This 5 day trip gives you a glimpse of three of the best safari destinations in Africa. Tarangire National Park is known as the "Elephants' Playground" where large numbers of these giants rule. Then there is the Serengeti, perennially voted the top African safari destination for good reason. And finally the beautiful Ngorongoro Crater, an UNESCO World Heritage Site (as is the Serengeti also) with its high density of safari animals. Accommodation choices range from mid-range tented camps/lodges to ultra-luxury tented camps/lodges. This is a very popular itinerary for those wanting a true safari experience.

 

Day 1: After breakfast at your hotel, we will drive to Tarangire National Park. This park is best known for its large number of elephants. Giraffes, lions, zebras, buffaloes, and various varieties of antelopes are also present. The scenery is beautiful with huge baobab trees and giant termite mounds dotting the landscape. The Tarangire River which winds its way through the park draws a large number and variety of animals to its river banks, especially during the dry months of July - October and January - February. We will pause inside the park to enjoy a picnic 
style lunch before continuing with the game viewing. In the late afternoon we will exit the park and drive to the evening's accommodation for relaxation, dinner, and overnight rest. This night will not be inside of the park in order to shorten the next day's drive to the Serengeti.

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Day 2: After breakfast we drive west, entering Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), but not inside of the famous crater this day. Reaching the western border of the NCA we enter into Serengeti National Park. This is a large park and we will be heading to the Seronera area (central Serengeti). Seronera is a reliably good area for game viewing year round. There are a high number of the "big cats" - lions, cheetahs, and leopards in this area. Other commonly seen animals include giraffes, wildebeests, antelopes, zebras, warthogs, hyenas, giraffes, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, crocodiles, elephants, African buffaloes, gazelle among others. In the late afternoon we will 
head to the evening's accommodation which will be inside of the Serengeti. 

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Day 3: This is a full day inside of the Serengeti for you to enjoy. There is an option of an early morning balloon safari (added charge and must be reserved in advance). You can divide the day between game drives and enjoying your safari 
accommodation as you see fit. Lunch can be picnic style while on a game drive, or dining at your lodge/tented camp. This night's accommodation will be the same as the previous night's. 

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Day 4: After breakfast at the accommodation, we go for a morning game drive as we make our way east, exiting the Serengeti and re-entering the NCA. Once inside the NCA, there are options for a side trip. One option is to visit Olduvai Gorge 
Museum - this is an important paleoanthropological site made famous by the research of Drs Louis and Mary Leakey. This option 
requires advance notice since the entry fee must be paid online by HIke, Talk, Stay Adventures in advance. Another option
is to visit a Maasai village. We then continue to drive near the rim of Ngorongoro Crater where you will have time 
for relaxation, dinner and overnight rest at the accommodation. 
 
Day 5: After an early breakfast, we will descend down 600m (2,000ft) to the floor of Ngorongoro Crater. The game viewing 
here is wonderful with a high density and wide variety of safari animals present. As in the Serengeti, all of the 
"Big Five" - elephants, buffaloes, rhinoceros, lions, and leopards are present. We will pause the game viewing to enjoy 
a picnic style lunch at a designated site which overlooks a small lake frequented by hippos, cranes, and flamingoes. 
While the game viewing is great, the size of this location is not large, just 20km in diameter. So after  4- 5 hours all will be seen. At that time we will ascend out of the crater and drive back to end the itinerary at Arusha/ Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO)/ Moshi.