Choose a game drive in Tarangire National Park for another chance to search for Tanzanian wildlife. Keep watch for elephants against a landscape known for its broad-trunked baobab trees, two of the park’s most recognisable sights.

Tarangire adds a different setting to the safari experience, with wildlife moving through woodland and open country. Animal sightings vary, but the contrast between the park’s giant trees and roaming elephants makes it a compelling choice. The drive is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the Ngorongoro Crater floor on a game drive, watching for the Big Five and other wildlife across grassland, woodland and wetlands. This vast volcanic caldera concentrates varied habitats within a striking natural amphitheatre.

Look for grazing herbivores and the predators that follow them while taking in the crater walls rising around the plain. Ngorongoro is distinctive not only for its wildlife viewing, but for the scale and geological history of its setting.

Take to the water on a Lake Manyara canoeing excursion for a quiet, low-to-the-water view of the surrounding landscape. Paddling provides a change of pace from game drives and a chance to appreciate the lake’s open space and shoreline.

Lake Manyara is one of the defining features of this part of the Rift Valley. Canoeing lets you experience that setting from a different angle. This activity is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour.

• 5 Breakfast (B)
• 4 Lunch (L)
• 4 Dinner (D)

• Serengeti: Hot air balloon rides may be available in the Serengeti through independent local operators. While floating over the savannah sounds pretty iconic, this isn’t an activity Contiki promotes, sells or books, as local provider insurance does not meet our required standards. If you’d like to take a hot air balloon ride, you’re free to arrange and pay directly with a local operator while on tour. This is completely independent of Contiki and follows the operator’s own terms, safety standards and insurance cover.
• Amboseli: Premium camping is classic camping, levelled up. Our road crew will set up these tents for you – all with premium facilities like chill-out zones, communal bathrooms and all the creature comforts.
• Amboseli: Nope, you’re all good! All equipment (tents, sleeping bags, etc) will be provided for you.
• Amboseli: You don’t have to. Your road crew will set up camp, cook meals, and clean up afterwards – but you’re always welcome to help!
• Amboseli: You’ll have access to proper bathrooms with real toilets, hot showers and everything you need – just shared with the crew.

• Arusha: Support this social enterprise that employs local disabled people with artisanal skills. Watch weaving, glass blowing, beading, paper making and metal work. 
• Serengeti: Watch out for local wildlife as we head to our camp, which is bang in the middle of these endless plains. Could the location be any more epic? 
   
• Serengeti: Was that lion we heard last night? Let’s go find out. Take an incredible morning drive in search of the wildlife we heard throughout the night. 
• Serengeti: Cruise around the plains at sunset to explore new areas and spot a few more animals before they head off to bed. 
• Serengeti: Another day, another game drive, giving us the most amount of opportunities to see the wildlife that roams these plains.

Visit the Shanga Community Project in Arusha, a social enterprise that creates employment for local people with disabilities. Watch artisans practise weaving, glassblowing, beading, papermaking and metalwork, and see the care involved in making each piece.

The visit offers a closer look at Tanzanian craftsmanship and the people behind it. By supporting skilled, inclusive employment, Shanga gives everyday objects a story that extends well beyond the workshop.

Walk through Mto wa Mbu village for a closer view of life in this community near Lake Manyara. The village experience highlighted on this tour brings you beyond the safari vehicle and into a setting shaped by local homes, livelihoods and daily routines.

Mto wa Mbu sits at a crossroads of communities and landscapes in Tanzania’s northern safari region. A village walk adds a human perspective to the wildlife encounters that define the journey.

Search the Serengeti’s open plains on multiple game drives, including morning and sunset outings and extended time devoted to wildlife viewing. Watch for big cats, elephants and giraffes as the light and animal activity change across the savannah.

The Serengeti is part of an immense ecosystem known for its migrating wildebeest and zebra. If the migration is in the area, you may see herds stretching across the grassland; sightings depend on season and wildlife movements.

Explore Lake Manyara on a game drive, exchanging the Serengeti’s wide-open plains for a landscape of groundwater forest, woodland and lakeshore. Keep watch for wildlife among the trees and in the more open areas of the park.

Lake Manyara is especially associated with tree-climbing lions, although seeing them is never guaranteed. Its shifting habitats make this a different kind of safari: one where the vegetation, birdlife and changing views are as much a part of the experience as the search for larger animals.

Take to the treetops at Lake Manyara for a walking experience that changes your perspective on this wooded landscape. Moving above the forest floor offers a contrast to wildlife viewing from a safari vehicle and a chance to notice the canopy at closer range.

Lake Manyara’s mix of forest and lakeside habitats gives the area its distinctive character. This elevated walk focuses on the textures, sounds and shade of the trees rather than the long-distance views of the open plains.

Choose a Maasai village tour for an opportunity to learn about a community with longstanding ties to northern Tanzania’s landscapes. A hosted visit can offer insight into local customs, livelihoods and the importance of cattle in Maasai life.

This is a cultural encounter rather than a wildlife excursion, with the focus on listening and engaging respectfully with your hosts. The experience is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the area around Mto wa Mbu by mountain bike, taking in the village surroundings at a pace that lets you notice more than you would from a vehicle. It is an active way to experience the landscape near Lake Manyara.

The ride offers a different perspective on this part of Tanzania’s northern safari region, where settlement and cultivated land meet the wider natural setting. Mountain biking is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Head out on a night game drive near Lake Manyara to search for wildlife active after dark. With visibility limited to the reach of the vehicle’s lights, the experience calls for patient watching and careful listening.

Nocturnal wildlife viewing feels markedly different from a daytime safari, and every sighting depends on where animals move that evening. This night drive is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour.