14 DAYS Best of North and
South Safari Circuit

overview

Whether it is your first time on safari or you are a seasoned traveller, we have created the ultimate itinerary to help you see it all. Our itinerary combines Tanzania’s best safari destinations across the North and Southern circuit. You will be able to tick the Big Five off your wildlife bucket-list, encounter huge concentrations of animals, and take in some of the world’s last, great, true wildernesses.

14 Days Best of North and South Safari Circuit.

Tour Information

Availability
All year round

Price
Starting from USD 9,176
per person sharing

Day 1

Kilimanjaro International Airport – Arusha

Our guide meets you on your arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport and transfers you to your hotel in Arusha.

Located beneath the twin peaks of Mt. Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha City is the gateway to Tanzania’s Northern Circuit of national parks and marks the starting point of your safari into the African Bush.

Set out to explore the vibrant sights and sounds of local life in Arusha. Coffee connoisseurs can enjoy popular coffee tours – weaving in and out of the evergreen coffee trees, while learning about how beans are nurtured, harvested, dried and finally roasted to produce myriad different blends which are exported and enjoyed all over the world.

* These activities are an additional cost.

Day 2

Arusha – North Serengeti

After a hearty breakfast in your hotel, we head to the Arusha Airport to catch a short flight to North Serengeti. Arrive into North Serengeti in the early morning and proceed with an afternoon game drive. Settle into to your accommodation for dinner and fall asleep listening to the sounds of nature.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3

North Serengeti

We set out in the early morning for a full day game drive in search of wildlife encounters and the great wildebeest migration. Expect to spot animals you’ve only hitherto seen in National Geographic – great herds of buffalo, elephants, giraffes, zebra, thousands of eland, as well as exceptional year-round lion sightings.

Enjoy a delicious picnic and spend the entire day out exploring the rolling plains of the Serengeti National Park. After an action-packed day in the bush, your guide drops you back at your accommodation inside the national park, in time for a gourmet dinner.

Take to the African skies in a hot air balloon to appreciate the pristine natural beauty of this 14,763km2 savannah stretching as far as the eye can see. *

Cosy around the campfire and enjoy sharing stories of the day’s wildlife sightings.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

* These activities are at an additional cost

Day 4

North Serengeti – Central Serengeti

Our safari adventure continues as we head to the heart of the Serengeti Reserve in search of its spectacular wildlife.

The Central Serengeti is the most popular region in the reserve for its abundant wildlife, large number of big cats and acacia-studded savannah landscape. Resident wildlife makes this part of the Serengeti a fantastic year-round destination, but the months of April – June and October – December offer magnificent sightings of the Great Migration as thousands of herds pass through the area.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 5

Central Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater

After an early breakfast, you checkout and depart with your lunch heading for a final morning’s game drive in the Serengeti.

Few predators hunt during the heat of the day and so early morning is often the best time to observe the thrill of the chase.

We make the three-hour transfer to Ngorongoro Crater, where you will check in to your accommodation and settle in.

Enjoy a guided walk around the rim of the mighty Ngorongoro Crater. In addition to seeing breathtaking views of the volcanic crater and the diverse wildlife, our expert guides will also teach you about its incredible indigenous flora and fauna.*

Meals included: breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

* These activities are an additional cost.

Day 6

Ngorongoro Crater – Lake Manyara

Wake up early to panoramic views of the Crater, and after breakfast, head off for a day trip to explore the many fascinating species that are protected within its rim.

Here, we can see the Big Five in high concentration against the stunning backdrop of the crater walls.

After a day of exploring, you are transferred to your chosen accommodation in Lake Manyara.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 7

Lake Manyara – Lake Natron

After a hearty breakfast, your guide picks you up and drives you to Lake Manyara for game viewing.

While Lake Manyara National Park is one of Tanzania’s smaller parks, its diverse vegetation ranging from savannah to marsh and evergreen forest, supports one of the highest biomass densities of large mammals in the world. Expect to see large families of elephants, millions of flamingos, and even tree-climbing lions.

Be sure to keep a watchful eye out for the baboons in this park which live in troops of up to 200 members.

Enjoy a trip to the local farming village of Mto Wa Mbu Village and learn about the melting pot of cultures found here. Home to over 120 different tribes from across Tanzania, you will gain insight into daily life, visiting local farms, schools, churches, a milling machine and much more.*

After an action-packed day, your guide takes you to your accommodation in Lake Natron.

