8 Days — Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro — Budget

Four parks, eight days, one continuous journey through the northern circuit. Tarangire’s ancient baobabs and elephant herds, the compact drama of Lake Manyara, the vast open plain of the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater dropping away below the rim road as you arrive. Tanzania does not repeat itself.

You sleep in public campsites inside the parks. That puts you in the bush when the day starts and still in it when it ends. The lion that calls at 3am is not far away. That’s not a warning — it’s the point.

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Day 1 – Arrival in Arusha

You land at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Our team meets you, transfers you to your accommodation in Arusha, and runs through the plan for the week ahead — where the herds are, what to expect, how the eight days will unfold.

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Day 2 – Arusha → Tarangire National Park

A 2.5-hour drive south to Tarangire and your first game drive. Baobabs first, then the elephants — in the dry season, herds of fifty or more along the Tarangire River. Lions, giraffe, buffalo, leopard, over 500 bird species. Camp is inside the park. The animals don’t stop moving at sunset just because you do.

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Day 3 – Tarangire → Lake Manyara National Park

A morning game drive before the short drive to Lake Manyara. The ecosystem is compact but diverse — groundwater forest, open floodplain, and the alkaline lake edge where flamingos gather in numbers that turn the shoreline pink. Manyara’s tree-climbing lions are famous and genuinely unusual. The afternoon light on the lake is extraordinary.

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Day 4 – Lake Manyara → Serengeti National Park

The long drive today — up through the Ngorongoro highlands, winding through Maasai farmland and forest, before the road descends and the Serengeti plain opens up in every direction. That arrival moment stays with you. Afternoon game drive on the way to camp.

You sleep inside the park tonight. No gates to pass through in the morning.

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Day 5 & 6 – Serengeti National Park

Two full days in the central Serengeti. Seronera gives you year-round predator action — lion prides on the kopjes, leopard in the riverine trees, cheetah on the open grassland. Morning drives when the light is low and the predators are still moving. Full days in the field with a packed lunch.

You’re already where the animals are when the day starts. That changes things.

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Day 7 – Serengeti → Ngorongoro

A morning game drive before heading east to Ngorongoro. The road climbs back into the highlands, the air cooling as you rise. Tonight is in Karatu, just below the rim — warmer than the crater edge and well positioned for an early descent in the morning.

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Day 8 – Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha → Departure

Down into the crater at first light. The caldera is 260 square kilometres of enclosed grassland, marsh, and acacia woodland — the Big Five year-round, including one of the last viable wild black rhino populations in Tanzania. Picnic lunch on the crater floor, then the ascent and the drive back to Arusha for your international flight.

If you’re connecting to Zanzibar, the domestic flight goes via Kilimanjaro or Dar es Salaam — we’ll advise on the best routing.

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Key Facts

Feature	Details
Duration	8 days / 7 nights
Starting Price	USD 250 per person per day (shared vehicle)
Best Season	June – October (dry season); December – March (calving season)
Parks Visited	Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro
Transport	Shared 4×4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof (max 6 guests)
Extensions	Zanzibar, Lake Eyasi & the Hadza, Arusha National Park