A perfect introduction to the wildlife of northern Tanzania in only two days. On the first day you explore Tarangire National Park, famous for its huge elephant herds, its ancient baobab trees and the Tarangire River, the lifeline of the park in the dry season.
On the second day you descend six hundred metres into the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site often called Africa’s Garden of Eden, with one of the highest concentrations of wildlife on the planet, including all of the Big Five.
Return flights from Zanzibar, a night in a comfortable lodge in Karatu, all park fees and a professional English-speaking driver-guide are included.
It is a short but intense safari, ideal for travellers with limited time who still want to see the very best of northern Tanzania: two parks, two landscapes and an extraordinary variety of animals.
In the crater the animals live all year round, so sightings are excellent in every season, and the guide adapts the route to what you most want to see.
A morning flight takes you from Zanzibar to Arusha or Kilimanjaro in one to one and three-quarter hours. Your guide meets you and drives about two hours to Tarangire for the afternoon game drive.
Elephants gather in hundreds along the river, giraffes walk between baobabs that may be centuries old, and lions, buffalo, zebras and wildebeest share the plains. Leopard and cheetah are occasionally seen.
Elephants gather in hundreds along the river.
After the game drive you continue for about two hours to Karatu, a green town of coffee farms on the edge of the Ngorongoro highlands.
Dinner and the night are at Eileen’s Trees Inn, Marera View Lodge or the Manyara Escarpment Luxury Lodge.
A green town of coffee farms on the edge of the highlands.
After breakfast you drive up to the rim of the crater and then down six hundred metres onto its floor. Black rhino, lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, hippos, zebras, wildebeest and flamingos in the soda lake.
Picnic lunch at the Hippo Pool, then the drive to the airport and the flight back to Zanzibar, where your driver is waiting.
Hover or tap a card. Tarangire and Ngorongoro are two very different worlds, just a few hours apart.
Morning flight to Arusha or Kilimanjaro (1 hour to 1 hour 45). Your safari guide meets you and drives about 2 hours to Tarangire for an afternoon game drive: elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, lion, impala, ostrich and rich birdlife; leopard and cheetah are occasionally seen. Then 2 hours to Karatu for dinner and the night in a comfortable lodge.
After breakfast, 1.5 hours to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and a 600-metre descent into the crater for a morning game drive among all of the Big Five, including the black rhino, plus hippos, flamingos and hyenas. Picnic lunch at the Hippo Pool, then the drive to the airport and the flight back to Zanzibar.
Prefer three days? Stay one night at Pamoja Farm Villa in Karatu and one at Tarangire Safari Lodge, with a safari vehicle for three days and flights via Lake Manyara.
Domestic flights have weight limits: travel light, with a soft bag.
The crater rim is at over 2,000 m: mornings can be cold.
Prefer three days? Add a night at Tarangire Safari Lodge.
Ask your doctor about malaria prevention and the yellow fever certificate.
AMREF Flying Doctors evacuation cover and a medical consultation are included.
Rates depend on the lodge and on flight fares: ask us for a quote.
1 dayA charter flight at dawn, a full day of game drives and home in time for dinner.
2 or 3 daysA small, locally owned camp with eight tents in the heart of the Serengeti, reached by a direct flight.
2 days · 1 nightFly straight into the Serengeti for two game drives and a night in a tented camp.