1 night in Arusha, 5 nights on Safari | Private Tour | Luxury | SPL16
While this excellent safari gives us plenty of time in beautiful Serengeti National Park, it certainly does not ignore Tanzania’s other natural attractions. For example, we will begin our adventure on this week-long trip in Lake Manyara, small perhaps but full of interesting sights, sounds and smells against a backdrop of the Rift Valley escarpment and located around the glistening lake itself. In Serengeti, we will have plenty of time to explore its varied landscapes, all the time looking for the best wildlife experiences, before we will depart for another Tanzanian icon, the incomparable crater of Ngorongoro, perhaps looking for a black rhino.
Surprises await you! With every turn of the steering-wheel, round every bend in the road or over the next small hill, Tanzania will throw at you something new, something unusual. Perhaps it will be a flock of vultures, picking over the bones of a lion’s recent kill. Or maybe the chase and the kill itself!
From strutting secretary bird to lumbering elephant, from soaring eagle to wallowing hippo, the parks you’ll visit on this Wildlife Adventure tour will provide you with breath-taking, awe-inspiring moments. Be dazzled by a shockingly pink mass of flamingos, struck dumb by the clatter of wildebeest hooves as they escape a would-be predator or simply enjoy the calm of watching a giraffe languidly grazing the high branches of a tree. Join your driver-guide as he scans the horizon for a cheetah or leopard. What a true ‘wildlife adventure’!
Accommodation on this tour is in our Luxury category, with one night’s hotel accommodation in Arusha and five nights spent out in luxury safari lodges. Our Luxury level accommodations are carefully selected by Easy Travel to provide the best options in the category.
7 Days, 6 Nights
1 night in Arusha, 1 night in Lake Manyara, 3 nights in Serengeti, 1 night in Ngorongoro
Whatever your arrival time at Kilimanjaro International Airport, your Easy Travel driver-guide will be waiting for you with a warm welcoming smile. Kick back and relax in your comfortable vehicle as he takes you to your hotel in Arusha, Tanzania’s self-styled ‘safari capital.’ On your one-hour journey to the hotel, you will get a brief impression of this large, bustling, commercial city. Depending on your arrival time, you may have your pre-safari briefing today; if not, it will take place early tomorrow morning.
Those seeking luxury in Arusha will find it at this modern, opulent hotel. The Gran Meliá Arusha sits in 18 acres of carefully looked-after tea and coffee plantations, with its own herb and vegetable gardens and stunning views of Mount Meru.
Rooms are thoroughly modern and spacious, furnished to a very high standard, as you would expect from an international hotel chain.
Guests here can benefit from the hotel’s heated pool, a spa and gym – all great ways of staying in shape while being pampered during your stay. The Indian-inspired cuisine at the Yellow Chilli is renowned, but the two other hotel restaurants ensure that every taste is catered for here.
Dinner at your hotel.
Tour Briefing
Unless your arrival time yesterday allowed time for your safari briefing, then this will take place after breakfast. We will provide you with all the essential information, before we set off westwards to our first safari destination, Lake Manyara National Park.
Journey: (morning) Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park
Our two-hour (130km) journey takes us westwards from Arusha. Along the route, your eyes will be opened to all the colours and character of Tanzania: perhaps some Maasai herdsmen driving their flocks of goats to new pastures. You’ll get to know your driver-guide, amazed at his depth of knowledge as he effortlessly answers all your questions.
Day’s Highlight
Your game drive in wonderful Lake Manyara, with the Rift Valley escarpment and the lake itself as the wonderful, natural backdrops.
Safari (Game Drive) in Lake Manyara National Park
After our lunch, we jump in our vehicle to cover the highlights of this park. Set against the rugged Rift Valley escarpment, and characterised by its shimmering lake, Manyara is rich in vegetation and the wildlife that thrives here. Enjoy the tranquillity as majestic pink flamingos wade elegantly, picking out a meal of algae from the shallow, alkaline waters. On land, Manyara’s terrain is compact, yet boasts differing environments such as diverse forests fed by waters seeping from the nearby escarpment. Monkeys are abundant, but look out too for the lions, giraffe, warthog and grumpy Cape buffalo who all call this park ‘home’. Hold your nose when we reach the hippo pool, because these big lumps smell!
Surrounded by rich gardens inhabited by a myriad of birdlife, Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge enjoys spectacular vistas over Lake Manyara, as well as views of Mount Meru and even distant Kilimanjaro. There can be few better ways to finish the day than to sit around the campfire and watch the sun go down!
All rooms here benefit from fantastic views of the magnificent surroundings, while inside they are decorated with style and taste and feature all amenities you would expect in a high-quality lodge, including a private balcony. In the main building, guests will find the dining-room, as well as billiards, TV and children’s activity rooms.
Before feasting on the excellent cuisine, enjoy a refreshing dip in the lodge pool.
Breakfast will be provided by Gran Melia Arusha. Lunch will be a nutritious and balanced meal, also Provided for you to take out on Safari. Your evening meal will be a full, cooked dinner at the Escarpment Luxury Lodge.
