Five days is the shortest trip that gives the northern circuit room to breathe. You reach the Serengeti with two nights on the plains rather than one, and you go down into the Ngorongoro Crater in the early morning, when the floor is still cool and the predators are still moving.
The driving is arranged so that the longest day comes early, while the landscape is still new. From there the distances shorten and the country opens.
Day by day
Day 01
Approx. 2.5 hours
Collected in Arusha after breakfast and into the park by late morning. The afternoon is spent along the Tarangire river, where the elephant herds gather in the dry months and the baobabs stand over everything else.
Day 02
Approx. 5–6 hours
The long day, taken early. You climb through the Ngorongoro highlands, pass Maasai grazing land and the crater rim viewpoint, then drop onto the plains in the afternoon with the first game drive on the way to camp.
Day 03
Game drives only
Out at first light, when the cats are still moving, back for the middle of the day and out again in the late afternoon. Where you go depends on where the animals are. This is the day the guide earns his reputation.
Day 04
Approx. 4 hours
A last morning on the plains, then east to the crater. You arrive on the rim in the afternoon with the whole caldera below you, and the temperature drops as the light goes.
Day 05
Approx. 4 hours home
Down onto the crater floor at dawn for the morning game drive, then out around midday. The road back runs along the Manyara escarpment, with the lake below, and you are in Arusha in time for an evening flight.
The route
Arusha · Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Lake Manyara · Arusha
Roughly 900km of driving across five days, most of it inside the parks rather than between them.
These are camps we book, photographed as they are, run by Karibu Camps and Lodges. Which one you get depends on your dates, your group and the comfort level you choose, so the property is named in writing with your quote rather than promised here.
Included
Not included
The price
From $1,750
Per person · private safari · based on two travellers sharing
The price moves with the season, the number of travellers and the accommodation level you choose. You see the full breakdown before anything is confirmed, and nothing is charged while you are still deciding.
Seasonal rates & deposit terms requiredThis is a starting point, not a fixed product. Most travellers change two or three things before they book.
A third night in the Serengeti is the change most travellers make, and the one most worth making.
The same route runs from mid-range lodges to camps inside the park with a view from the bed.
Fly from the Serengeti or Arusha to the coast and finish with three or four nights on the ocean.
Shorter driving days, earlier dinners and a vehicle configured for children.
Send the dates you are considering and how many of you there are. You will get availability, a price for your group and an itinerary you can edit.
No obligation. Start with a conversation.
