Tanzania Cultural Safari & Zanzibar

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro airport, you will be met by your driver and transferred to Ambureni Coffee Lodge in Arusha for dinner and overnight. Settle into your accommodation, ready to start your safari proper in the morning.

After breakfast you will drive to Mtowambu town on the floor of the great rift valley, for a guided village tour. In small but very busy town where people belonging to all 120 tribes in Tanzania live together you will have opportunity to see typical daily life of Tanzanians. Your walking guide who comes from that area will take you to rice and banana plantations where you will interact with the people working in their farms, you will visit a traditional beer bar/factory, you will visit a school and carvings factory where the famous “makonde” use ebony black wood to carve different statues. You will then continue to Lake Manyara national park for a game drive with picnic lunch. This beautiful park with its lush vegetation and tropical forests of giant fig and mahogany trees, takes its name from the Maasai word for “euphorbia tirucalli”, a bush which is used to make a thorny hedge to protect their cattle. Elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra and a variety of antelope inhabit the park as well as a variety of monkeys and a large population of hippo’s. If you are lucky you may see the Manyara lions, well known for their tree climbing habits, lazily resting on the branches of an “Acacia tortilis” tree. The birdlife is also abundant, with flamingoes, pelicans, hornbills and plenty of forest species. In the late afternoon continue you drive to Burudika Manyara Lodge for dinner. After dinner you return to lake Manyara national park for a night game drive. Discover nocturnal animals like porcupines, pangolin, aardvark and others, then return to your lodge for overnight. Read more about Lake Manyara National Park.

Today you go on a morning and afternoon game drive in the famous Serengeti National Park. If you want to spot the Big Five – lion, elephant, leopard, rhino and buffalo- all in one park, the Serengeti is one of the best places to do so. The abundance of wildlife in this park is unmatched anywhere else in Africa. Depending which time of the year you visit this park, you can also witness the Great Migration. It’s an impressive experience to see all those hoofed mammals, followed by iconic predators, migrate in a clockwise circle every year. Late in the afternoon you return to Serengeti Osinon camp for dinner and overnight. Read more about Serengeti National Park.

Another day of morning and afternoon game viewing in the Serengeti. With so many wildebeest, gazelles and zebras present it is no wonder the Serengeti is also home to 4,000 lions and 1,000 leopards. Apart from the Big Five the Serengeti boasts the cheetah, jackal, hyena, serval, aardvark, pangolin, porcupine, crocodiles, giraffe, python, black mamba, spitting cobra, ostrich, martial eagle, lovebirds and vultures, just to name a few. Enjoy this supreme game viewing and return to Serengeti Osinon camp in the evening. After taking a hot shower you will meet your guide at the fire place for a cold Serengeti beer or a glass of wine as he gives you a short history of Tanzania. Dinner and overnight will be at Osinon camp.

After early breakfast you will collect picnic lunch and drive to the Olduvai gorge. This is the place where Dr. Leakey and his wife Mary Leakey found a fossil of a hominid. You will then visit the shifting sand (a dune of magnetic volcanic sand that changes its location every year). Later you will continue to Ngorongoro crater rim for a hiking on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater with an armed ranger/guide. This hiking is a great opportunity for you to enjoy seeing the wildlife in the distance while out of the car, see different plants with their medicinal uses and animal tracks. It feels nice also stretching yourselves after several days of seating in the vehicle. In the late afternoon you will continue to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge for dinner and overnight. This lodge is located at the highest point on the Ngorongoro Crater’s rim and offers great views across the enormous crater. Read more about the Ngorongoro Crater.

Today you set off towards the Ngorongoro Crater for your last game drive. It shelters close to 30.000 animals including the Big Five. The crater teems with zebras, buffaloes, lions, wildebeest, warthogs, baboons, elephants, flamingos, ostriches, hippos, cheetahs and a small population of the rare black rhino. The beautiful colours and dancing clouds make the crater almost surreal. Because of its natural beauty the Ngorongoro Crater is chosen as one of Africa’s Seven Natural Wonders. In the late afternoon you drive to Lake Eyasi safari lodge for dinner and overnight.

