7 day (Maasai) safari (Ngorongoro Crater / Serengeti Plains / Lake Manyara)
|
|
7 day Maasai tour overview
Our unique African Masai camping safaris, tours and trekking packages, will take you on an adventure of a lifetime, into the heart of the Tanzanian northern safari circuit. Nowhere else in Africa do we find the sheer numbers of animals, predators and carnivores like the African lion, or the ease with which these animals can be viewed, as in Tanzania.
Our African Masai camping safari was designed for the traveller with an adventurous spirit, seeking an intimate experience in the African Bush. Apart from having the freedom to choose your companions, we provide you with comfortable camps, set up away from the normal crowded public campsites. After the excitement of a full day of game viewing, you will return to the camp where you can watch and enjoy the brilliant colours of a peaceful East African sunset. At night you will sit around a cosy campfire and listen to the calls of the jackal and all the other fascinating night sounds of Africa.
This is a suggested or sample Tanzanian safari itinerary - it can be adapted to suite your own personal needs and preferences, or any seasonal changes and migratory animal movements. As with all our African safaris, tours and trekking packages, we have offered you a wide variety of accommodation options - directly impacting on the total safari costs - in order to offer you the widest possible tour budget options. Please do not hesitate to contact one of our travel consultants directly, should you require any further assistance or more detailed info, regarding any of our Tanzanian camping safaris, tours and trekking packages
Safari at a glance7 Days: Lake Manyara / Serengeti Plains / Ngorongoro Crater |
|||||||
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 3 |
Day 4 |
Day 5 |
Day 6 |
Day 7 |
|
National Park |
Manyara |
Serengeti |
Serengeti |
Serengeti / Ngorongoro |
Serengeti / Ngorongoro |
Ngorongoro |
Ngorongoro |
Game viewing drives |
None |
PM |
Full day |
Full day |
AM |
AM |
None |
Other activities |
Canoe ride |
- |
Hot air balloon |
Hot air balloon |
Olduvai Gorge |
Masai Village |
Masai Village |
Non game-viewing travel time |
2½ hours |
4 hours |
- |
- |
4 hours |
- |
4 hours |
Accommodation options |
|||||||
Accommodation |
Kirurumu camp |
Private camp |
Private camp |
Private camp |
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge |
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge |
- |
Board |
LDB |
BLDB |
BLDB |
BLDB |
BLDB |
BLDB |
BL |
BL = Breakfast & Lunch, BLDB = Breakfast Lunch Dinner & Bed, LDB = Lunch Dinner Bed |
|||||||
Day 1 - Arusha - Lake Manyara National Park
Non game-viewing travel time: 2½ hours
Distance: 130 km
The tour starts with lunch in Arusha town at 12:30pm. After lunch at around 14:00pm are you met by our professional tours guide/driver, who will deliver a short safari info briefing, after which, we travel west to the Great Rift Valley and the Lake Manyara National Park.
Dinner and overnight at the Kirurumu Tented Lodge.
Day 2 - Lake Manyara National Park - Serengeti Plains
Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours
Distance: 205 km
After breakfast we will drive through the agricultural and fresh produce market town of Mto Wa Mbu, which is situated next to the entrance of the Lake Manyara National Park. The town is a souvenir hunters paradise, harbouring thousands souvenir salesmen - ready to pounce at your slightest invitation.
Lake Manyara National Park is one of Tanzania's most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park), located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley's western escarpment. The park's varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa's largest concentrations of elephants, Manyara's famous tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos, attracted by the algae in the lake.
We will enjoy lunch before we head towards the Serengeti National Park via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa with endless plains, which roll into the distance as far as the eye can see. We spend 3 days in this incredible untamed wilderness of the Serengeti National Park, where literally millions of animals roam.
Dinner and overnight at a private mobile campsite.
Day 3 - Serengeti Plains
We do an after breakfast game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, and which is good for possible Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings. The Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites, is well worth a visit after the morning's game drive. This nicely designed centre offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. The centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby kopje. We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the centre in the shade of the giant acacia trees.
In the afternoon we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lion and some formidably large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons - including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink!
Dinner and overnight at a private campsite.
Day 4 - Serengeti Plains
Day 4 will offer you an ideal opportunity to do an optional but unforgettable Hot Air Balloon flight, followed by a delightful champagne breakfast (available at a supplementary cost, but can be booked in advance). After breakfast we head to the south-eastern side of the park, visiting the Barafu Kopjes and the Ngare Nanyuki River area, for our morning and afternoon game drives. Apart from the lion prides you find in the area, the Barafu Kopjes is the place to visit for possible cheetah sightings. The Ngare Nanyuki River area is also well known for being packed with game.
Dinner and overnight at our private campsite.
Day 5 - Serengeti Plains - Ngorongoro Crater
Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours
Distance: 145 km
After breakfast we then head for the Ngorongoro Crater via the famed Olduvai Gorge, also known as "the cradle of mankind''. The gorge lies on the site of an ancient lake, covered by thick layers of volcanic ash, which carefully preserved the world's earliest records of mankind and which was unearthed by the dedicated Leakey family. The museum displays some of these fascinating discoveries and remarkable finds. We will enjoy a picnic lunch at the Gorge. From here we head for the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most densely crowded game areas in the world, which is home to an estimated 30,000 animals.
In the afternoon you can just relax or you can arrange with your guide to visit the Maasai's Irkeepus Village (additional cost), to experience the culture of the Masai and buy their handcrafts.
Dinner and overnight at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
Day 6 - Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast we descend 600m into this magnificent crater for a morning, half-day game drive. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most densely crowded African wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals including some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhino. Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park is it's dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. We will enjoy lunch at the lodge, after which we will spend the afternoon at leisure.
Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa lodge.
Day 7 - Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha
Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours
Distance: 190 km
After breakfast we depart for Arusha and end our safari adventure with a farewell lunch at the stunning Novotel Mount Meru hotel. Your guide should be tipped around $20 a day between the group. You will be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.
Departure dates
The departure dates for all our safaris, tours and treks are totally flexible according to your own personal needs. Please contact us for further and more detailed info, as well as information on photographic travel packages, camping safaris, tours and trekking adventures into Tanzania.
Safari prices
Link: 7 day safari package prices.
