Take to the water on a canoeing excursion at Lake Manyara and experience this Rift Valley landscape from a different vantage point. Paddle across the lake’s calm expanses while taking in views toward the escarpment and watching for birdlife.

The water-level perspective provides a quiet contrast to vehicle-based game drives and a closer sense of the lake’s scale. The activity is available at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to local conditions.

Opt for a game drive in Tarangire National Park, searching for wildlife among its distinctive baobab trees. Keep watch for elephants, one of the animals for which this northern Tanzanian park is best known.

Tarangire’s ancient-looking baobabs and varied habitats create a safari setting with its own character. Wildlife movements change with the seasons, making every drive different. This excursion is available at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive across its grasslands, woodland and wetlands. Keep watch for elephants, buffalo, lions and other wildlife; a sighting of the elusive black rhino is possible but never assured.

This vast volcanic caldera holds a remarkable concentration of animals within a relatively compact landscape. Its crater walls form a dramatic backdrop as you search the floor for the Big Five and abundant birdlife.

• 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 and beadwork, alongside paper-making and metalwork.

See how everyday materials become handcrafted objects through skills developed within the community. The visit offers a closer look at the people and creative work behind a locally rooted Tanzanian initiative.

Explore the Serengeti on multiple game drives, with opportunities to search for wildlife in the morning, across a full day and toward sunset. Scan the open plains for big cats, elephants, giraffes and grazing herds.

The park’s name evokes its seemingly endless grasslands, where predators and prey share a changing landscape. If the seasonal migration passes through your area, you may see great numbers of wildebeest and zebra; wildlife sightings and migration routes cannot be guaranteed.

Take a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, watching for wildlife against a landscape of groundwater forest, open ground and lakeshore. The park is known for elephants, prolific birdlife and its elusive tree-climbing lions.

Set beneath the Great Rift Valley escarpment, Manyara offers a contrasting safari setting to the Serengeti’s broad plains. Look closely among the branches and along the water’s edge: each habitat brings different possibilities, though no particular sighting is guaranteed.

Choose a Maasai village tour near Mto Wa Mbu for an introduction to a community whose pastoral traditions are closely connected to northern Tanzania. Learn about local ways of life through the visit and the conversations available there.

This experience offers a cultural perspective alongside the region’s wildlife encounters, with the chance to appreciate Maasai heritage as a living tradition. It is available at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the Mto Wa Mbu area by mountain bike, taking in the village surroundings and scenery at a more personal pace than a safari drive. Cycling offers a fresh perspective on the communities and landscapes around Lake Manyara.

Mto Wa Mbu sits near the Great Rift Valley escarpment, making it a distinctive base for exploring beyond the national parks. This active excursion is available at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Join a night game drive in the Mto Wa Mbu area to look for animals active after dark. With a different field of view from a daytime safari, listen for movement and scan for wildlife that may be harder to encounter in daylight.

Nocturnal viewing depends on conditions and the animals themselves, so sightings cannot be promised. The appeal lies in experiencing the bush after sunset, when familiar surroundings take on a different character. This drive is available at additional cost and bookable on tour.