Tanzania Safari

Your Tanzania Safari Begins

Your Tanzania Safari and African odyssey begins upon touchdown on the tarmac at Kilimanjaro International Airport! You will be met by a driver (holding a Wild Women Expeditions sign) who will safely shuttle you to RiverTrees or Mount Meru Game Lodge (50-minute drive).

The official group rendezvous and orientation begins on Day 2, giving you plenty of time to relax and recharge after your journey. Many women even choose to arrive a couple of nights early to get a head start on shaking off jetlag and settling into Tanzania’s rhythm.

✨ Good to Know: Both lodges feature in-house restaurants with delicious menus inspired by Swahili and Zanzibari flavors. If you’d like to explore dining further afield, you’ll need to take a taxi or local bus.

*If you are flying via KLM, the inbound flight doesn’t arrive until 8 p.m. Airport transfers are included in your trip fee for Day 1 or if you arrive up to two days pre-trip and are staying at one of Wild Women’s recommended pre-trip hotels. This information will be provided upon booking.

Accommodations

Dik Dik Hotel

Mulala Women’s Cooperative

At 10 a.m., we head straight to Mulala Women’s Cooperative, often referred to as the Agape Women’s Group. Agape, (which means “love”—or, as Mama herself insists, “super love”). Through Agape, she and her team continue to uplift their community. The cooperative was established in 1997 by local women in Mulala with the aim of creating income-generating opportunities and improving community welfare.

From here, we stroll a wide trail that opens onto a stunning, uninterrupted view of Mount Meru.

A traditional Tanzanian lunch awaits, followed by a hands-on coffee roasting lesson—transforming wet beans into a fire-boiled cup—and an introduction to no-sting bee honey harvesting, a sweet tradition with roots deep in the region.

Satiated and caffeinated, we return to RiverTrees to relax, soak in the lodge’s amenities, and savor dinner at leisure.

Included Meals

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and several cups of coffee

Accommodations

Dik Dik Hotel

Travel

30 minutes (van shuttle/one way), 90 minutes (walking)

The “Mini Serengeti”

After breakfast, we set out on our Tanzania Safari for Tarangire National Park (about 90 minutes away). On the way, we stop in Arusha, where a short town tour leads us to a vibrant art gallery that champions Tanzanian artists. Here, you can admire (and purchase, if you like) Maasai-crafted jewelry, glittering Tanzanite, and other handmade treasures. In the open-air studio, artists carve and paint enormous works of art, their creativity on full display.

By mid-morning, we roll into Tarangire for our first full-day game drive. Often nicknamed a “mini Serengeti”, this park surprises with its own micro-migration of wildebeest and is home to the highest concentration of elephants in Africa. Alongside these gentle giants, the landscape teems with zebra, giraffe, hyena, waterbuck, hartebeest, and even the rare oryx. For birders, Tarangire is paradise: more than 550 bird species fill the skies and trees!

We finish the day at our lodge, tucked among ancient baobabs and rocky kopjes, the air cooling as the bush settles into evening.

Included Meals

Breakfast, boxed lunch and dinner

Accommodations

Sopa Lodge or Similar

Culture, & Connection

This morning, we’ll head out for a bright and joyful Maasai cultural experience in the Esilalei Maasai community. Expect vibrant colors, warm smiles, and a glimpse into daily life. You’ll visit local homes, hear stories from your hosts.

After this rich cultural exchange, we’ll journey onward to the sweeping Naironoka Noka Highlands, where a hike to the top of Olmoti Crater awaits. The trail winds through the spectacular Ngorongoro landscape—a serene, soul-stirring expanse of wild beauty. We’ll take our time, breathing it all in, walking the land, feeling its stillness and power.

Included Meals

Breakfast, boxed lunch and dinner

Accommodations

Serena Ngoro ngoro

Altitude

Altitude at Almoti crater – 3080m ~ 10105ft ASl

Binoculars At The Ready

After breakfast, we descend into the vast Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, for a full-day game drive. Few places on earth match its concentration and variety of wildlife. It’s one of the best spots in Africa to see the Big Five in a single day: lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo, and, with some luck, the elusive black rhinoceros.

We’ll also keep an eye out for the quirky “Little Five”—elephant shrew, ant lion, rhinoceros beetle, buffalo weaver, and leopard tortoise. Beyond these, the crater floor is alive with movement: golden and black-backed jackals, spotted hyenas, and big cats patrolling the grasslands.

Expect a dusty, exhilarating day of binoculars and surprises, with birds, predators, and unexpected encounters at every turn!

Included Meals

Breakfast, boxed lunch and dinner

Accommodations

Serena Ngoro Ngoro

Into the Heart of the Serengeti

After breakfast, we journey toward the world-famous Serengeti National Park, following the rhythm of the wild across the southern plains. Along the way, every stretch of road offers the potential for something new: giraffes grazing against the horizon, elephants lumbering through the tall grass, and zebras cutting their way across the golden light.