Lying in a sun-scorched area below the Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Natron is one of Tanzania’s most otherworldly landscapes – famous for its intense concentration of sodium which gives the lake its signature pink and orange hue.

For serial adventurers, we suggest an additional hike up the river gorge to reach the incredible Engaresero Waterfall – where you can enjoy a refreshing dip in the natural rocky pools. *

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

* These activities are an additional cost.

Day 8

Lake Natron – Tarangire

After breakfast, join your guide for a morning walk to the lake and take in the beautiful scenery and wildlife.

Expect to see great game viewing and birding in this harsh landscape with dry country species such as gerenuk, lesser kudu and oryx.

Lake Natron is also the only known breeding ground for East Africa’s lesser flamingos which flock here in their millions between June and October.

Be sure to take a minute and appreciate the spectacular views of Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano to the south – an active volcano that translates in Maasai as “Mountain of God”.

After a jam-packed afternoon, we pack and up and proceed to Tarangire where you check in to your chosen accommodation for the night.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 9

Tarangire

Wake up and enjoy a delicious breakfast while looking out over the plains dotted with hundreds of Africa’s prehistoric ‘Trees of Life’ – the baobab.

One of the most underrated Parks in the Northern Safari Circuit, Tarangire boasts some of Tanzania’s best wildlife, including a 300-strong herd of elephants, as well as wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, eland and buffalo. Tarangire receives a fraction of the Serengeti’s visitors.

After an action-packed day in the bush, your guide drops you back at your accommodation inside the national park, in time for a gourmet dinner.

As the African night comes alive, set out on a late-night safari to see nocturnal animals with the aid of your knowledgeable guide, including hyenas, leopards, genet, bush babies, hippos and nightjars. *

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

* These activities are an additional cost.

Day 10

Tarangire – Selous

After breakfast you are transferred to Arusha Airport for your onward flight to Selous.

You are greeted on arrival by a member of the Sassabi Expeditions team who takes you to your accommodation for check in before proceeding with an afternoon game drive.

The Selous is Africa’s largest protected game reserve comprised of 56,600 square kilometres of unique landscapes from lush forests to grassy plains and mountains to open woodlands.

It is estimated the reserve is home to approximately 145,000 buffalos, 4,000 Lions, 100,000 wildebeests, large hands of giraffes, 35,000 zebras, 40,000 hippos, 250,000 impalas, large numbers of Lichtenstein’s hartebeests, waterbucks, elands and bushbucks, as well as leopards, crocodiles and hyenas. It is also among the few wildlife sanctuaries in Africa where you will find the puku antelope, African wild dogs and the sable antelope.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 11

Selous Game Reserve

Wake up and enjoy breakfast surrounded by the pristine natural beauty of the Selous Game Reserve – a remote and secluded park that is four times the size of the Serengeti and remains relatively untouched.

Search for the Big 5 on morning and afternoon game drives with your expert guide.

The Selous is one of the few big game reserves to allow hiking, offering you the chance to set out and explore Tanzania’s pristine landscapes on foot.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 12

Selous Game Reserve – Ruaha National Park

After breakfast, your guide collects you and transfers you to the Selous Airstrip where you catch your flight to Ruaha.

Upon arrival, your guide picks you up from the airstrip and transfers you to your accommodation for check-in and an afternoon game drive.

Following a gourmet dinner, set out with your guide on an evening game drive in the Ruaha National Park to witness how the bush comes to life as the sun goes down. Listen and watch for serval, civet, African wild cats, leopards and so much more…

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 13

Ruaha National Park

Rise and shine – as we set out on morning and afternoon game drives in search of predators including lions, leopards, cheetahs and the increasingly rare African wild dog.

Visit the Great Ruaha River often swarming with huge crocodile and grunting hippos competing for space.

The park is a great place to visit year-round due to its excellent all-weather road network – with a particularly stunning green season that welcomes thousands of migrating birds.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 14

Ruaha National Park – Dar es Salaam

Rise early to enjoy the beautiful sunrise over the Ruaha National Park – soaking in the panoramic views and looking out for one of the many species of African eagle which soar above the open plains in the early hours.

After breakfast, you are transferred to the Ruaha Airstrip to catch your flight to Dar es Salaam.

Upon arrival at Dar es Salaam we wave you a fond farewell as you check in for your onward flight.

Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch.