Today is the day you set off from the selected airport and head to Tanzania with connecting flight(s) on the way.

You land at Kilimanjaro’s international airport. You might have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Africa’s highest mountain from the air. Kilimanjaro towers a whopping 5.8 km from the savannah, and the snow-capped peak is in sharp contrast to the fact that you are now in Africa.

You will be met at the airport by our local guide. You will then set off on an exciting sightseeing drive to the small town of Karatu, where you will spend the night. The advantage of driving to Karatu today is that tomorrow, on your first safari in Tarangire National Park, you will have plenty of time to really experience the park, which is just 90 km from Karatu.

Sit back, enjoy the drive and soak in the African countryside. You’ll be in no doubt that that’s where you are. Small villages with markets, Masais with their herds of cattle and women in beautiful colourful dresses rush past the window.

Highview Hotel, where you will be staying, enjoys a scenic location, perched on a hilltop, with a colourful panoramic view of the green, fertile valleys and coffee plantations, where elephants often wander past, morning and evening.

If time allows, the afternoon can be spent relaxing at the hotel or visiting Karatu and the local market.

A whole day of exciting safari experiences awaits you in Tarangire today.

Before that, though, we highly recommend that you get up early. Enjoy the fresh air and sight of the morning mist slowly lifting over the coffee fields.

After a hearty breakfast, you head to Tarangire National Park, which is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania.

The park is named after the Tarangire river, which flows through the park. In dry seasons, the river is the animals’ only source of water.

The landscape and vegetation are incredibly varied. The hilly landscape has nine different growth zones, and you experience a savannah filled with majestic baobab and acacia trees, almost taking all the attention away from the many animals.

The diverse vegetation attracts a great many wild animals. The park is particularly famous for its large number of elephants. Wildebeest and zebras are also found in large numbers, and kudu, impala and gazelles thrive here. The abundant prey here attracts lions, leopards and hyenas, and if you’re really lucky, you might also see a wild dog.

In the afternoon, you head back to Highview Hotel to relax.

You can certainly look forward to today’s drive!

From Karatu, you head through Ngorongoro’s hilly plateaus, where the red-robed Masai live in round huts, and their cattle graze between the zebras, wildebeest and giraffes of the savannah. Nevertheless, the Masai also live in the 21st century, and it is almost impossible not to smile when you see a Masai leaning against his shepherd’s crook while looking at his mobile phone.

Via Nabi Hill Gate, the route heads north-west across the endless plains of the Serengeti, where animals galore await you; millions of wildebeest and zebras, thousands of antelopes and buffaloes, hundreds of lions, elephants, leopards, hippos, crocodiles and thousands of birds. Serengeti offers one of the most amazing and unique wildlife and outdoor experiences on the planet.

Along the way, there is time to enjoy the packed lunch that you have with you.

You will spend the next two nights at Ikoma Wild Camp, which is located on the border of the north-western section of Serengeti National Park, offering a wonderful location and views over the Serengeti plain. You will be camping in the comfortable way, yet close to nature and the animals. The location outside the national park also allows for a number of unique experiences that you cannot get inside the national park itself.

If you wish to stay inside Serengeti National Park itself, you can opt to stay at Serengeti Wild Camp. You could also treat yourself to an upgrade to the gorgeous 4* Serengeti Safari Lodge with its pool and fabulous luxury tents. The view from the restaurant here is absolutely phenomenal!

Today, you’ll be going on a full-day safari in Serengeti to look for the “Big Five”: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffaloes. You have a packed lunch with you and thus the whole day to enjoy the wildlife of the fantastic Serengeti.

The ecosystem here in the park is considered to be one of the oldest in the world, and it’s difficult not to feel both humbled and astonished when sitting in your Landcruiser, absorbing all that you see before you. Outside the drought period, you will also see a large number of Thomson’s gazelles, buffaloes, topi, Grant’s gazelles, eland antelopes, warthogs, eagles, ostriches, etc., in addition to the animals already mentioned. Today, you will probably also see and smell the hippos wallowing in the hippo pools.

A fantastic day, just waiting to be experienced and enjoyed!

If you wish to start the day with a memorable, out-of-the-ordinary experience, you can purchase a balloon safari at sunrise over the Serengeti. Watching the sun rise from the basket of the balloon is indescribable. The animals walk about and graze below you, and you can see contours of the landscape that you cannot see from the ground. Enjoy the silence that is broken only by the burner of the balloon – and perhaps a couple of impalas roaring beneath you.

To take part in a hot air balloon safari, you will need to stay at Serengeti Wild Camp rather than Ikoma Wild Camp.

