Compare Backpackers Tanzania Safaris by Lights on Africa Safaris vs Wild Tanzania & Gorillas by Aardvark Safaris

Day 1: Arrive to Tanzania

Upon your arrival meet at Kilimanjaro international Airport and transfer to your hotel in Arusha for bed and breakfast B/B. Pamoja expedition Lodge.

Day 2: Arusha National Park

In the morning drive to Arusha national park with your packed lunch for game viewing. Break for a picnic lunch then continue with game viewing at Arusha National Park. Dinner and overnight at Outpost Lodge Full board (FB)

Day 3: Tarangire National Park

After breakfast transfer to Tarangire national park with your packed lunch for game viewing, enjoy a picnic lunch at Tarangire then continue with your game viewing until late evening, dinner and overnight, / Kigongoni Campsite. FB. One of the most noticeable things on entering the park are the baobab trees that rise up form the grass.

With their massive trunks, they are instantly recognizable. There are animals that usually move northwards of the park during the wet season including the wildebeests, zebras, Thompson's gazelles, buffalos, elands and hartebeests. The elephant population in this park was estimated to be around 6'000 in 1987, but numbers are believed to have fallen since then due to poaching. The number of birds recorded in Tarangire National Park has been estimated at approximately 300. These include migrants that fly south to spend October - April away from the winter of the northern hemisphere. Here, you may spot various species of herons, storks and ducks, vultures, buzzards, sparrow hawks, eagles, kites and falcons, as well as ostriches. Other areas of interest within the park include the Lake Burungi circuit, the Lemiyon area, the Kitibong Hill circuit and the Gursi & Lamarkau circuit.

Day 4: Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast transfer to Lake Manyara national park for game viewing, lunch then after lunch drive to the park again for a second half game viewing. Dinner and overnight, Twiga Campsite. FBA major attraction of the Lake Manyara National Park is the tree - climbing lions. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that you will spot them. However, there are other things to see - elephants, hippos, zebras, impalas, buffalos, baboons, plains animals as well as huge variety of birdlife, both resident and migratory.

Day 5: Serengeti National Park

After breakfast transfer to Serengeti national park via Ngorongoro conservation area, with your lunch box and game en-route. Dinner and overnight, Seronera Campsite FB Serengeti is perhaps most well known for the annual migration that takes place across the great Savannah plains. This is a phenomenal sight: thousands upon thousands of animals, particularly wildebeests, as far as the eye can see. During the rainy season (from November to May), the wildebeests, whose population has been estimated at around 1'500'000, are found in the eastern section of the Serengeti and also the Masai Mara in Kenya to the north. When the dry season begins at the end of June, the annual migration commences as the animals move in search of food pasture. The Serengeti is also famous for cheetahs, leopards and lions, some of which migrate with the wildebeests while others remain in the central plain.

Day 6: Serengeti/ Ngorongoro

After breakfast with your packed lunch drive and game en route to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Pass by Olduvai Gorge a historical site whereby the early man lived its your option whether you pass by the Maasai boma if you are interested in the real African life tradition and culture for extra costs, After your lunch en route adds to the crater rim for your dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Simba Campsite. FB

Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha

After breakfast, with packed lunch descend into the crater for a full day game viewing. Have your picnic lunch in the crater at hippo pool or Lerai forest. Evening drive back to Arusha for dinner and overnight at your Hotel/Transfer to the Airport for your flight back home.

Day 1

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Rivertrees Country Inn

On arrival into Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania today you will be met and driven to Rivertrees Country Inn where you stay overnight on a bed and breakfast basis.

An intimate, family run guesthouse, Rivertrees Country Inn in Tanzania rests at the foot of Mount Meru near the Usa River. Equidistant from Kilimanjaro Airport and Arusha, the inn is positioned within ten acres of beautiful gardens. Planted by owner Martina Gerken-Trappe, the garden comes to live with an abundance of colorful exotic flowers.

