Tanzania · Fly-in Safaris

4 Days Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire Fly-in Lodge Safari from Zanzibar

4 daysZanzibar • Tarangire • Serengeti • Ngorongoro Crater

Duration: 4 days / 3 nights
Country: Tanzania, Zanzibar
Style: Fly-in Safaris, Lodge Safaris, Private Safaris, Tanzania Safaris, Wildlife Tours, Zanzibar Holidays
Stay: Mid-range lodges
Travel: Tailor-made

Overview

Three of Tanzania’s best parks in four days, starting and ending in Zanzibar. Fly in for Tarangire’s elephants, drive across the highlands to the Serengeti, and finish with a day in the Ngorongoro Crater before flying back to the beach.

Private vehicle and guide throughout, with return flights from Zanzibar included.

Route

1Zanzibar
2Tarangire
3Serengeti
4Ngorongoro Crater

Day-by-day itinerary

Day01 Zanzibar – fly to Tarangire
We collect you from your hotel in Zanzibar in the morning and transfer you to the airport for your scheduled light-aircraft flight to the Lake Manyara airstrip, a scenic hop over the coast and the Maasai Steppe.

Your guide meets you at the airstrip and drives you into Tarangire National Park, famous for its baobab trees and big elephant herds, for an afternoon game drive with a picnic lunch along the Tarangire River.

In the late afternoon you check in to your lodge in Karatu for dinner and the night.
- Meals Lunch & Dinner
- Overnight Mid-range lodge in Karatu (or similar)
Day02 Karatu – Serengeti National Park
After breakfast you set off for the Serengeti. The road climbs through the green highlands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with views over the crater rim, before dropping down onto the endless short-grass plains of the Serengeti.

After a picnic lunch at Naabi Hill Gate, you game-drive the rest of the way to the Seronera area in the heart of the park. The Seronera river valley has one of the highest densities of big cats in Africa, so even the first afternoon often brings lions, cheetahs or a leopard draped over a sausage tree.

You arrive at your lodge in central Serengeti (Seronera) around sunset for dinner and the night.
- Meals Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Overnight Mid-range lodge in central Serengeti (Seronera) (or similar)
Day03 Serengeti – Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Enjoy an early-morning game drive in the Serengeti, when the cats are most active, before heading back across the plains towards the Ngorongoro highlands.

On the way you may pass Maasai herders with their cattle and, if time allows, stop at Olduvai Gorge, one of the world's most important sites for the study of early humans (entry at extra cost). You reach your lodge in Karatu in the late afternoon.
- Meals Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Overnight Mid-range lodge in Karatu (or similar)
Day04 Ngorongoro Crater – fly to Zanzibar
After an early breakfast you drive up to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and stop at the viewpoint. The view is unforgettable: a 600-metre-deep, 20-kilometre-wide volcanic caldera with lakes, swamps, forest and grassland laid out below you.

Then you descend to the crater floor for your game drive. The steep walls keep most animals inside all year, so wildlife is dense and easy to see: lions, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, zebras, wildebeest, hippos and flamingos are all regulars. The crater is also one of the best places in Tanzania to look for the endangered black rhino, which takes patience to find.

After a picnic lunch by the hippo pool you drive back up the crater wall to the Lake Manyara airstrip for your scheduled flight back to Zanzibar, where you are met and transferred to your hotel.
- Meals Breakfast & Lunch

What’s included

Included

All park entrance fees and government taxes
All meals as listed in the itinerary
Bottled drinking water (at least 3 litres per person per day) and soft drinks in the vehicle
Hotel–airport transfers in Zanzibar
Accommodation during the safari (private room)
Private 4x4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof, for your group only
Vehicle inverter for charging, communications radio, cool box and filtered water
Professional English-speaking driver-guide
Scheduled light-aircraft flights as listed in the itinerary

Not included

International flights
Tanzania visa fee
Tips for your guide, driver and camp crew
Travel insurance
Alcoholic drinks and personal items
Optional activities such as a hot-air balloon flight

Gallery

7 Days Tanzania Explorer Safari – photo 4

5 Days Tanzania Mid-range Safari – photo 4

7 Days Tanzania Explorer Safari – photo 3

7 Day Tanzania Wilderness Safari – photo 4

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time for this safari?

Northern Tanzania is good all year. The long dry season (June to October) is best for general game viewing, January to March is calving season in the southern Serengeti, and the April–May rains bring green landscapes and lower prices.

Can I change the accommodation or add days?

Yes. Every itinerary can be tailored: upgrade or change lodges, add extra nights, or combine your safari with Zanzibar or a Kilimanjaro climb. Tell us what you have in mind when you enquire.

What should I pack?

Light, neutral-coloured layers, a warm fleece for early mornings (the Ngorongoro rim gets cold), a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, binoculars and a camera with a spare battery. Soft bags pack into safari vehicles and light aircraft more easily than hard suitcases.

Tailor-made