At Nabi Hill Gate, we pause for park entry — a moment to stretch, take in the view, and breathe in the vastness around us. Depending on how busy the gate is, this stop may take a little time, but that’s part of travel here — patience rewarded by beauty. For those who wish, a short trail loop leads up to Nabi Hill’s summit, where sweeping panoramic views of the Serengeti Plains unfold beneath you. It’s a breathtaking vantage point — endless skies, boundless land, and the sense that you’ve stepped into the living pulse of Africa itself.

From here, we continue deeper into the Central Serengeti, our game drive unfolding as the landscape reveals its wonders. Perhaps we’ll spot a lion lounging in the shade, or a cheetah poised in stillness before the chase.

As the day fades to gold, enjoy a well-earned dinner, share stories under the stars, and listen to the wondrous night come alive.

Included Meals

Breakfast, boxed lunch and dinner

Accommodations

Serena Serengeti

Wild Corners

We set out early for a full-day game drive north, traveling through the remote Lobo and Bologonja ecosystems. This wild corner of the Serengeti is rarely visited, offering a quieter safari experience. At Bologonja Springs, a lush oasis tucked into the landscape, the air is alive with colorful birdlife. And if luck is on our side, we may even spot a black rhino crossing the open plains of Bologonja.

A picnic lunch in the bush keeps us close to the action as we continue our drive northward, taking in the sweeping views and wildlife encounters that define this region.

Included Meals

Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner

Accommodations

Intimate Places Luxury Camp

Mara River Marvels

After breakfast, we continue our scenic drive north toward the Mara River, one of the most dramatic stages of the Great Wildebeest Migration. If timing is on our side, we may witness thousands of wildebeest and zebra braving the river crossing—an unforgettable spectacle of instinct, survival, and sheer force of nature.

This region is at the heart of the saying: “The Serengeti shall never die.” The Northern Serengeti ecosystem is a powerful reminder of the resilience and rhythm of the wild.

In the Mara River area, we have front row seats to a reliably gorgeous tomato-red sky sunset and follow the sinking sun on a wildlife drive before proceeding to our tented camp for a solar shower, dinner and a starry-eyed night.

Included Meals

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Accommodations

Intimate Places Luxury Camp

Serengeti & Stars

After breakfast, start your full day game drive en route towards Central Serengeti. Along the way, the scenery shifts—scattered kopjes, dramatic rock formations, candelabra and sausage trees, and the ever-present dust that defines the savannah.

Wildlife viewing doesn’t stop on travel days! We’ll keep our eyes peeled for the elusive leopard and cheetah, and break midday for a picnic lunch in the park. Birdlife and big game are constant companions here: crowned lapwings, marabou storks, elephants, giraffes, and more.

Included Meals

Breakfast, boxed lunch and dinner

Accommodations

Dunia camp

The Serengeti Comes Alive

It’s an early start, but worth every moment. Wake to the sound of birdsong and sip a coffee on your tent’s deck as the Serengeti comes alive.

Our morning game drive takes us along the Seronera River, a hotspot for the big cats of the central Serengeti. Lions are a common sight here, while leopards—masters of camouflage—sometimes reveal themselves, draped across an acacia branch in the shade. With picnic lunch fixings packed, we keep rolling so we can maximize our time in the wild.

We pause at the Seronera Visitor Centre, where a short trail winds around the iconic kopjes—ancient rock outcrops that punctuate the plains. Look closely: rock hyrax love to bask on the displays, while monkeys, warthogs, and mongoose scurry about.

Every safari day is unrepeatable, and today’s sightings may include everything from lilac-breasted rollers flashing past like flying jewels, to hippos wallowing in pools, to Eastern plantain-eaters and white-headed barbets adding their calls to the soundtrack. The Serengeti really is a living, breathing wildlife documentary!

As the sun sinks low, we return to Dunia Camp for one of those quintessential African evenings. Picture fireside drinks and appetizers, impromptu song and dance, and a star-filled sky overhead before a memorable dinner shared in the heart of the Serengeti.

Included Meals

Coffee and cookies, picnic lunch and dinner

Accommodations

Dunia Camp

Tanzania Safari Goodbyes

Our Tanzania Safari is coming to an end! For those eager to squeeze in one more adventure, there may be an early-morning game drive with the chance of witnessing a wildebeest river crossing before we say farewell to the Serengeti.

After breakfast, we board a scenic one-hour flight back to Arusha at 11 a.m. on a Dash 8 aircraft. With safari dust still clinging to our boots, a driver will meet us at the airport and transfer us to a restaurant in town for our final shared lunch.

There’s also time for some last-minute souvenir shopping before departures. Still, let’s not kid ourselves here! The greatest souvenirs won’t fit in a bag: the memory of Big Five encounters, the warmth of the Maasai, sunsets over the savannah, fireside chats, and the unforgettable night sounds of hyrax and bush babies.

Note: A group transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport will be arranged for a 6 p.m. drop-off. Please book your flights accordingly to allow for a minimum of three hours before departure on an international flight. It takes approximately two hours to get through security and to your gate. Most KLM flights depart around 9 p.m. daily.

*Depending on your flight time, you may opt to remain at the airport for your departing flight instead of going into Arusha for lunch.

Included Meals

Breakfast and lunch