you will return the rental car. A short time later you take off for your flight to Zanzibar. The transfer driver will take you to your beach hotel on the east coast of the Spice Island, where you will spend the next few days.