In the Serengeti, you rise with the sun. After a hearty breakfast, you can look forward to yet another safari on the magnificent plains. Will today be the day that you’re lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the timid leopard? And don’t forget to just enjoy the view and breathe in the fresh morning air. That’s the advantage of having plenty of time in Serengeti – there’s also time to enjoy the outstanding landscape.

At midday, you will enjoy the packed lunch you have with you in the open air. Afterwards, you head into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where you visit the red-clad Masai at a local village and experience how life is lived in a Masai village and look at their handicraft, which is mainly bead work. They are keen to sell – and the jewellery is beautiful – but remember to “haggle”! Enjoy how the landscape has now changed from flat plains to hills with trees that the giraffes hide behind.

On school days – if you’re interested and time allows – it is also possible to visit a kindergarten/school in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area this afternoon. TourCompass has donated the kitchen building to the school and we also make a monthly contribution for uniforms, school materials and food. Read more about the school project here.

Today’s destination is Karatu with its scenic coffee fields. The hotel is a mere 20-minute drive from the gate into Ngorongoro, which means that you will be one of the first guests to arrive at the crater tomorrow. Although the crater is large, and there is a limit to the number of people that are allowed to visit it every day, it’s an advantage to get there early in the morning, while you’re still in with a chance of being one of the first to spot the animals.

The Ngorongoro crater is the world’s largest inactive volcano crater. The volcano erupted some 2–3 million years ago and folded in on itself, leaving a gigantic hole, which is today home to 30,000 animals and 350 different species of birds, all of which have access to water all year round.

Once past the entrance to Ngorongoro, you pass through a lush area of rainforest before the descent along the inside of the crater begins. After an exciting drive down, you arrive at the 260 km² crater floor. The rim of the crater towers 600 metres above you. You might be at the bottom of the crater, but you are actually high up, because the rim of the crater is 2,200 metres above sea level.

The day is spent in the crater – and there is plenty to look at! Lions, gazelles, elephants, wildebeest and zebras in their droves. If you’re really lucky, you might see the endangered black rhinoceros, which is almost extinct in Africa due to poaching. In Ngorongoro, they are protected by the armed rangers.

Lunch is enjoyed in stunning surroundings on the floor of the crater, and at the end of the day you will be driven back to your hotel, where you can relax by the pool, purchase a massage or perhaps visit the local market one last time.

After breakfast and check-out from the hotel, you head to Lake Manyara National Park. Extending over an area of 330 m2, this is one of Tanzania’s smallest national parks, of which the lake itself covers a good two-thirds, depending on the season.

It was here on the southern shore of the lake that Ernest Hemingway’s camp was situated in the mid-1930s, while he went hunting for the largest and most beautiful kudu in the nearby area, known today as Tarangire National Park.

Lake Manyara National Park was established in 1960 to preserve the region’s unique ecosystem, and in 1981, it became part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB).

The area is part of the spectacular Great Rift Valley, which runs all the way through the African continent from the Middle East to Mozambique. Researchers believe that this rift system will at some point in the future cause the African continental plate to split into two separate continental plates and thus tear a large part of the African continent apart from the rest.

The national park, which is long and narrow, is bordered to the east by Lake Manyara itself, and to the west by the slopes of the Rift Valley, which are up to 600 metres high. In between are open grasslands, a jungle-like forest, mangroves, hot springs and swamps. The diversity is unrivalled, and it is impressive to see how drastically the landscape changes in a relatively small area. With the many different habitats comes a great variety of wildlife – although the animals can be difficult to spot amidst all the lushness.

The great biodiversity in the park also attracts many birds – more than 400 different bird species have been recorded here.

Lake Manyara itself is a soda lake, and the water level fluctuates a lot depending on whether it’s the rainy season or the dry season. Along the shore, you may be lucky enough to see large flocks of flamingos.

After this final nature experience, you’ll be driven to the airport where you’ll catch a plane to the exotic island of Zanzibar.

The days are yours to do as you please.

Located in the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar consists of the main islands of Unguja (unofficially known as Zanzibar) and Pemba, as well as myriad small islands. You’ll be spoiled by both fascinating culture  and beautiful nature, with white sandy beaches, azure sea and a stunning coral reef. A hot, sunny climate all year round is conducive to relaxation and a beach holiday.

The island’s dramatic history includes Arab sultans, Portuguese seafarers, slave trading and European explorers, all of which have left their mark on the island. This is also where Stone Town, one of East Africa’s most exciting and charming cities, is to be found, packed with beautiful Arabic architecture, winding alleys, fun shops – not to mention the delicious Swahili cuisine and friendly people.

You are picked up at the hotel and driven to the airport, when your journey home starts. You will fly to the UK with connecting flights along the way.

You arrive in the UK after a wonderful trip.