11-Day Bush to Beach Holiday Safari

With packed lunch, depart Arusha for a two-hour drive through the Maasai steppe towards Tarangire National Park. As you enter the park, we’ll be greeted by a landscape dominated by majestic baobabs rising out of the acacia parkland, forming a perfect backdrop for the large herds of African elephants wandering among them. Other mammals sharing this habitat range from lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and black-backed jackals, to Kirk’s dik-diks, dwarf and banded mongoose, impalas, Beisa oryxes, steinboks and African hare. You should expect to see buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and waterbuck. The variety of birds we may see include Maasai ostrich, white-headed vulture, African scops owl and the endemic ashy starling. You'll have lunch in the park. Later in the afternoon, drive to Eileen's Trees Inn Lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

After breakfast, drive to Central Serengeti National Park for a game drive in the afternoon. It opens onto the Serenora Valley, a vibrant wildlife area at the heart of the Serengeti. The valley is famous for its resident animal population. One can expect to see wildebeests, lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos, antelopes, many birds and other species. Dinner and your overnight stay are at Serengeti Safari Lodge.

After breakfast at your camp, you will go for a full day of game drives around Central Serengeti. The Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephants and giraffes, and hundreds upon hundreds of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant's gazelle. The spectacle of predators versus prey dominates Tanzania's greatest park. Golden–manned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while high densities of cheetahs prowl the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat. All meals and accommodation are at your Serengeti Safari Lodge.

On this day, we suggest a very early wake-up in order to do an early morning game drive (when the animals are more active) and see one of the best sunrises you’ll ever witness. Then we’ll proceed to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the 8th Wonder of the Natural World. It’s one of the very rare locations in the whole continent where you can witness the black rhino. The concentration of African wildlife is the greatest on the continent. The crater has a river, several swamps, a soda lake with a great concentration of flamingos, a forest and open plains. It’s also famous for its elephants which are the largest in the world and have huge tusks. This is due to the rich mineral content of the volcanic soil and its grasses. After lunch, we will have time for a short game drive and then ascend the crater and exit Ngorongoro Conservation Area toward Eileen's Trees Inn Lodge For dinner and your overnight stay.

After breakfast at your lodge, you will drive to Lake Manyara for a full-day game drive. The park has breathtaking scenery and is well famous for its lush acacia forest, giant figs and mahogany trees, as well as a growing population of baboons and blue monkeys. Permanent residents of this park also include giraffes, elephants, impalas and a huge amount of buffaloes. The lake is also home to a large number of hippos. Some unique facts about this park include the tree-climbing lions, flamingos on the lake shore, as well as the ground hornbill and crested eagle. The landscapes of Lake Manyara are something that can not be described in words, and the game drives along the lake provide stunning photo opportunities of giraffes and buffaloes in the foreground and the lake (and its flamingos) in the background. During this day, some extra tours are possible, including a bike tour or a boat excursion. In the afternoon, transfer to Masailand Hotel Arusha for dinner and an overnight stay.

After breakfast at your hotel, depart to Materuni Village. Upon arrival, you will register at the village office and your trip can begin. First, you will visit the waterfalls, which are around 40 minutes walk away. The views are truly breathtaking, and with some luck, you will see the summit of Kilimanjaro. The pool at the bottom of the waterfall is an inviting place for a refreshing swim so don‘t forget your swimwear! After having enjoyed the scenery, slowly return with your guide to Materuni village, where you will experience a traditional Chagga lunch. You also will have the opportunity to taste our local banana beer. Next, the coffee experience awaits you. Here you will learn how coffee is cultivated, dried, roasted and further processed. You will also be invited to help with the grinding of the coffee, which is traditionally accompanied by Chagga songs and dances—a fun way to immerse yourself in the local culture. Depart to Kilimanjaro Airport for an evening flight to Zanzibar.

We will pick you from the Hotel for a guided tour to Stone Town. Your guide will introduce you to all the buildings of interest and famous viewpoints. Stone Town and its buildings are full of history and stories of the old times of Zanzibar, during the Sultans (Arabs), Europeans and Missionaries. Enjoy lunch at your own expense. Later you will park and check out at your hotel, drive to the Spice Plantation Center where you will be roaming through the fragrant spice plantations of Zanzibar and breathing in the scent of an infused past. Led by a friendly and professional guide, get an exclusive insight into the farms of this 3-hour tour. Nowadays the plantations are à tribute to the island’s colonial past. This is an excellent chance to learn about the island's turbulent history. After the spice tour, you will then drive to Warere Beach Hotel, Zanzibar on BB.

Relax at the beautiful Gabi Beach (North East). This is one of the best beaches on the island with a relaxed atmosphere and beautiful white sandy beaches with turquoise water that gently rolls onto the beach. You can spend the entire day at the beach since the beaches in this northern-east part of the island are not as tidal. Your overnight stay will be at Warere Beach Hotel on a bed and breakfast basis.

For an unforgettable day in Zanzibar after breakfast, the driver will take you to Fumba Village, where you will hop on a traditional dhow boat and sail to the breathtaking Minai Bay, home to a cluster of beautiful, uninhabited islands. Once you reach the destination, the dhow boat will be anchored in an idyllic spot, allowing you to swim around the island, snorkel along the rich coral reefs, spot the frolicking dolphins or explore the pristine islets. Your day will have interrupted mouthwatering buffet lunch on Kwale Island, where you can tuck into succulent calamari, freshly grilled fish, huge lobster and juicy tropical fruits under the shade of massive tamarind trees. After a fantastic day out in the sun, you will return to Fumba Village on a lateen sail back to Ujamaa Beach Resort—Zanzibar for your overnight stay on a bed and breakfast basis.

Have breakfast at Warere Beach Hotel in Zanzibar. Spend the last hours of your holiday relaxing at this beautiful Zanzibar Beach. Later, you will depart from the hotel for a drive To Zanzibar Airport for your international flight back home.