From three nights in the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater, Kilimanjaro’s foothills and finally the Indian Ocean – twelve days designed to show you more of Tanzania, without rushing through it.
This 12-day private journey is designed for travellers who want more than a quick introduction to Tanzania. It moves at a considered pace through the Northern Circuit, with three nights in the Serengeti, before trading safari tracks for the foothills of Kilimanjaro and, finally, the Indian Ocean.
Begin in Arusha before travelling to Tarangire National Park, where ancient baobabs, the Tarangire River and impressive elephant populations shape the landscape. From here, continue through the Ngorongoro highlands and into the Serengeti for three nights, giving you two full days to explore rather than rushing through one of Africa’s most remarkable wildlife areas.
The journey then turns toward Ngorongoro. Descend into the crater for a private game drive across its grasslands, woodland and wetlands, with opportunities to encounter lions, elephants, buffalo, hippos and, with some luck, the endangered black rhino.
But Tanzania doesn’t end when the game drives do. Back in Arusha, your next day takes you toward the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro for a visit to Materuni, combining a walk to the waterfall with a local coffee experience before flying to Zanzibar later in the day.
The final chapter belongs to the Indian Ocean. Three full days in Zanzibar are intentionally left unhurried – time for the beach, your resort and the option to explore more of the island if you choose.
From your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport to your final transfer in Zanzibar, the journey is privately arranged by Explora V Tanzania, bringing together dedicated safari guiding, carefully selected accommodation and seamless transfers throughout.
Begin your safari among Tarangire’s baobabs, river landscapes and wildlife, with excellent opportunities to encounter elephants.
Slow the pace with three nights in the Serengeti, including two full days for flexible private game drives shaped around wildlife activity.
Explore the Ngorongoro Crater before experiencing a different side of Tanzania at Materuni, with its waterfall and local coffee traditions.
Finish with four nights in Zanzibar, including three full days to enjoy the coast at your own pace.
Welcome to Tanzania. Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), you’ll be met by your Explora V representative and transferred privately to your hotel in Arusha.
Settle in and take the remainder of the day at your own pace after your international journey. Depending on your arrival time, relax at the hotel, enjoy the gardens or pool, or simply get some rest before your safari begins.
Your guide will meet you for a safari briefing, taking you through the journey ahead and answering any questions before you set out into Tanzania’s Northern Circuit.
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Accommodations
This journey is available across three accommodation levels. Your final property will be selected according to your preferred travel style, budget and availability.
Comfort: Comfortable, well-selected hotel or lodge in Arusha
Premium: Upscale hotel or lodge offering enhanced rooms, facilities and service
Luxury: High-end luxury property offering elevated accommodation, dining and service
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast
After breakfast, meet your private safari guide and leave Arusha for Tarangire National Park, beginning your first full day in the bush.
Tarangire is one of the Northern Circuit’s most distinctive landscapes, shaped by ancient baobab trees, seasonal wetlands and the Tarangire River. The park is particularly known for its elephants, which are often seen moving through the woodland or gathering near water, especially during the drier months.
Spend the day exploring in your private safari vehicle, keeping watch for elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, impala and other wildlife. Lions, leopards and other predators also inhabit the park, although every game drive unfolds differently and wildlife sightings are never guaranteed.
Enjoy lunch during the day before continuing your game drive. Later, make your way to your accommodation for dinner and your first night surrounded by the landscapes of northern Tanzania.
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Accommodations
Comfort: Comfortable tented camp or safari lodge in the Tarangire area
Premium: Upscale tented camp or lodge offering enhanced comfort, location and service
Luxury: High-end safari lodge or luxury tented camp offering elevated accommodation and service
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast, continue toward one of Africa’s most celebrated wildlife landscapes: Serengeti National Park.
The journey takes you through the changing scenery of northern Tanzania, eventually opening onto the vast plains of the Serengeti. Your guide will manage the day according to road conditions, wildlife activity and the location of your selected accommodation.
Once inside the Serengeti, the journey becomes part of the game drive. Keep watch for giraffes, elephants, buffalo, antelope and predators as you travel deeper into the ecosystem. Rather than treating today simply as a transfer, there will be opportunities to stop and spend time at interesting wildlife sightings along the way.
Arrive at your camp or lodge later in the day and settle in. This will be your home for the next three nights, giving you a comfortable base from which to explore the Serengeti without unnecessary packing or accommodation changes.
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Accommodations — 3 Nights
You will stay at the same selected Serengeti property for three consecutive nights.
Comfort: Comfortable tented safari camp in the Serengeti
Premium: Upscale tented camp or lodge offering enhanced comfort, service and safari atmosphere
Luxury: High-end Serengeti lodge or luxury tented camp offering elevated accommodation, dining and service
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Today is dedicated entirely to exploring the Serengeti with your private guide.
With no major transfer required, the day can be shaped around wildlife movements and conditions on the ground. Your guide may recommend an early start when wildlife is particularly active, a return to camp for a midday break, or a longer day in the field with a picnic lunch.
The Serengeti supports an extraordinary diversity of wildlife, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, buffalo, hyenas and numerous antelope species. Depending on the season and location, you may also encounter concentrations of wildebeest and zebra associated with the wider Great Migration ecosystem.
One of the advantages of travelling privately is flexibility. When you find a particularly rewarding sighting, there is no group schedule forcing you to move on. Your guide can adjust the day around wildlife activity and the way you prefer to experience the Serengeti.
Return to your camp or lodge later in the day for dinner and a relaxed evening in the bush.
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Accommodation: Same Serengeti accommodation as the previous night
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
A second full day in the Serengeti gives you something particularly valuable on safari: time.
