10 Days Tanzania Safari & Zanzibar Beach Holiday

Overview

Highlights

• ✦Five-day Tanzania northern circuit safari
• ✦Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater
• ✦Four nights on Zanzibar beach
• ✦Optional Stone Town walking tour and Spice Tour add-on
• ✦Internal flight Arusha → Zanzibar (no road backtrack)
• ✦Mid-range lodges + four-star beach resort

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1

   Arusha → Tarangire

   Arusha → Tarangire

   After breakfast and a final equipment check, depart Arusha around 8am for the two-hour drive west into Tarangire National Park, famous for its dense elephant herds and ancient baobab trees. After lunch at the park gate or your lodge, head out on a long afternoon game drive along the Tarangire River — the dry-season lifeline that draws thousands of elephants, zebra, wildebeest, hartebeest and Cape buffalo to its banks. Tarangire holds the largest elephant population of any Tanzanian park, with multi-generational family groups regularly numbering 50 or more. Look for tree-climbing pythons, fringe-eared oryx and the rare gerenuk. Sundowners on a kopje overlooking the river, then dinner and overnight at your Tarangire lodge or tented camp.

   Meals: L, D · Stay: Tarangire Sopa Lodge

2. 2

   Tarangire → Central Serengeti

   Tarangire → Serengeti

   Depart Manyara after breakfast for the long but spectacular drive across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and into the Serengeti National Park — Africa's most famous wildlife region and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stop at the Olduvai Gorge en route, where Mary and Louis Leakey unearthed some of the earliest evidence of human evolution; a small museum tells the story. Picnic lunch on the gorge rim, then continue down onto the Serengeti's endless plains — the name means "endless plain" in Maa. Afternoon game drive through the central Seronera region en route to your camp, where lion prides, leopard, cheetah, and resident herds of giraffe, topi, impala and zebra await. Dinner at your Serengeti camp, the night air alive with the calls of hyena and distant lion.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Serengeti Sopa Lodge

3. 3

   Serengeti — full day

   Serengeti

   A full day in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives. Pre-dawn coffee, then out by 6am for the diamond hours when the big cats are still hunting — leopards descend from sausage trees, cheetah scan the plains for Thomson's gazelle, and lion prides finish overnight kills. The Seronera Valley is the Serengeti's permanent water source and supports year-round wildlife concentrations. Return to camp around 11am for a late breakfast, swim and rest. The afternoon drive heads further afield — perhaps north to the Grumeti woodlands, south toward the Maswa side, or east toward the Banagi Hills — depending on where the migration is and what your guide is tracking. Sundowners on the bonnet of the Land Cruiser as the African sun melts into the horizon.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 2

4. 4

   Serengeti → Ngorongoro rim

   Serengeti → Ngorongoro

   After breakfast and a morning Serengeti game drive en route, climb back up the escarpment to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Lunch at your lodge perched on the crater rim, with vertiginous views into the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera — 19 kilometers wide, 600 meters deep. Afternoon at leisure to enjoy the lodge facilities and acclimatize to the cooler high-altitude air. Optional walking tour to a Maasai village inside the conservation area — uniquely, the Maasai still live and graze cattle within Ngorongoro alongside the wildlife. Sundowners on the rim as the crater fills with mist below you. Dinner and overnight at your crater rim lodge — the night cold and crisp at 2,400 meters elevation.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

5. 5

   Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha

   Ngorongoro → Arusha

   A pre-dawn breakfast and an early descent into the Ngorongoro Crater — Africa's Eden. The crater floor supports one of the highest concentrations of large mammals on Earth: lion prides, the densest population of spotted hyena anywhere, an estimated 30 black rhino, vast herds of wildebeest and zebra, hippo pools, flamingos on Lake Magadi, eland, gazelle, and Cape buffalo. The crater is a self-contained ecosystem and the wildlife rarely leaves. Spend the entire day on game drive, with a picnic lunch at the Ngoitokitok Springs hippo pool. Late afternoon, climb back up the crater wall to your lodge for dinner. For most travelers, the crater day is the single most memorable of any Tanzania safari.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Arusha Coffee Lodge

