North & South Tanzania 14-day safari

Dar Es Salaam

Day 1: Touchdown in Tanzania

We will welcome you at the airport for transfer to your hotel in Dar Es Salaam. We’ll also chat through your programme and answer any questions. Take Tanzania’s pulse in the exciting city of Dar Es Salaam and soak up the mix of cultures. You’ll eat well in the wide range of restaurants, and there are museums and beaches to enjoy too.

Dar Es Salaam - Nyerere National Park

Day 2: Journey to Nyerere

After breakfast, we set off by road towards the wonderful Nyerere National Park. Take in the scenery as we head south and get your first glimpse of the Tanzanian countryside. You’ll stay at the charming Rufiji River Camp inside the main gate to the Selous Game Reserve. The camp has comfortable large tents and suites with views over the Rufiji River. Listen out for hippos at night and take advantage of some of the best sunset views in the area from the gardens, bar and restaurant. All your meals will be served at the camp during your stay, so settle in. 

Nyerere National Park

Day 3: Safari time

Without further ado, it’s time for a safari. Take a guided game drive into the park in search of creatures great and small. Nyerere is home to one of the biggest lion populations in Africa. So, you’re almost guaranteed to see lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, buffalo and herds of wildebeest. It’s also a good place to see African wild dogs and leopards but these are harder to spot. Wherever you look, the landscapes are beautiful. The rocky hills rise beyond the reserve, the Rufiji River runs through it and the lakes are fringed with palm trees.

Nyerere National Park

Day 4: Hippo-tastic game drive

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast at the camp, looking out over the hippo-filled Rufiji River. Then, head out on a jeep safari, exploring a different section of the park in search of any animals you would particularly like to see – just ask your guide. In the afternoon, you could take a swim in the pool and relax with a drink for the African sunset show.

Nyerere National Park - Mikumi National Park

Day 5: Journey to Mikumi

After breakfast at camp this morning, you'll transfer by road from Rufiji River Camp to Mikumi National Park, also in Southern Tanzania. Stay at the Vuma Hills Tented Camp in the forest of the Vuma Mountains overlooking the wide Mikumi’s Mkata Plains. After you've arrived you'll have time to time to settle in and explore your new surroundings. All of your meals will be served at the camp during your stay, so relax and feel refreshed for dinner this evening.

Mikumi National Park

Day 6: Safari into Mikumi

After breakfast, set off on a guided game drive into the Mikumi National Park. There are large populations of wildebeest, elephant, giraffe, warthog and zebra here, so as you weave between the baobab trees, you’ll likely spot large numbers of them grazing the plains. This is also a paradise for birdwatchers with hundreds of colourful species visiting throughout the year.

After this breathtaking journey, return to camp, where you can relax by the pool, enjoy a drink and dine in an incredible setting. 

Mikumi National Park

Day 7: Wildebeest & warthog

After breakfast today, you'll enjoy another safari into the park, this time looking out for prowling lions and visiting a busy watering hole.

In the evening you may have some nocturnal visitors to the camp grounds, such as civets and bushbabies coming by for a snack.

Mikumi National Park - Ruaha National Park

Day 8: Journey north to Ruaha

After a final in Mikumi, you'll transfer by road to Ruaha National Park in the northwest. Stay at the lovely Ruaha River Lodge on the banks of the Great Ruaha River, where many animals come down to drink. You'll sleep in an atmospheric stone chalet with a large terrace where you can watch wildlife wander past. Your meals will be served in the lodge restaurant during your stay.

Ruaha National Park

Day 9: The Ruaha wilderness

Ruaha is one of Tanzania’s least-visited but most rewarding parks, famous for its pride of lions. It has one of the largest lion populations in Africa. You can also expect to see sizable elephant and buffalo herds, as well as plenty of giraffe, hippo and zebra. The variety of birds is also incredible, with more than 450 species recorded in the park. Apart from the animals, what many travellers love most about visiting here is the feeling of exploring a true African wilderness, one of the most beautiful anywhere on the continent.

Ruaha National Park

Day 10: Ruaha safari

Today, you'll set off early on a guided game drive across the Ruaha National Park in search of a wide range of animals. See herds of trumpeting elephants and big cats camouflaged in the undergrowth. 

Afterwards, head back to you lodge and relax as you look out over the Ruaha River. 

Ruaha National Park - Dodoma City

Day 11: Back to the city streets

After breakfast, transfer by road to Dodoma, Tanzania’s national capital, with a fascinating skyline dotted with churches, mosques and Hindu temples.

Once you've settled into your hotel, take the opportunity to explore the city and visit the market. Choose between plenty of restaurants across a range of cuisines, and access banks and other useful services and shops where you can stock up on essentials. If you like, you could also take an optional trip to visit the country's parliament today. 

In the evening, relax at your hotel and enjoy dinner. 

Tarangire National Park

Day 12: Tarangire night drive

We won't stay long in the city, so enjoy breakfast this morning, as we set off by road to Tarangire National Park. You’ll stay close to the shores of Lake Manyara at Maramboi Tented Camp, just northeast of Tarangire National Park. Enjoy big-sky views and great service, as well as seeing animals directly from the camp. Settle in, then take a night drive into the park to look for nocturnal carnivores on the prowl.

Ngorongoro Crater

Day 13: Into the Ngorongoro Crater

The first time you descend onto the Ngorongoro Crater floor is like no other safari experience in Africa. This is a world unto itself, where you’ll encounter the crater’s 600-strong population of hyenas and critically endangered black rhinos. You’ll also find elephants with larger than average tusks and more than 50 lions living in the crater. But it’s the sheer beauty of Ngorongoro that will likely live longest in your memory. The early morning mists rise revealing steep, forested walls, secret waterways where hippos wallow and a world of abundant wildlife hidden away from the rest of the world.

Kilimanjaro Airport

Day 14: Homeward bound

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast then spend one last morning in Tanzania before we transfer you to the airport for your flight home.