Arusha is the safari capital of Tanzania located at the foot of Mt. Meru, close to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Manyara, Tarangire and Ngorongoro National Parks. From there it’s only a short trip to the Serengeti. Just to the north, on the slopes of Mt. Meru is the Arusha National Park. Built by the Germans as a centre of colonial administration because of the temperate climate, Arusha is a good spot to take a day or two off from your safari. Lake Manyara is best used as a soft introduction to a safari. While the scenic beauty of this park certainly makes it worth a visit, the game viewing here pales into insignificance when compared with that on offer in Tarangire, the Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Famous for its tree-climbing lions, flamingos, breath-taking scenery and the soda-ash lake in the centre, Manyara merits a day trip but not much longer. The main activity to Lake Manyara is day time game driving, although the park has recently started to offer night safaris and the camps deep inside the park offer short walks. The Serengeti together with Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Park form Africa’s most famous wildlife park. The annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara is the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. But that is not where the game viewing ends; large prides of lions, elephants and giraffes in grasslands, gazelles and eland to mention but a few. Aside from traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti plains has become almost essential and you can even do a horseback safari.
The Ngorongoro Crater is game viewing gone crazy and it is not surprising that with is one of Tanzania’s major tourist drawcard. Within the crater rim a daily wildlife drama is played out as large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby lions, leopards, elephants and black rhinos. Outside of the crater a similar drama continues in a more spread out manner with Maasai herdsmen thrown into the mix.

ACCOMMODATION AND PRICES

MID-RANGE Accommodation if using Panari Hotel/Palace Hotel / Manyara Serena Lodge / Serengeti Sopa Lodge / Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge/Ole Sereni Hotel

Combined Tented Camp & Lodge Accommodation if using Panari Hotel/Venus Premier Hotel / Lake Manyara Hotel / Serengeti Kubu Kubu Camp / Acacia Farm Lodge/Ole Sereni

BUDGET Standard Accommodation if using Panari Hotel/Planet Lodge Arusha / Twiga Lodge Manyara / Serengeti Heritage Camp / Bougainvillea Safari Lodge/Ole Sereni Hotel