Masai culture

Days 1-2: Depart USA or your home country – Arrive Kilimanjaro Airport
You will be greeted this evening by our staff and escorted to your hotel. Nestled in the heart of a coffee plantation on the shores of Lake Duluti, near Arusha, Mountain Village is the perfect place to relax before or after experiencing the adventure of a Safari.

Designed as an African village, it is renowned for its collection of spectacular bougainvillea. Accommodations are housed in banana stem thatched huts. All guest rooms have private balconies that boast magnificent views of the mighty snow-capped Kilimanjaro on one side and Lake Duluti and the rugged peaks of Mount Meru on the other. Overnight at hotel (bed and breakfast) Mountain Village

Day 3: Welcome to Tanzania!
Today will be one of leisure and rest and losing that jet lag. Mountain Village has beautiful grounds you can explore and it is a short ride into the town of Arusha. All meals are included at the lodge today.Meals and overnight Mountain Village

Day 4: Serengeti
After breakfast, your Tanzania Safari begins! You will take the scheduled flight to the Serengeti Airstrip as we begin our adventure. We start our search at the Serengeti Serena Lodge.

The Serengeti is huge — reaching up to the Kenyan border and extending almost to Lake Victoria. The park is teaming with stunning wildlife where over 3 million animals roam the plains. You can witness the annual migration of millions of zebra and wildebeest in search of water and forage as the seasons change.

The Serengeti has large herds of antelope of all sorts including Patterson’s eland, klipspringer, dikdik, impala, zebra, gazelles, water, bush and reed buck, topi, kongoni, cotton’s oribi, grey bush duiker, roan antelope buffalo, and wildebeest plus lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, bat eared fox, hunting dog and jackal. Smaller mammals: spring hare, porcupine, warthog, hyraxes, baboon, vervet monkey, colobus monkey, patas monkey, and mongooses. Larger mammals include giraffe, rhino, elephant, and hippopotamus, plus nearly 500 species of birds, including vultures, storks, flamingoes, martial and fish eagles, ostrich. Don’t forget the reptiles, including crocodiles, a number of species of snakes and lizards.

Set high of the saddle of a tree-clad ridge giving guests a commanding view of the endlessly rolling plains of the mighty Serengeti, the Serena Safari lodge is the ultimate fusion of traditional African architecture and world-class style.

Drawing an inspiration from the circular “Rondavel” dwellings of the Masai and the winding paths of traditional villages, the Lodge features thickly-thatched, stone-built rooms spaciously set among the groves of indigenous trees and cooled by sparkling streams and ponds. Each room has an ensuite bathroom with hot and cold water, showers, flush toilets and electricity. Meals and overnight at the Serengeti Serena.

Day 5: Serengeti
This will be a day of full game drives where you will experience the vastness of the Serengeti and its Circle of Life that has occurred on this spot for millions of years. Overnight at the Serengeti Serena.

Day 6: Olduvai Gorge – Ngorongoro Crater
It will be a game drive most of the way to the Gorge. Olduvai is a Historic Site; for it was here that the Leakey family discovered early hominid man that further solidified the evidence that Africa is the Cradle of Mankind. After a picnic lunch we continue to the Ngorongoro Crater.

A highlight of your Tanzania Safari, the Crater is the largest unbroken caldera in the world, 2000 feet deep and 100 square miles. Scenic grandeur and stunning views are the hallmark of this wonder of the world. There are 25,000 larger animals within the crater itself. Dinner and overnight Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.

Day 7: The Crater
This morning you will descend to the crater floor. Visitors are allowed a maximum of 6 hours to view the animals and birds so we will provide a picnic lunch. Upon your return and after a rest and shower, it will soon be time for a sundowner and dinner, the perfect ending to a fabulous day. Dinner and overnight Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.

Day 8: Gibbs Farm-Tarangire National Park
Our first stop will be at Gibbs Farm, a coffee plantation and farm. You will explore these interesting grounds before lunch. You will continue to Tarangire National Park and the Tarangire Sopa Lodge. Afternoon game drive en route.

It is the vast number of baobabs that first capture the eye as you enter Tarangire National Park. The gently rolling countryside is dotted with these majestic trees, which seem to dwarf the animals that feed beneath them.

The park is spectacular in the dry season when many of the migratory wildlife species come back to the permanent waters of Tarangire River. Huge herds of wildebeest, zebras, elephants, eland and oryx gather to stay in Tarangire until the onset of the rains when they migrate again to good grazing areas. Dinner and overnight Tarangire Sopa.

Day 9: Tarangire National Park
This will be a full day with morning and afternoon game drives plus a most interesting visit to the Masai Village where you will see how this famous tribe lives and interacts with nature. Tarangire Sopa.

Day 10: Arusha-Airport
Your Tanzania Safari ends as you depart for Arusha this morning arriving for lunch. Later you will be taken to a day room provided for you at the Mountain Village where you can relax before being taken to the airport for your flight home.

Day 11: Return Home
Arrive home with fond memories of your amazing adventure!