Classic Safari in Tanzania & Zanzibar: 14-Day Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar Holiday

🛏 Stay: Rivertrees (River Cottage) · Bed & Breakfast

✈️ International arrival at Kilimanjaro · Transfer to Arusha (1 hour)

Your Tanzania safari and Zanzibar holiday begins in Arusha, the safari capital of Tanzania, nestled in the shadow of Mount Meru with commanding views of magnificent Kilimanjaro. It’s the base from which most travellers visit the country’s renowned game reserves.

Nearby is Arusha National Park, one of the least-visited parks in northern Tanzania and a rewarding off-the-beaten-track excursion, known for its diverse wildlife, striking mountain scenery and lakes that are home to large flocks of flamingos.

🛏 Stay: Tloma Lodge (Standard Room), Karatu · Full Board

🚙 Drive to Lake Manyara and on to Karatu (3–4 hours)

Nestled at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara National Park is stunningly beautiful. The lake attracts more than 400 bird species, including flamingos and pelicans, and watching elephants, buffalo and hippos at the mud pools, with the escarpment as a backdrop, makes for wonderful safari moments. The park is also famous for its tree-climbing lions.

Next comes your Ngorongoro Crater safari. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the natural wonders of the world, its spectacular rim always in view as you search for wildlife on the crater floor. Its plains and swamps are home to a wide variety of animals, with good chances of seeing the Big Five. The conservation area is also home to the Maasai and their cattle, which co-exist with the wildlife in a unique ecosystem.

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and tea

Activities: Game drives in Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater

🛏 Stay: Bologonja Under Canvas (Classic Tent) · Full Board

✈️ Transfer to the airstrip (30–60 minutes) · Flight to the Serengeti (1 hour)

The heart of your Tanzania safari and Zanzibar trip is the Serengeti, the jewel in the crown of Tanzania’s parks and one of the best-known wildlife sanctuaries in the world. With countless predators, including lion, cheetah and leopard, alongside vast herds of wildebeest, zebra and Thomson’s gazelle, it has one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife on the planet.

The Serengeti Great Migration follows a yearly cycle:

• Late December to March: the calving season, with more than a million wildebeest and zebra

• May to July: herds and their newborns crossing the crocodile-infested Grumeti River

• August to October: the herds move to the remote northern Serengeti and cross the Mara River

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and tea, soft drinks, house wine and beers

Activities: Game drives in Serengeti National Park

🛏 Stay: Zanzibar Palace Hotel (Shaba Room) · Bed & Breakfast

✈️ Transfer to the airstrip (30–40 minutes) · Flight to Zanzibar (3.5 hours)

From safari to the Spice Islands, the second half of your Tanzania safari and Zanzibar holiday begins in Stone Town Zanzibar, the island’s old city and cultural heart, which has hardly changed in 200 years.

It’s a place of winding alleys, bustling bazaars, mosques and grand houses whose original owners competed over the extravagance of their homes, reflected in the beautiful brass-studded, carved wooden doors. You can spend many wonderful hours simply wandering its labyrinth of narrow streets.

🛏 Stay: Matemwe Lodge (Standard Room) · Full Board

🚗 Road transfer to Zanzibar’s north-east coast (1 hour)

The lure of the Spice Islands is legendary. With palm-fringed beaches and pristine coral reefs, your Zanzibar beach holiday is a complete change of pace from mainland Tanzania.

Spend wonderfully relaxing days on fine white sand, read the book you never got around to, take in the turquoise sea, walk along the beach or discover the magnificent marine life and coral formations.

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and tea, mineral water, snorkelling from the beach, guided reef and village walks, and kayaking

🚗 Transfer to the international terminal · International departure

Enjoy your last day on the beach before flying home directly from Zanzibar or via Dar es Salaam international airport.

End of your Tanzania safari and Zanzibar holiday.

14 days and 13 nights: 6 nights on safari in Northern Tanzania (including 1 in Arusha), 2 nights in Stone Town and 5 nights on Zanzibar’s beach.

Lake Manyara National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park, with game drives in a 4×4 safari vehicle in each.

Late December to March is the calving season; May to July brings the Grumeti River crossings; and from August to October the herds cross the Mara River in the northern Serengeti.

By scheduled flight from a Serengeti airstrip to Zanzibar, which takes about 3.5 hours. All flights and transfers within Tanzania are included.

At Matemwe Lodge, snorkelling from the beach, guided reef and village walks, and kayaking are included, along with meals, coffee, tea and mineral water.

You can fly home directly from Zanzibar airport or via Dar es Salaam international airport, depending on your flights.