Opt for a game drive in Tarangire National Park, where elephant herds move through a landscape dotted with immense baobab trees. Scan the bush and open ground for other wildlife as you explore one of northern Tanzania’s distinctive safari settings.

The park’s elephants and baobabs give it a character all its own, contrasting with the crater and Serengeti plains. The drive is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the Ngorongoro Crater floor on a game drive, scanning its grasslands and wetlands for lions, buffalo, elephants and other wildlife. The enclosed landscape brings varied habitats into a strikingly compact safari setting.

Formed by the collapse of an ancient volcano, this vast caldera is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, but the crater’s open terrain offers rewarding opportunities to observe animals and their surroundings.

• 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 creating skilled employment for local people with disabilities. Watch artisans practise weaving, glassblowing, beading, papermaking and metalwork, and see how their work becomes finished crafts.

The visit offers a close look at contemporary Tanzanian creativity and the people behind it. Meeting makers at work gives the project’s social purpose a tangible, personal dimension.

Search the Serengeti’s open plains on multiple game drives, including morning wildlife viewing and a drive in the warmer light toward sunset. Watch for big cats, elephants, giraffes and grazing herds across a landscape that stretches well beyond the horizon.

The Serengeti is shaped by the movement of its wildlife. If the wildebeest and zebra migration is in the area, vast herds may be visible; their location varies with the season and rainfall.

Walk through Mto Wa Mbu village for a closer view of everyday life near Tanzania’s northern safari parks. The village experience highlighted for this tour offers a cultural counterpoint to time spent watching wildlife.

Mto Wa Mbu is a lively community known for its mix of cultures and its setting amid farms and banana groves. A walk here brings the human landscape of the Rift Valley into focus, beyond the view from a safari vehicle.

Explore Lake Manyara National Park on a game drive, looking for wildlife among groundwater forest, open ground and the lakeshore. Keep watch for elephants, birds and the park’s famously elusive tree-climbing lions.

Set beneath the Rift Valley escarpment, Manyara feels markedly different from the Serengeti’s wide plains. Its changing habitats make the drive as much about the landscape as the animals, with sightings dependent on conditions and luck.

Walk among the treetops at Lake Manyara for a different perspective on the park’s forest. Elevated sections let you look into the canopy rather than up at it, while keeping watch for birds and movement in the branches.

The experience contrasts with game viewing from a vehicle: the pace is slower, and the details of the woodland become easier to notice. It is a chance to appreciate the varied habitats that make Lake Manyara distinctive.

Choose a Maasai village tour near Mto Wa Mbu to learn about a community whose pastoral traditions are closely connected to northern Tanzania’s landscapes. The visit offers an opportunity to hear about local customs and daily life.

This is a cultural experience rather than a wildlife excursion, offering a different perspective on the region. It is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour; the precise activities depend on the local visit arranged.

Explore the area around Mto Wa Mbu by mountain bike, taking in the scenery at a more active pace. Riding near the Rift Valley brings a ground-level perspective to a region often seen from a safari vehicle.

The outing is an appealing choice for travellers who want to move through the landscape rather than simply view it. It is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour; the route and riding requirements are confirmed locally.

Paddle on Lake Manyara for a quieter view of the Rift Valley scenery. From the water, take in the scale of the lake and look for birdlife along its edges, away from the movement of a game-drive vehicle.

The lake’s setting beneath the escarpment makes this a distinctive way to experience the Manyara area. Canoeing is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to suitable local conditions.

Head out on a night game drive in the Lake Manyara area to search for wildlife active after dark. Watch the beam of a spotlight for movement and reflective eyes, with the possibility of seeing predators on the prowl.

Night viewing reveals a different rhythm from a daytime safari, though sightings can never be promised. This experience is optional, at additional cost and bookable on tour; the operating location and arrangements are confirmed locally.