Four Parks,
One Grand Safari
An extended six-day private safari through four of Tanzania’s greatest wildernesses — Tarangire, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara.
- Duration
- 6 Days · 5 Nights
- Destinations
- Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Manyara
- Tour Type
- Private Guided Safari
- Best Time
- Year Round
The Experience
The Full
Northern Circuit
The complete northern Tanzania experience: six days, four outstanding parks and time enough to do each of them justice. This extended safari journeys from the elephant country of Tarangire National Park to the endless plains of the Serengeti — with a full day devoted to its wildlife — on to the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater and finally the forested shores of Lake Manyara. Few itineraries offer such variety: baobab savannah, volcanic highlands, a wildlife-filled caldera and a Rift Valley soda lake, each with its own landscapes, birdlife and big game.
Designed for travellers who want depth as well as breadth, the route balances unhurried game drives with comfortable overnights in lodges and tented camps. Big Five opportunities abound, from the lions and rhino of the crater floor to the elephants of Tarangire and the buffalo and leopard of the Serengeti, while Lake Manyara adds flamingo, baboon troops and the chance of tree-climbing lions. With a private vehicle, a professional guide and a well-paced day-by-day plan, this is a premium Tanzania safari from first light to final sunset — depth, diversity and the very best of the north in one journey.
- Duration
- 6 Days · 5 Nights
- Destinations
- Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Manyara
- Tour Type
- Private Guided Safari
- Accommodation
- Lodges & Tented Camps
- Starting Point
- Arusha
- Best Time
- Year Round
Four parks, six days and two nights in the Serengeti — the most complete way to experience Tanzania’s northern circuit.
Your Journey, Day by Day
Six Days
of Discovery
Every day a different wilderness: Tarangire’s baobabs, the Serengeti’s plains, the Ngorongoro Crater and the forests of Lake Manyara.
Your six-day adventure begins with a morning drive from Arusha to Tarangire National Park, the first of four outstanding destinations on this northern Tanzania safari. Tarangire’s landscapes are among the most photogenic in the country: towering baobabs, rolling savannah and the Tarangire River, which draws wildlife from across the park as the dry season deepens. Large elephant families are the star attraction, often encountered at close range as they move through the woodland, and the park also supports giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes and a fine cast of predators and antelopes. Your first game drive is deliberately unhurried, allowing time to watch animal behaviour and enjoy the scenery rather than simply ticking off sightings. A picnic lunch is served in the park, and the afternoon brings more wildlife viewing along the river and through the open plains. In the late afternoon you leave the park and continue to the Karatu highlands, where rolling green hills and cooler temperatures offer a restful contrast to the lowland heat, and your lodge or tented camp provides a comfortable base for the days ahead.
- Meals
- Lunch, Dinner
- Driving
- Scenic drive & full-day game viewing
- Distance
- Activities
- Game drive · Picnic lunch
After breakfast you set out across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, following a winding highland road that offers sweeping views of the Rift Valley and the volcanic highlands. Small Maasai villages dot the route, and the open moorland is often grazed by cattle and wildlife alike. As the road drops towards the Serengeti, the scenery transforms into flat acacia woodland and then the great grass plains that have made this park legendary. Entry into Serengeti National Park marks the beginning of your exploration of its wildlife-rich savannah. The afternoon game drive introduces the classic Serengeti cast: lions lounging on the granite kopjes, cheetah on open ground, giraffes moving gracefully through the acacias, and vast herds of wildebeest and zebras spread across the plains. The quality of light in the late afternoon — gold flooding over the grass — makes this one of the most photogenic times of day. A picnic lunch is taken en route before you continue towards your accommodation inside the park. Arriving as the day cools, you settle in beneath the vast Serengeti sky, with two full days of wilderness ahead.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Driving
- Highland crossing & afternoon game drive
- Distance
- Activities
- Game drive · Scenic transfer · Picnic lunch
Today is devoted entirely to the Serengeti, from the first light of dawn to the last glow of evening. Setting out early gives you the best chance to witness predator activity at close quarters — lions on the move after a night’s hunting, leopards descending from their tree perches, or a cheetah sprinting across the short grass after a gazelle. As the day unfolds, the park’s different regions reveal their own character: riverine forests alive with birds and monkeys, rocky kopjes that shelter whole prides, and open plains where the great herds graze in numbers that seem to have no end. Your guide will read the landscape for signs of activity — vultures circling, tracks in the dust, alarm calls from antelope — and position you for the best encounters the day can offer. A picnic lunch is served inside the park, keeping you out among the wildlife rather than returning to camp. The afternoon adds more game viewing, with the changing light transforming the plains minute by minute. If your visit falls during the migration season, the sight of wildebeest columns crossing the grassland is one of nature’s great spectacles. You return to camp by early evening.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Driving
- Full day of game viewing
- Distance
- Activities
- Full-day game drive · Picnic lunch