Wildlife rarely follows a timetable, and spending three nights here allows you to explore at a more considered pace. Your guide can take you into different areas depending on recent sightings, seasonal wildlife movements and conditions within the park.
Set out for another private game drive, following the rhythm of the landscape rather than simply repeating the previous day. You may spend time around rocky kopjes searching for lions, scan the open plains for cheetahs, watch elephants moving through the landscape or stop quietly beside a sighting and simply observe.
This extra day creates room for the slower moments that can easily be missed on a rushed safari and gives your guide greater flexibility to respond to what is actually happening in the bush.
Return to your accommodation for your final evening in the Serengeti.
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Accommodation: Same Serengeti accommodation
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Enjoy breakfast before beginning your journey from the Serengeti toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
There is still time for wildlife viewing as you make your way through the Serengeti, allowing the transition between destinations to remain part of the safari rather than simply becoming a transfer.
As you approach Ngorongoro, the vast plains gradually give way to cooler, greener highlands. The change in landscape is striking and provides a completely different setting from your previous days in the Serengeti.
Continue to your accommodation in the Ngorongoro or Karatu area. Settle in, enjoy dinner and relax before the following morning’s descent into the Ngorongoro Crater.
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Accommodations
Comfort: Comfortable lodge in Karatu or the Ngorongoro area
Premium: Upscale lodge offering enhanced comfort, setting and service
Luxury: High-end lodge on or near the Ngorongoro Crater rim, depending on availability and selected package
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After an early breakfast, travel to the Ngorongoro Crater and descend approximately 600 metres to the crater floor for one of Tanzania’s most distinctive wildlife experiences.
The crater contains grasslands, woodland, wetlands and permanent water sources within a relatively compact area, supporting a remarkable concentration of wildlife.
Explore with your private guide while keeping watch for lions, buffalo, elephants, hippos, zebras, wildebeest and numerous other species. Ngorongoro is also one of the places in northern Tanzania where there is a possibility of encountering the endangered black rhino, although sightings can never be guaranteed.
Enjoy lunch during your crater excursion before ascending the crater wall and beginning your journey back toward Arusha.
Arrive later in the day and settle into your hotel. After several days in the bush, the evening provides a comfortable transition before experiencing a completely different side of Tanzania tomorrow.
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Accommodations
Comfort: Comfortable, well-selected hotel or lodge in Arusha
Premium: Upscale hotel or lodge offering enhanced rooms, facilities and service
Luxury: High-end luxury property offering elevated accommodation, dining and service
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Today the journey changes pace.
After breakfast, leave Arusha and travel toward the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro for a visit to Materuni, a Chagga village surrounded by fertile farmland and lush mountain vegetation.
With a local guide, walk through the village landscape toward Materuni Waterfall. Along the way, experience a closer look at rural life around Kilimanjaro and the vegetation that thrives on the mountain’s lower slopes before reaching the waterfall.
Continue with a local coffee experience, learning about the traditional journey from coffee bean to cup, including processing, roasting and preparation. It provides a more personal introduction to life around Kilimanjaro and a very different experience from the wildlife-focused days that came before it.
After the Materuni experience, transfer to the airport for your scheduled flight to Zanzibar. Upon arrival on the island, you’ll be met by your driver and transferred privately to your beach resort.
Safari behind you. Indian Ocean ahead.
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Accommodations — 4 Nights
Your selected Zanzibar resort will be your home for the next four nights, allowing you to unpack once and enjoy the island at an unhurried pace.
Comfort: Comfortable beachfront resort in Zanzibar
Premium: Upscale beach resort offering enhanced rooms, facilities and service
Luxury: High-end beachfront resort offering elevated accommodation, dining and service
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Dinner arrangements depend on the selected Zanzibar accommodation and meal plan.
Wake up to your first full day on Zanzibar with nowhere you need to be.
After the movement of safari, today is intentionally left open. Enjoy breakfast at your resort and spend the day beside the Indian Ocean – swim, relax by the pool, walk along the beach or simply slow the pace completely.
For guests who would like to explore, optional experiences can be arranged, from cultural and historical visits to ocean activities and island excursions.
Nothing is compulsory. This part of the journey is yours to shape.
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Accommodation: Same Zanzibar resort
Meals: According to your selected Zanzibar meal plan
Enjoy another full day in Zanzibar at your own pace.
You may choose another uninterrupted day by the ocean or use today to discover more of the island. Depending on your interests, optional experiences can include Stone Town, a spice-farm visit, snorkelling, sailing or other carefully selected activities.
Whether you spend the day on the water, exploring Zanzibar’s culture and history, or doing very little at all, the schedule remains deliberately flexible.
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Accommodation: Same Zanzibar resort
Meals: According to your selected Zanzibar meal plan
Your final full day is deliberately left open.
There is no packed schedule and no need to squeeze in one last excursion unless you want to. Spend the day enjoying the beach, take a long lunch, relax around the resort or arrange an optional experience if there is still something on the island you would like to explore.
After Tarangire’s baobabs, three nights in the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and the foothills of Kilimanjaro, this final day gives the journey room to finish slowly.
Enjoy your last evening beside the Indian Ocean before tomorrow’s departure.
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Accommodation: Same Zanzibar resort
Meals: According to your selected Zanzibar meal plan
Enjoy your final morning in Zanzibar according to your international flight schedule.
After breakfast and check-out, your private driver will collect you from the resort and transfer you to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) in good time for your onward flight.
Your 12-day journey comes to an end after experiencing several distinct sides of Tanzania from Tarangire and the Serengeti to Ngorongoro, the foothills of Kilimanjaro and finally the shores of Zanzibar.
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Accommodation: None — departure day
Meals: Breakfast, subject to departure time and selected hotel meal plan
Included
Not Included
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