Blending old world charm with African country style and hospitality, accommodation at Rivertrees Country Inn comprises 18 individually styled garden rooms and two spacious riverside cottages with decking and a fireplace. The recently built River House contains two elegantly decorated bedrooms, which can be booked individually or exclusively. The inn has an on-site pool and relaxing bar and restaurant. If you so wish, you can dine in privacy at the original house or on a quiet terrace with views across the river.

Rivertrees Country Inn in Tanzania is perfect if you want to relax for a night or two prior to or following your safari. During your stay, you enjoy trips into Arusha National Park, visits to the nearby town, or you can simply relax prior to the most demanding leg of your trip.

Day 2
This morning you will be collected from Rivertrees and driven to Arusha in time to take a scheduled light aircraft flight to Tarangire.
You will be met on arrival at Tarangire airstrip and driven to Olivers Camp where you stay for three nights on a full board basis including all meals, house drinks, laundry and scheduled safari activities.

The long established Oliver's Camp has moved several times over the years but has finally settled in one of the most amazing sites in northern Tanzania's Tarangire National Park. Lying in the center of Masailand, with views across a flood plain of Minyonyo Pools, a section of the Tarangire River, a stay at the camp gives you breathtaking vistas and close contact to the wilderness.

Oliver's Camp provides low impact accommodation with an authentic cozy style and outstanding personal service. You sleep in one of ten tents equipped with solid wooden furniture, soft linens, and en-suite facilities. After a day of game viewing, relax with a drink in the dining room or retreat with a good book into the library tent.
During your stay at Oliver's Camp, you enjoy guided walking safaris and mobile safaris that enable you to fly camp and spend a night under the stars. Your excellent guides help you encounter the vast array of birds and animals local to this part of Tanzania. This abundance of wildlife makes game drives in open 4x4s an exhilarating experience.

Day 5
A scheduled light aircraft flight will take you from Tarangire to Lake Manyara airstrip today when you will be met and driven to Gibbs Farm.
The next two nights will be spent at Gibbs Farm on a full board basis to include all meals.

Brimming with colonial charm and character, Gibb's Farm in Tanzania is an old farmhouse that forms the center of a working African farm. Positioned centrally between Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater, the farm enjoys amazing views across the coffee plantation and access to the forested Ngorongoro Conservation Area behind. Exquisitely manicured gardens look out across the Great Rift Escarpment.

Eighteen airy chalets make up Gibb's Farm Lodge. Each is quietly hidden amid a private flower garden and is complete with en-suite bathroom, inviting fireplace, and uninterrupted views which you enjoy from your secluded terrace. Meals at this Tanzanian farm are a hearty, homegrown affair using fresh, organic produce and served in the welcoming rustic dining room.

You are free to explore the vast floral and medicinal gardens, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area forest, and over 30 acres of surrounding farmland. If you want to extend your horizons during your stay then consider a tour of nearby Lake Manyara or Ngorongoro Crater.

Day 7

This morning you will be driven to Lake Manyara airstrip, where you will meet your onward flight to Kogatende. You will be met on arrival at the airstrip and transferred by a game drive to Serengeti Safari Camp.

Your three-night stay at Serengeti Safari Camp is on a full board basis to include all meals, house drinks, laundry and safari activities.

Serengeti Safari Camp is a temporary camp that relocates to different areas of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park to get the most from each season, following the wildebeest migration. The camp is in the south from December through March moving to the central and northern Serengeti in June.

The camp comprises six elegantly furnished tents, one of which is a family tent with two bedrooms and an adjoining sitting area. Your tent has all modern ensuite conveniences including a traditional bucket shower and an eco-flush toilet. Meals are shared under the night sky or inside the dining tent. The staff at this small, friendly camp is available at all times to ensure you have everything you need.

Often, when people imagine African safaris, it's the wide open plains of the Serengeti that come to mind. The park is renowned for its wealth of resident game, including many predators, and the spectacle of the annual wildebeest and zebra migration. With the camp's superb guides, you'll have a front-row seat.