6. 6

   Arusha → Zanzibar by air

   Arusha → Zanzibar

   After a leisurely breakfast, transfer to Kilimanjaro International or Arusha airport for the short scheduled flight to Zanzibar (about 75 minutes). Your Zanzibar driver meets you at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport and transfers you to your beach resort on the north or northeast coast — about 90 minutes through clove and spice plantations, traditional fishing villages and the unique landscape of the Spice Island. Check in, change into beachwear and walk straight onto the white sand. The Indian Ocean here is bath-warm and the lagoon perfect for swimming. Sunset cocktails on the beach terrace, dinner of fresh-caught seafood, and the soft sound of palm fronds in the trade wind sending you to sleep. Welcome to Zanzibar.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Zuri Zanzibar or Z Hotel Nungwi

7. 7

   Beach day

   Zanzibar

   A full beach day at your own pace. Breakfast on a sea-view terrace, then choose your day: pure beach time on the powdery white sand; snorkeling on the offshore reef where turtles and reef fish teem; a traditional dhow sunset cruise with cocktails as the sun sinks behind the horizon; a kite-surfing lesson at Paje on the east coast; a SCUBA dive trip to Mnemba Atoll (one of the Indian Ocean's best dive sites); a swim with dolphins at Kizimkazi; or simply a hammock between two palms and a good book. Spa treatments are usually available at the resort, and the kitchens serve some of East Africa's best seafood — grilled red snapper, prawn pilau, octopus curry, fresh tropical fruit. Dinner on the beach as the moon rises over the sea.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 6

8. 8

   Beach + optional Spice Tour

   Zanzibar

   A full-day Spice Tour and Stone Town excursion. Morning visit to a traditional spice plantation outside Stone Town, where a local guide leads you through groves of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cardamom, ginger and turmeric — taste each one fresh, learn the history of the spice trade that made Zanzibar one of the wealthiest islands in the Indian Ocean by the 19th century. Lunch of traditional Zanzibari biryani at a spice-farm restaurant. Afternoon walking tour of Stone Town — the UNESCO-listed labyrinth of coral-rag alleys, carved Swahili and Indian doors, the old slave market, the Anglican Cathedral built on its site, the House of Wonders, the Sultan's Palace, and Freddy Mercury's birthplace. Sunset at the Forodhani night-food market — grilled seafood skewers, fresh sugarcane juice, octopus and chapati.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 6

9. 9

   Beach + optional Stone Town

   Zanzibar

   Transfer to Stone Town in the morning for a half-day guided walking tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the old slave market and the Anglican Cathedral built on its site, the House of Wonders (Beit-al-Ajaib), the Sultan's Palace, the carved Swahili doors of the merchant houses, and the spice market. Lunch at a Stone Town rooftop restaurant — try Zanzibari pilau or fresh octopus curry. Afternoon at leisure to wander the alleys and shop for spices, kanga textiles, hand-woven baskets and silver jewellery. Evening transfer back to your beach resort, or stay for sunset at Africa House Hotel and dinner at the Forodhani night-food market.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 6

10. 10

    Zanzibar → ZNZ Departure

    Zanzibar → ZNZ

    A leisurely final breakfast on the beach, late check-out, and transfer to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport for your international or domestic departure flight. If your flight is in the late afternoon or evening, we can arrange a half-day Stone Town walking tour or a final swim at the resort. End of holiday — though we hope this is a "see you next time" rather than a goodbye.

    Meals: B · Stay: N/A (departure)

What to bring

• • Lightweight neutral-color clothing (khaki, olive, beige)
• • Warm fleece for cool early morning game drives
• • Sun hat and sunglasses with UV protection
• • High-SPF sunscreen and lip balm
• • Insect repellent (DEET)
• • Comfortable walking shoes and sandals
• • Swimsuit for lodge pools
• • Binoculars (8x42 ideal for safari)
• • Camera with telephoto lens (200mm+)
• • Spare batteries, memory cards, power bank
• • Refillable water bottle
• • Anti-malarial prophylaxis (consult your doctor)
• • Yellow-fever certificate (required if arriving from yellow-fever zones)
• • Swimwear and beach cover-up
• • Reef-safe sunscreen
• • Modest clothing for Stone Town

Frequently asked questions