One last morning on the Serengeti plains offers a final chance to seek out anything you may have missed — a leopard in a tree, a pride with cubs, or elephants at a distant waterhole. The plains are never the same twice, and each drive brings new encounters. Mid-morning you begin the journey back across the ecosystem towards the Ngorongoro highlands, game viewing as you travel. The route climbs steadily, the vegetation thickens and the air grows cooler, with the landscape shifting from open savannah to highland grassland and forest. Along the way there are opportunities to see wildlife against the changing backdrop — zebra and antelope on the ridges, birds of prey circling overhead, and the occasional buffalo herd in the valley. There may also be time for a short stop at a viewpoint to take in the scale of the landscape below. A picnic lunch breaks the journey nicely. By mid-afternoon you arrive at your accommodation on the green heights surrounding the crater rim, in the heart of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The quiet of the highlands is the perfect counterpoint to the excitement of the plains, and tomorrow the crater floor awaits.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Driving
- Morning game drive & highland transfer
- Distance
- Activities
- Game drive · Picnic lunch
An early start takes you down the crater wall to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, where a full morning of game viewing unfolds in one of the world’s most remarkable natural arenas. The caldera’s varied habitats — grassland, swamp, acacia woodland and the shallow soda lake — support an extraordinary density of resident wildlife. Lions are a highlight, often seen resting pride by pride on the open plains, while elephants move through the marshes and buffaloes, zebras and wildebeest graze in huge numbers. The crater is one of the best places in East Africa to search for the endangered black rhino, and hippo pools provide plenty of close-up action. Flamingo sometimes line the edges of the lake, adding a wash of pink to the scene. A picnic lunch at a designated site on the crater floor makes for an unforgettable break in the day. In the early afternoon you ascend the crater wall and drive on to Karatu, where the green highlands welcome you back and the evening is free to reflect on a magnificent day of Big Five safari.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Driving
- Crater game drive & highland transfer
- Distance
- Activities
- Crater game drive · Picnic lunch
The final day brings one last national park: Lake Manyara, a compact jewel set against the sheer wall of the Great Rift Valley. You descend from Karatu to the park gate and enter the groundwater forest, a cool, green world of ancient fig trees, palm and mahogany where baboons troop across the road and blue monkeys call from the canopy. Beyond the forest, grassy floodplains open towards the lake, attracting elephants, giraffes, zebras and buffaloes against a spectacular escarpment backdrop. Hippo pools hold resident pods, and the birdlife is exceptional — from pelicans and storks to the flamingo that gather on the lake’s shallow edges when conditions allow. Lake Manyara is also known for its tree-climbing lions, and the park’s compact size means wildlife viewing can be remarkably concentrated. If fortune favours you may spot a lion draped over an acacia branch. A picnic lunch is followed by more game viewing through the park’s varied scenery, with every habitat holding something of interest. In the afternoon you leave the Rift Valley behind and return to Arusha, where your six-day journey through four of Tanzania’s finest wildernesses comes to a memorable close.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch
- Driving
- Rift Valley descent & game viewing
- Distance
- Activities
- Game drive · Birdwatching · Picnic lunch
The Details
What’s Included
& What’s Not
All park and crater fees, private guiding, full-board accommodation and picnic lunches on game drive days are included.
What’s Included
- Private 4x4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof and professional English-speaking safari guide
- All national park entry, conservation and crater service fees
- Full-board accommodation as per the day-by-day itinerary
- Picnic lunches on full game drive days
- Bottled drinking water throughout the safari
- Pick-up and drop-off at your Arusha accommodation
- Lake Manyara National Park entry fees and game drive
What’s Not Included
- International flights, visas and travel insurance
- Tips for your guide and camp staff
- Personal expenses, drinks, laundry and items of a personal nature
- Optional activities not listed in the itinerary
When to Travel
The Best Time to Travel
A six-day route through four parks rewards travellers in any season — here is how the year unfolds.
-
June – October
Dry Season
The most popular months: wildlife concentrates around water, the bush thins out and long, sunny days suit a four-park circuit at its best.
-
November – May
Green Season
Lush landscapes, excellent birding — including flamingo on Lake Manyara — and newborn animals across the plains, with fewer visitors in the parks.
Wildlife movements follow the rains across the circuit — your guide adapts each day to the conditions and the season’s best sightings.
Good to Know
Planning Your
Migration Safari
The questions travellers ask us most often about this journey.
— Tanzania Safari
Which four parks are included?
Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park — four very different wildernesses covering baobab savannah, endless plains, a volcanic caldera and a Rift Valley soda lake.
Is this safari suitable for first-time visitors to Tanzania?
Absolutely — it is one of the best introductions to the country. The route covers the headline destinations at a relaxed pace, with two nights in the Serengeti and comfortable accommodation throughout, making it ideal for a first safari.
Are park fees included?
Yes. All national park entry fees, Ngorongoro crater service fees and Lake Manyara entry are included, along with private transport, professional guiding, full-board accommodation and picnic lunches on game drive days.
Start Planning
Start Planning
Your Safari
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Inquiring about
6 Days Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti and Lake Manyara Safari · 6 Days · 5 Nights
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