Day 10

Meals: Breakfast

 Accommodation: Kigali Serena Hotel

A scheduled light aircraft this morning will depart from Kogatende to Kigali where you will be welcomed by a guide and driven to Kigali Serena Hotel. Your overnight stay here is on a bed and breakfast basis.

Located close to the heart of Rwanda's capital city, Kigali, the Serena Hotel is a luxurious five-star hotel a 15-minute taxi ride from the airport. It is ideal as a comfortable stopover for a night or two at the beginning or end of your Rwandan safari.
Serena Hotel comprises 148 excellent en-suite rooms. You can choose between standard, deluxe, and superior rooms, as well as junior, executive and presidential suites.

The hotel is fully equipped with modern conveniences as well as a lovely swimming pool, great restaurant and relaxing bar.There is a poignant genocide memorial in Kigali, not far from Serena Hotel in Rwanda, which you are free to visit.

Day 11

Accommodation: Virunga Lodge

This morning you will be collected from the Kigali Serena Hotel by your guide, who will brief you on your safari before setting off to Volcanoes National Park.  Your journey north will take you through the beautiful terraced hillsides that characterize much of Rwanda's landscape, gradually climbing to Virunga Lodge at the base of the spectacular Virunga volcanoes range, sometimes with as many as five peaks visible.  This drive takes approximately three hours.

Your three-night stay at Virunga lodge is on a full board basis which includes all meals, house drinks, laundry and two gorilla tracking permits per person.
Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of the Virungas is a magical experience. If you are lucky you can get to the gorillas, spend an hour with them, and be back at the base in time for a late lunch!  Some gorilla families, however, are more elusive and tracking can take a full day, especially when it is wet and muddy.

Aside from gorilla tracking, you can climb the Visoke or Karisimbi volcanoes, track golden monkeys, visit the remains of the Karisoke Centre which Dian Fossey set up, visit Dian Fossey's grave and the gorilla cemetery, visit the Roz Carr Imbabazi orphanage, relax on the shores of Lake Kivu, or take a guided walk to Lake Bulera and experience local village life.

Perched high on a ridge, Virunga Lodge gives you inspirational views across the Virunga Volcano range as well as Lakes Ruhondo and Bulera. Just three hours' drive from Rwanda's capital city, Kigali, and an hour from the Ugandan border, Virunga Lodge is less than an hour away from the gorilla tracking in Parc National des Volcans (PNV).
Virunga Lodge comprises eight spacious and luxuriously furnished standard ensuite cottages equipped with a private ensuite bathroom with flushing toilet, double vanity and showers with hot and cold running water.  There are also two newly built larger deluxe cottages, Ibiyaga, and Ibirunga, complete with their own sitting room and fireplace and a modern adjoining bathroom.  Each cottage has its own secluded terrace, which enjoys views across the valley, lakes and volcanoes, as do the lounge, bar and dining room. 24-hour electricity is generated solely by solar panels. Please note that the pathways to and from the lodge are steep.

Rwanda's Parc National des Volcans lies adjacent to national parks in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and gets its name from the string of volcanoes that lie within it. The park is home to half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas. Tracking the resident gorilla families, made up of between seven and 35 members, is the focus for most visitors. When you are not watching gorillas, you can climb the Visoke or Karisimbi volcanoes (5-6 hours), track a troop of golden monkeys (2-3 hours), visit the remains of the Karisoke center (3-4 hours) founded by Dr. Dian Fossey, visit Iby'Iwacu cultural village, the Buhanga Sacred Forest, or Musanze Caves, or take a quiet walk around the beautiful villages near the lakes. Visits to the nearby Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project are also possible at additional cost.

Please discuss your wishes for additional activities with your guide when you first arrive. Several of them, such as golden monkeys and climbing the volcanoes can only be done in the morning while others such as lake visits or a trip to the cultural center can more easily be included after tracking gorillas.

Day 14
Today, you leave for Kigali. Time permitting, you can go for a tour of the city including a visit to the market, a pottery project, handicraft shops, and the genocide memorial, before heading to the airport to meet your onward international flight, or continue with another African adventure.