Urban Jay Exclusive: Mid-Range
Ten days allows a thorough and unhurried exploration of Tanzania's most celebrated northern safari circuit, visiting four distinct ecosystems and building toward the supreme wildlife experience of the Ngorongoro Crater. The itinerary begins among the ancient baobabs and elephant highways of Tarangire National Park, progresses through the intimate mixed habitats of Lake Manyara, and then devotes four days to the vast sweep of the Serengeti ecosystem, covering both the central Seronera Valley and the remote northern sector where the Great Migration's most dramatic river crossings occur between July and October. The journey concludes with a full day descent into the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that concentrates the entire range of East African megafauna within a single enclosed caldera.
Day 1
Arrival in Arusha
Your Tanzania journey begins at Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha Airport, where your guide will be waiting in the arrival hall with a welcome sign. The transfer to your Arusha lodge passes through the outskirts of this energetic East African city, with Mount Meru rising impressively above the surrounding landscape and Mount Kilimanjaro sometimes visible in the far distance on clear evenings. The first evening is deliberately unhurried: a chance to settle in, enjoy a well-prepared dinner, and review the excitement of the days ahead over a cold drink in the lodge garden.
Dinner
Day 2
Tarangire National Park Full Day Game Drive
Departing Arusha in the early morning, the road south enters the Maasai heartland, passing through open thornbush country studded with termite mounds and Maasai bomas before descending toward the Tarangire River. The park entrance formalities are completed efficiently and the game drive begins immediately, following the river course where elephant in extraordinary numbers congregate throughout the dry season. A single bend in the river can reveal fifty or more elephants drinking, bathing, and moving through the riverine woodland in a display of scale and wildness that leaves a lasting impression. The baobab trees that punctuate the landscape are ancient beyond comprehension, their swollen forms and bare winter branches creating one of the most dramatic backdrops in African wildlife photography.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 3
Tarangire National Park Second Day and Departure for Lake Manyara
A full second day in Tarangire allows a deeper exploration of the park's diverse habitat zones, moving beyond the riverine woodland into open grassland, swamp edges, and the acacia stands where leopard and lion are regularly encountered. The park's giraffe population is substantial, and the sight of these animals navigating the baobab landscape is endlessly photogenic. Evening departure toward the Lake Manyara area allows time for an overnight stop and preparation for the following day's game circuit.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 4
Lake Manyara National Park Game Drive
A morning game drive through Lake Manyara National Park covers the full range of the park's exceptional habitat diversity, from the dense groundwater forest near the park gate, where large troops of olive baboon and the occasional shy bushbuck move through the shade, to the open floodplain fringing the lake where thousands of flamingos and pelicans create a spectacular pink foreground against the grey Rift Valley escarpment. The park's tree-climbing lions are the signature attraction: this is one of only two locations in all of Africa where this behaviour has been consistently documented, and patient searching of the park's fig trees regularly reveals individuals or small groups resting in the branches above open ground.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 5
Transfer to Central Serengeti National Park via Ndutu and Afternoon Game Drive
The approach to the Serengeti is one of the great scenic drives in East Africa, climbing through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area highlands with views across the forested crater walls before descending onto the short-grass plains of the Ndutu area. In the calving season between January and March, this area hosts one of the greatest concentrations of wildebeest and predators on earth, with newborn calves providing a constant focus for lion, cheetah, and hyena activity. Entering the Serengeti through the Naabi Hill Gate, the afternoon game drive begins on the open plains of the central sector, working toward the Seronera Valley, which represents the heartland of Serengeti wildlife activity throughout the year.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 6
Central Serengeti Full Day Game Drives
A complete day devoted to the Serengeti game circuit allows the kind of immersive, unhurried wildlife experience that distinguishes a great safari from an ordinary one. Your guide positions the vehicle before dawn for the best light conditions and remains in the field through the productive midday predator hours as well as the golden afternoon. The Seronera River system is the focal point of activity throughout the year: lions denning in the kopjes, leopards draping fresh kills over acacia branches, cheetah mothers hunting on the open plain, and the constant background movement of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle in their hundreds of thousands.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 7
Transfer to Northern Serengeti and Afternoon Game Drive
The drive north toward the Kogatende area of the northern Serengeti passes through a succession of increasingly remote landscapes: the river crossings of the Grumeti, the broad Moru Kopjes with their ancient Maasai rock paintings, and the rolling plains leading toward the Mara River corridor. Between July and October, this northern sector is the stage for the most dramatic scenes of the annual migration: wildebeest columns moving toward the river, assembling in nervous thousands on the bank, and then crossing in a tumult of splashing bodies and churning water while crocodile patrol the deeper channels. Even outside the peak crossing months, the northern circuit holds extraordinary concentrations of resident wildlife.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 8
Northern Serengeti Full Day and Transfer to Ngorongoro
A final morning in the northern Serengeti takes full advantage of the exceptional wildlife conditions of this remote and relatively lightly visited sector before the afternoon transfer south toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The approach to Ngorongoro in the late afternoon reveals a landscape of extraordinary grandeur: the rim of the crater rising against the western sky, Maasai herds moving across the highland grassland, and the vast panorama of the caldera interior visible through the mist.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 9
Full Day Descent into the Ngorongoro Crater
The descent into the Ngorongoro Crater at dawn is one of the most anticipated moments of any Tanzania safari. The unpaved road winds steeply down through highland forest before emerging onto the crater floor, a world enclosed by walls that rise 600 metres on all sides, sealing an ecosystem that has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. The concentration of wildlife within the crater is extraordinary: a single morning circuit can yield sightings of lion, hyena, elephant, black rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and the full range of plains game that grazes the short turf in continuous movement. A picnic lunch in the company of these animals, sometimes within metres of the vehicle, adds to the sense of complete immersion. The afternoon continues with game driving until the ascent back to the crater rim for an overnight stay.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 10
Final Breakfast and Transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport
A peaceful final morning in the highland air of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with time for a final walk in the lodge grounds and a leisurely breakfast before the transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport. The drive passes through the town of Arusha and across the flat plains east of the Rift Valley escarpment, arriving at the airport in time for afternoon or evening international departures. Optional extension transfers to Zanzibar or the southern coast of Tanzania can be arranged for travellers wishing to add a beach component to their journey.
Breakfast
Safari Pricing Guide
Prices are per person depending on group size.
| Group Size | Price Per Person (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 Person (Solo Traveler) | $4,340 |
| 2 People (Per Person) | $3,100 |
| 4 People (Per Person) | $2,852 |
| 5 People (Per Person) | $2,728 |
| 6+ People (Per Person) | $2,604 |
Included
- Airport pickup and drop-off transfers
- Transport in a customised 4x4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof
- All national park and reserve entrance fees
- All accommodation as detailed in the itinerary
- Full board meals as specified per day
- Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
- Drinking water in the vehicle throughout
- All applicable government taxes and levies
- Emergency evacuation insurance cover
Excluded
- International airfares
- Visa fees and travel documentation
- Comprehensive personal travel insurance
- Gratuities for guide and camp staff
- Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks at properties
- Optional activities not listed in the itinerary
- Any costs arising from illness, injury, or force majeure
