10-Day Luxury Family Safari — Great Migration

10-Day Luxury Family Safari — Great Migration · 10 days

Package Overview

Made for families and honeymooners who want to see everything without rushing. You start at a coffee plantation lodge in Arusha, spend two nights in Tarangire, a day at Lake Manyara and a day in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, then cross the Serengeti from the central plains to Kogatende in the far north, where the migration crosses the Mara River from July to October. You fly back to Kilimanjaro from the Serengeti, so there's no long drive at the end.

Highlights

• Coffee plantation lodge in Arusha
• Two nights in Tarangire
• Tree-climbing lions at Lake Manyara
• The Great Migration in the Northern Serengeti
• Flight back to Kilimanjaro

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1 • Arrival: Arusha Coffee Lodge

Arusha

We meet you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and take you to Arusha Coffee Lodge, set among one of Tanzania's largest coffee plantations at the foot of Mount Meru. Plantation cottages from the early 1900s, a pool and a garden terrace, and the smell of fresh coffee at breakfast.

Day 1 Accommodation, Arusha Meal Plan: Bed and breakfast

Where you'll stay:

• Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge or similar

Day 2 • Into Tarangire

Tarangire

Leave at 7am for Tarangire, 120 km away. Look for lion and leopard, pythons in the trees and the noisy flocks of yellow-collared lovebirds found only in this part of Tanzania. Dinner and the night at a lodge inside the park.

Day 2 Accommodation, Tarangire Meal Plan: All inclusive

Where you'll stay:

• Tarangire Kuro Treetops Lodge or similar

Day 3 • Full day in Tarangire

Tarangire

Elephant herds, lions and the giant baobabs, the "tree of life", along the Tarangire River, the park's only water in the dry season. Campfire dinner back at the lodge.

Day 3 Accommodation, Tarangire Meal Plan: All inclusive

Where you'll stay:

• Tarangire Kuro Treetops Lodge or similar

Day 4 • Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara

Hemingway called it "the loveliest lake I had seen in Africa". More than 400 bird species, the famous tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants in the acacia woodland.

Day 4 Accommodation, Lake Manyara Meal Plan: Full board

Where you'll stay:

• Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge or similar

Day 5 • Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Ngorongoro

A full day in the highlands along the Rift Valley, centred on the Ngorongoro Crater, where Maasai herders graze their cattle alongside the wildlife.

Activity · MAASAI BOMA VISIT (Optional)

Visit a Maasai homestead for traditional songs and dancing, beadwork and stories of life alongside the wildlife. $50 per vehicle.

Day 5 Accommodation, Ngorongoro Crater rim Meal Plan: Full board

Where you'll stay:

• Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge or similar

Day 6 • Olduvai Gorge and the central Serengeti

Olduvai Gorge

Game drive west via Olduvai Gorge with a picnic lunch and into the Serengeti, home to great herds of buffalo, elephant and giraffe and thousands of eland, topi, impala and gazelle.

Activity · OLDUVAI GORGE (Optional)

The museum and viewpoint at the site where some of the earliest human fossils were found. $36 per person.

Day 6 Accommodation, Central Serengeti Meal Plan: All inclusive

Where you'll stay:

• Ole Serai Luxury Camp, Turner Springs or similar

Day 7 • Central Serengeti full day

Serengeti

A full day on the savannah with a picnic lunch, looking for the big cats and whatever the migration is doing this week.

Activity · HOT-AIR BALLOON SAFARI (Optional)

Lift off at dawn for an hour over the Serengeti, followed by a champagne bush breakfast. From $500 per person.

Day 7 Accommodation, Central Serengeti Meal Plan: All inclusive

Where you'll stay:

• Ole Serai Luxury Camp, Turner Springs or similar

Day 8 • North to Kogatende

Northern Serengeti

Head north tracking the migration trails. From July to October, columns of wildebeest up to 40 km long plunge through the crocodile-filled Mara River.

Day 8 Accommodation, Northern Serengeti Meal Plan: Full board

Where you'll stay:

• Mara Mara Tented Lodge or similar

Day 9 • The Mara River

Mara River

A full day in the Northern Serengeti with a picnic lunch, waiting for crossings and exploring the kopjes, woodland and riverine forest.

Note: River crossings are never guaranteed.

Day 9 Accommodation, Northern Serengeti Meal Plan: Full board

Where you'll stay:

• Mara Mara Tented Lodge or similar

Day 10 • Fly home from Kogatende

Northern Serengeti

A last morning game drive and picnic lunch, then transfer to the Kogatende airstrip for the flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport at around 2:45pm, arriving around 5:30pm for your international flight.

Optional Activities

Add any of these to your trip. They are not included in the package price.

• Hot air balloon ride (Serengeti) USD 500 per person
• Maasai boma visit USD 50 per vehicle
• Walking safari From USD 30 per person
• Sundowner From USD 50 per person
• Olduvai Gorge museum USD 36 per person