TANZANIA CLASSIC SAFARI

  Day 1
 Your trip begins today with an evening arrival into Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.  We provide a group transfer to Arusha to a lovely lodge set in spacious gardens.  Most likely you’ll be fatigued from your travels and want to retire early.  No meals included.
Day 2
Following breakfast at the lodge, we head south to Tarangire Park. This less-visited park is a great introduction to Africa … it’s off-the-beaten-path and famous for its legendary elephant herds and its unusual palm and baobab groves. Our tented-lodge sits high on a ridge facing east overlooking a vast plain cut by the Tarangire River and typically teeming with wildlife.  Following an afternoon game run, take a dip in the pool, sip a glass of wine and sit back on the veranda to enjoy your first African gloaming. All meals included.
Day 3
Off for a full day of wildlife viewing in the Park.  In the dry season Tarangire is second only to Ngorongoro Crater in concentrations of wildlife.  There’s no doubt we’ll see elephants and many other large mammals such as wildebeests, buffalo, and oryx, but also keep your eyes open for the famed tree-climbing lions.  Picnic lunch en-route today.  Return to our lodge for dinner.  All meals included.

Day 4
This morning we head west to the Lake Manyara area, arriving in time for lunch at our unique lodging for this evening.  Our circular bungalows overlook Lake Miwaleni and are built with an exquisite Maasai theme. We visit Lake Manyara Park in the late afternoon to view and photograph the wildlife in their more active period before dusk. This is a small, verdant park located at the base of the Great Rift.  It’s a bit tropical, supports a huge birdlife population as well as larger animals such as the giraffe, zebra and buffalo. (Look for the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird.) The birdlife at our lodge is amazing as well with over 350 species spotted and recorded.  Enjoy!  All meals included.
Day 5
Start the day with another visit to the Park for game viewing – this is a great time to catch the hippos out of water - or partake in one of the optional activities available to you at the lodge such as cycling for a couple of hours or visiting the extensive crafts market in the local village of Mto Wa Mbu.  Following lunch at the lodge, we drive to the outskirts of the Ngorongoro Crater.  Our home for the next two nights is an intimate lodge with14 rooms neatly tucked away on a coffee farm with lush gardens and views of the surrounding verdant hills.  Relax and take in the ambiance!  All meals included.
 Day 6
The Maasai refer to the Ngorongoro Crater as the “footprint of God”.  Your first glimpse into the crater from its rim is breathtaking – a wildlife sanctuary over three hundred square miles in size spread out some two thousand feet below you. 
We spend the day exploring the diversity and richness of this gorgeous park.  Over 20,000 mammals call this crater their permanent home including prides of lions, cheetah, giraffe, elephant, hippos and the rare black rhino.  At the heart of the crater's 10-mile wide grassland plain lies a soda lake that attracts vast numbers of flamingo and other water birds.  The Maasai have watered their cattle in the crater seemingly forever. This is truly a magical setting teeming with wildlife and with a human history as rich as the crater is beautiful.  Return to the lodge in the late afternoon to relax or enjoy a guided hike into the nearby hills.  All meals included.

  Day 7
Perhaps the most famous of the Tanzanian parks is the Serengeti, our destination for the next two evenings.  The Maasai called this region the “Siringitu” meaning “the place where the land moves on forever”.  This is most certainly a reference to the constant movement of the huge numbers of animals that live in the vast savannahs of the Serengeti.  This is one of the largest and last remaining wildlife sanctuaries in the world.  The extensive grasslands are dotted with “kopjes” or rocky outcroppings that, like islands in the plains, form their own wildlife communities.  Have your cameras and binoculars ready, but take time to just to soak up the smells, sounds and sights with all your senses unencumbered.  Overnight at a deluxe, intimate tented camp.  All meals included.

       Day 8
A full day to enjoy the splendor of the Serengeti.  Depending upon the season and your luck, you might have the opportunity to witness the largest migration of mammals on earth.  Regardless, you most certainly will see hundreds of animals including zebra, wildebeest, hartebeest, topi, hyena, eland, warthogs, giraffe and various predators.  Return once again to our camp, cool off in the pool, sip a glass of wine and take in the 360° view from the veranda.  Sleep well one final night under the dark African skies, listening to the myriad sounds that define the ancient wildness of this spectacular place.  All meals included.
      
       Day 9
After breakfast, we transfer to an airstrip for our flight to Arusha, arriving in time for lunch at our safari’s original lodge.  The afternoon is free to enjoy on your own with a day room available for your use.  Following dinner, we provide an evening transfer to the Kilimanjaro airport for flights home. All meals included.

       Extend Your Stay: 
       Guests joining the Zanzibar: The Spice Island Extension are provided a transfer to the airport   where they board an afternoon flight to Zanzibar.  Upon arrival you are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel in historic old Stone Town.  Enjoy dinner on your own this evening as you wander Stone Town’s labyrinth of narrow streets bursting with quaint shops and good eateries.  Sleep well tonight in your sultan-sized four poster bed.  

       Day 10

Zanzibar, a small tropical island in the southern waters of the Indian Ocean, has been influenced by a colorful history of occupation by foreigners from Egypt, Persia, India, Arabia, China and Europe.  Old Stone Town is a fascinating amalgam of this history.  After breakfast you enjoy a guided tour of Stone Town (your guide will meet you in the hotel lobby) before heading east to the coast.  Every twist and turn presents you with the exotic and the unexpected.  This visual overload includes sultan palaces, coral-rag homes, intricately carved doors, colorful bazaars, and Turkish baths.  In the late morning we transfer to the picture-perfect palm-lined beaches of Zanzibar’s east coast for world-class relaxation.  Enjoy lunch at the beach resort before settling into your seaside retreat, a stone-throw away from the warm tropical surf of the Indian Ocean.  All meals included.
      Day 11-12
Two wonderful days at your leisure in a coastal paradise!  Your time is completely open and unguided for you to choose your own pace and level of activity. There is a variety of fun options.  Wander the miles of fine sandy beaches, venture out across the coral reef, hop on a bike and visit the nearby fishing villages, shop the local bazaar for carvings and kangas (brightly colored wrap-arounds), witness the local women harvesting seaweed and children gathering cockles and mussels in the shallows.    When the tide is high enjoy the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean or slip into the resort’s infinity pool for a refreshing dip.  Snorkeling, fishing, sailing and scuba trips can also be arranged.  In the evenings, enjoy a scrumptious dinner in the open-air restaurant complete with views over the tropical gardens and a stunning blue ocean panorama.  Retire to your comfortable lodging for the evening or lie back on the beach and watch the stars spray across the black night.  There’s no better way to end your adventure in Africa than in this tranquil, coastal oasis.  All optional activities and excursions can be booked directly with the hotel upon arrival and are extra expenses.  All meals included.

  Day 13
Enjoy one last relaxing morning before packing your bags and transferring to the Zanzibar airport for your scheduled flight to Dar es Salaam (your transfer driver on Day 10 will share with you the details of this transfer; typically your afternoon flight will be scheduled between 12noon and 2:30 p.m.).  Once in Dar, your driver transfers you to the Slipway for dinner overlooking the ocean.  With plenty of time to connect with your late evening flight back to the United States, your driver returns you to the airport.  All meals included.