6 Days Tanzania Safari

Your safari begins with a morning drive from Arusha into Tarangire National Park, where ancient baobabs rise like sentries across golden grasslands. This park is elephant country—herds numbering in the hundreds gather along the Tarangire River during dry season, creating some of Africa’s most impressive elephant viewing. But it’s not just pachyderms. Tree-climbing pythons drape themselves in acacia branches, lions prowl the riverbanks, and massive baobabs—some over a thousand years old—frame every photograph. Your first night under canvas sets the tone for the adventure ahead.

One more morning in Tarangire squeezes every possible wildlife encounter from this remarkable park. Watch elephants dust-bathing, giraffes browsing treetops, and perhaps spot one of Tarangire’s famous tree-climbing lions. By afternoon, you’re climbing out of the Rift Valley toward the lush highlands of Karatu, a fertile region of coffee plantations and neat farms nestled between Tarangire and Ngorongoro. Your lodge tonight offers comfort and stunning views, preparing you for tomorrow’s descent into the Crater.

Dawn finds you on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, looking down into what many consider the Eighth Wonder of the World. The descent into this massive volcanic caldera is breathtaking—the road switchbacks down 600 meters into a self-contained ecosystem that supports an extraordinary concentration of wildlife.

The Crater floor is wildlife theatre at its finest. Black rhinos graze in the morning light—this is one of your best chances to see these critically endangered giants. Lions laze near hippo pools. Elephants, all massive bulls with impressive tusks, move between acacia groves. Flamingos paint the soda lake pink, while thousands of wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles pattern the grasslands. It’s all here, all visible, all spectacular.

By afternoon, you ascend back to the rim and continue to the Serengeti, dropping down through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area into the world’s most famous wildlife park. As you enter the Serengeti, the landscape opens up impossibly, stretching to horizons that seem to curve with the Earth itself. Your camp awaits in the heart of the action.

Two full days to immerse yourself in Serengeti magic. These aren’t just any days in any park—this is the Serengeti, the place that defined what safari means. The name comes from the Maasai word “siringet,” meaning endless plains, and it delivers on that promise spectacularly.

Your days find their rhythm quickly. Dawn game drives when predators are active and the light is pure gold. Mid-morning watching a leopard lounging impossibly high in a sausage tree. Afternoon hours at camp, perhaps reading in the shade while zebras graze nearby. Then back out as the day cools, when lions begin their evening hunts and the plains come alive again.

The wildlife viewing is simply staggering. Lion prides patrol their territories—you might watch a hunt unfold, or find them gorged on a kill, or see cubs playing while adults sleep off a feast. Cheetahs perch on termite mounds scanning for prey. Elephants march in single file toward water. Hippos honk territorially in every river pool.

If you’re here between June and October, you might witness the Great Migration—millions of wildebeest and zebras flowing across the landscape like a living river. But honestly, the Serengeti delivers any time of year. The resident wildlife alone would make it world-class. The big skies, the sunsets that set the clouds on fire, the feeling of being somewhere truly wild—it all combines into something that transcends photography, that lives in your chest as much as in your camera.

Evenings at your tented camp bring their own magic. Dinner under stars so bright they seem three-dimensional. Stories swapped with fellow travelers around the fire. The distant roar of lions reminding you exactly where you are. Sleep comes easy after days this full.

Your final morning begins with one last game drive, squeezing every precious moment from the Serengeti. Then it’s time for something special—a scenic flight back to Arusha. As your small aircraft lifts off, the Serengeti spreads below like a living map. You’ll see the parks from an eagle’s perspective, understanding suddenly how they connect, how the wildlife moves between them, how the landscape flows.

It’s the perfect ending, this bird’s-eye view of where you’ve been. The flight takes about an hour—time enough to reflect on the week, to start processing the memories, to feel both satisfied and already planning your return. Touch down in Arusha mid-morning with plenty of time to catch onward flights or extend your adventure.