7 Days Tanzania Wilderness Safari

7 Days Tanzania Wilderness Safari | 4 Northern Parks Plus a Rare Visit with the Hadzabe

This 7 Days Tanzania Wilderness Safari covers Tanzania’s northern circuit in full — Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire — and adds a stop most itineraries leave out entirely: a visit to the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer communities left in the world, near Lake Eyasi.

Across the week, you will encounter a genuinely high concentration of wildlife, including lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, giraffes, rhinos, and hyenas, alongside the Great Wildebeest Migration — the largest movement of land mammals anywhere on the planet. The Lake Eyasi day breaks from wildlife entirely, giving you time with the Hadzabe to learn about traditional hunting and gathering practices that have persisted for millennia in Tanzania’s Central Rift Valley.

This itinerary suits travelers with a full week to spend on safari who want the complete northern circuit plus a cultural dimension that most week-long Tanzania trips skip.

Quick Facts

Highlights

• Day 1: Lake Manyara National Park
• Day 2: Serengeti National Park
• Day 3: Central Serengeti (Seronera)
• Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater
• Day 5: Lake Eyasi tour
• Day 6: Tarangire National Park
• Day 7: Tarangire National Park to Arusha

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast at your hotel in Arusha, or on arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, your guide will collect you for the transfer to Lake Manyara National Park, a scenic destination known for its tree-climbing lions and large flocks of flamingos along the lakeshore.

You will arrive in time for lunch at your lodge, followed by an afternoon game drive in search of tree-climbing lions, rhinos, zebras, elephants, and warthogs. Return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Tloma Lodge

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Day 2: Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, head to Serengeti National Park, Tanzania’s oldest and most celebrated national park, famous for the annual wildebeest migration — over two million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras and Thomson’s gazelles crossing the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in search of water and fresh grazing. The park is also home to all five members of the Big Five: lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino, and elephant.

You will arrive at the park in time for lunch, followed by an afternoon game drive across the savannah plains. Return to your lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Acacia Seronera Luxury Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3: Central Serengeti (Seronera)

After breakfast, head into the central Serengeti for a full day game drive with a packed lunch. This part of the park is known for its abundant wildlife, including prides of lions, leopards, buffaloes, cheetahs, and rhinos, and often hosts sections of the Great Wildebeest Migration. Return to your lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Acacia Seronera Luxury Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater

Wake early for breakfast before heading to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending to the crater floor for a full day game drive. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to the Ngorongoro Crater — the world’s largest intact, unfilled caldera.

The crater holds a dense population of wildlife, including lions, leopards, buffaloes, Maasai giraffes, hyenas, warthogs, elands, zebras, rhinos, hippos, jackals, and elephants, along with birdlife such as flamingos along the shore of Lake Magadi in the crater’s corner. Enjoy a picnic lunch and continue exploring before heading to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Farm House Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Ngorongoro Farm House Lodge

Day 5: Lake Eyasi Tour

After breakfast, depart for Lake Eyasi to visit the Hadzabe, an indigenous ethnic group living in Tanzania’s Central Rift Valley and the neighboring Serengeti Plateau. You will take part in traditional activities such as hunting and gathering wild fruit.

The Hadzabe are hunter-gatherers, among the last such communities left in the world, with a population of roughly 1,000. In the evening, head to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 6: Tarangire National Park

After breakfast, head to Tarangire National Park in the Manyara region, home to large elephant herds, tree-climbing lions, and iconic baobab trees — sometimes called the Tree of Life, with mythical significance in several local cultures.

On arrival, enjoy lunch before an afternoon game drive, watching for elephants, buffaloes, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, elands, and warthogs, among other species. Return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Acacia Tarangire Luxury Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 7: Tarangire National Park to Arusha

After breakfast, check out and enjoy a morning game drive before heading back to Arusha, where you will be dropped at your hotel or the airport for your departure flight, home or to your next destination.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

What’s Included

• Park fees
• All activities unless labeled as optional
• All accommodation as stated in the itinerary
• A professional driver-guide
• All transportation unless labeled as optional
• All taxes and VAT
• Round-trip airport transfer
• All meals as specified in the day-by-day itinerary

What’s Not Included

• International flights, to and from home
• Additional accommodation before and after the tour
• Tips (guideline: US$20 per person per day)
• Personal items such as souvenirs, travel insurance, and visa fees
• Government-imposed increases in taxes and/or park fees
• Alcoholic drinks
• Services not mentioned in the program
• Travel insurance and medical repatriation
• Items of a personal nature