This day will be full of culture, with interesting encounters with a local tribe. After breakfast, you drive to the Hadzabe Bushmen. This tribe hunt on wild animals with bow and arrows, eating roots, honey and wild fruits. You can join the Bushman on a hunting and gathering trip. Walk behind them and see how they shoot their animals by using bows and arrows, then see how they skin them, roast them and eat. After this fascinating experience and a lunch at the lodge, you drive to Monduli Juu. A Maasai guide welcomes you and leads you around a Maasai village where he introduces you to family members. You can communicate with them, see how they cook and dance and get a real insight into the way of life of the Maasai. After dinner the chief of the village will explain their culture and traditions and you can also share your stories with him. You can spend here the night (we will provide some bedding for you if you sleep in the Maasai hut). It’s also possible to sleep at the nearby A1 hotel for overnight.

Early wake up today to milk the cows with the Maasai ladies. After breakfast you go fetch water with the ladies and learn how they carry the water buckets on their heads. Later you visit a traditional Maasai doctor and experience how he uses plants to cure different diseases, then drive to Tulia hotel for lunch and a short siesta. In the afternoon you will visit mama Chris home and join her to prepare your dinner. Today you will participate in preparing your dinner (great opportunity to learn about African cuisine). After your dinner with this Tanzanian modern family you will be transferred to Tulia hotel for diner and overnight. After lunch you drive to a local market in Arusha to buy some food that you can eat today. The owners of a Home Stay welcome you later this day. There is time for a shower and a little rest. During dinner time you can interact with this family and prepare dinner together. This is a great opportunity to learn about cooking African dishes. Dinner and overnight will be at a Home Stay. We choose a safe and clean home stay for you.

Early wake up today to milk the cows with the Maasai ladies. After breakfast you go fetch water with the ladies and learn how they carry the water buckets on their heads. Later you visit a traditional Maasai doctor and experience how he uses plants to cure different diseases, then drive to Tulia hotel for lunch and a short siesta. In the afternoon you will visit mama Chris home and join her to prepare your dinner. Today you will participate in preparing your dinner (great opportunity to learn about African cuisine). After your dinner with this Tanzanian modern family you will be transferred to Tulia hotel for diner and overnight. After lunch you drive to a local market in Arusha to buy some food that you can eat today. The owners of a Home Stay welcome you later this day. There is time for a shower and a little rest. During dinner time you can interact with this family and prepare dinner together. This is a great opportunity to learn about cooking African dishes. Dinner and overnight will be at a Home Stay. We choose a safe and clean home stay for you.

This is the last morning you spend with the family. After lunch you head off to Arusha Airport for your flight to Zanzibar. Upon arrival at Zanzibar Airport, you will be met by your driver and transferred to Next Paradise Boutique Resort for dinner and overnight in a beachfront bungalow. Read more about Zanzibar.

Explore the lively Stone Town today – the cultural and historical heart of Zanzibar. It is a fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways that are a joy to explore. Discover the architectural gems, tasteful restaurants, churches, markets and gardens. There are plenty of interesting places to visit on a cultural tour, like the House of Wonders, Darajani market place, Sultan’s Palace and the Slave Market. The mix of Arab, Persian, Indian and European influences makes Stone Town absolutely unique. In the afternoon you go on a boat trip to visit Prison Island. This island was once used as a place where slaves were detained and later it functioned as a camp where people with deadly diseases were sent. Today the island is a nature reserve for giant tortoises and a place to see the ruins that once functioned as the prison. Dinner and overnight will be at Next Paradise resort.

These 2 days DAY12-13 will be at leisure to relax or explore as you like. All meals and overnight will be at Next Paradise Boutique Resort. This resort is protected by a coral reef and set along a white sand, palm-fringed beach offering views of the Indian Ocean.

These 2 days will be at leisure to relax or explore as you like. All meals and overnight will be at Next Paradise Boutique Resort. This resort is protected by a coral reef and set along a white sand, palm-fringed beach offering views of the Indian Ocean.

After breakfast you will be transferred to Zanzibar airport for your departure (this will depend on your departure time).