11 Day Northern Circuit and Zanzibar Adventure
- Arrive in Entebbe (Day 1)
- Long drive to Bwindi Impenetrable NP (Day 2)
- Trek gorillas in Bwindi (Day 3)
- Departur for Entebbe (Day 4)
Highlights
From: $ 2,999 Per person
This 11-day trip to Tanzania is the perfect duration to experience the country’s dramatic contrasts. The classic itinerary combines the epic wildlife of the “Northern Circuit” (Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire) with a relaxing beach retreat or historical exploration in Zanzibar
During your stay, you can choose from three accommodation levels: Budget, Standard/Midrange, or Luxury.
- Budget: Simple, clean lodges and guesthouses, typically 2-3 star.
- Standard/Midrange: Comfortable 3-4 star hotels and lodges with good amenities.
- Luxury: High-end 4-5 star lodges and resorts with premium service and facilities
Overview
Itinerary
You arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha Airport, where a driver meets you after you clear immigration and collect your luggage. The transfer to your Arusha hotel takes approximately forty‑five minutes, giving you your first glimpse of Mount Meru and the bustling streets of Tanzania’s safari capital. After checking in, you have the rest of the afternoon to rest, swim, or explore the hotel grounds. In the early evening, your safari guide comes to the hotel for a briefing, during which you review the coming days, confirm any dietary requirements, check your safari vehicle, and ask last‑minute questions. Dinner is at your leisure, either at the hotel restaurant or at a recommended local spot. You retire early, knowing tomorrow marks the real beginning of your adventure. Mid‑range accommodation: Kibo Palace Hotel (Arusha).
Accommodation options
- Kibo Palace Hotel (Arusha)
Day 1: Arrival in Arusha
You wake before sunrise for an early breakfast, then drive two hours to Tarangire National Park. Entering the park, you immediately notice the dramatic landscape of baobab trees and dense acacia woodland. You spend the entire morning game driving along the Tarangire River, where huge herds of elephants gather to drink and bathe. You also see zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, and giraffe, with lions often spotted resting in the branches of sausage trees. At midday, you stop at a designated picnic site for a packed lunch, keeping a close eye on the vervet monkeys that try to steal food from unsuspecting tables.
The afternoon game drive takes you toward the park’s swampy areas, where you might see leopards, cheetahs, and vast herds of impala. As the sun begins to lower, you exit the park and drive roughly one hour to the Lake Manyara area, where you check into your lodge for the night
Accommodation options
- Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp (near Lake Manyara).
Day 2: Tarangire National Park
After breakfast, you drive a short distance to the entrance of Lake Manyara National Park, a compact reserve wedged between the Rift Valley escarpment and the alkaline lake itself. Your morning game drive takes you first through the groundwater forest, where blue monkeys, bushbucks, and turacos move through giant fig and mahogany trees. Emerging from the forest, you drive along the lake shore, where flocks of flamingos create a pink haze at the water’s edge, joined by pelicans, stilts, and other waterbirds.
Lake Manyara is famously known for its tree‑climbing lions, and you spend part of the morning searching for them in the acacia trees near the northern end of the park, though sightings are never guaranteed. You eat a picnic lunch inside the park, then enjoy a final hour of game viewing before exiting. In the early afternoon, you drive ninety minutes to the town of Karatu, which sits on the southern edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You check into your lodge and have the evening free to relax in the cool highland air.
Mid‑range accommodation
- Farm of Dreams Lodge (Karatu).
Day 3: Lake Manyara National Park
You leave Karatu early in the morning and drive toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area gate, where your guide handles entry formalities. You then ascend the forested slopes of the crater rim, stopping briefly at the viewpoint to look down into the caldera. From there, you descend the other side and cross into the Serengeti National Park at Naabi Hill Gate. The entire drive from Karatu to central Serengeti takes roughly four to five hours, but the journey functions as a continuous game drive. You cross the short‑grass plains dotted with zebra and wildebeest, pass rocky kopjes where lions often laze, and eventually arrive in the Seronera Valley, the heart of the central Serengeti.
After checking into your lodge or tented camp, you have a late lunch and then head out for an afternoon game drive in the Seronera area, known for its high concentration of leopards and cheetahs. You return to your accommodation as the sun sets, with the sounds of hyenas and distant lions filling the night
Mid‑range accommodation
- Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp (Central Serengeti)..
Day 4: Transfer to Central Serengeti
You spend the entire day exploring the Serengeti, with your route determined by the season and the current location of the Great Migration. If you are traveling between June and October, your guide drives you north toward the Mara River, a journey of roughly two to three hours from Seronera. You spend the day patrolling the riverbanks, waiting for the dramatic moment when thousands of wildebeest and zebra mass together and then plunge across the crocodile‑infested waters. Your guide listens to radio chatter from other vehicles to position you at the best possible crossing point. You eat a picnic lunch under an acacia tree, staying in the field to maximize your chances.
In the late afternoon, you begin the drive back toward your lodge, stopping at the Retina Hippo Pool to watch hippos jostle in the water. If you are traveling between November and May, when the migration moves south for calving season, your guide instead drives you toward Lake Ndutu, where the short‑grass plains become a vast nursery of newborn wildebeest and predator activity reaches its annual peak. You return to your lodge in the evening, tired and exhilarated.
Mid‑range accommodation
Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp (Central Serengeti).
Day 5: Full Day in the Serengeti
You wake for one last morning game drive in the Seronera Valley, when predators are still active and the light is golden. After a few hours of tracking lions, leopards, and hyenas, you return to your lodge for a late breakfast or brunch. You then pack your bags and depart the Serengeti, driving back through Naabi Hill Gate and re‑entering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The drive takes approximately four hours, bringing you to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater by early afternoon. You check into a lodge perched on the crater edge, where your room or the main terrace offers a breathtaking view across the caldera floor nearly two thousand feet below.
The remainder of the afternoon is yours to rest, take photographs of the view, and watch the clouds roll over the opposite rim. You have dinner at the lodge, knowing that tomorrow you descend into that ancient volcanic amphitheater.
Mid‑range accommodation
Rhino Lodge (Ngorongoro Crater Rim).
Day 6: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater Rim
After an early breakfast, you descend into the Ngorongoro Crater, a journey of roughly twenty minutes down a steep, winding road through cloud forest. Emerging onto the crater floor, you begin a full day of game driving in one of the most wildlife‑dense places on earth. You search for the critically endangered black rhino, which is regularly seen here thanks to the protected nature of the caldera.
You also encounter large lion prides resting in the open grasslands, solitary old buffalo bulls with massive horns, herds of elephants moving through fever tree forest, and spotted hyenas loping between carcasses. At midday, you stop at the Hippo Pool picnic site, the only place on the crater floor where you are allowed to exit your vehicle, and you eat lunch while watching hippos grunt and splash just meters away.
The afternoon brings more game viewing, and you make your way slowly toward the ascent road. In the late afternoon, you drive back up to the rim and then continue to Karatu, where you check into your lodge for the night
Mid‑range accommodation
Farm of Dreams Lodge (Karatu).
Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater Floor Game Drive
You have a relaxed morning in Karatu, beginning with breakfast at your lodge. You then drive a short distance to the village of Mto wa Mbu, which sits between Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro highlands. You take a guided walking tour through the village, passing rice paddies, banana plantations, and local homes. You learn how women weave baskets from palm fronds, watch artisans carve wooden masks, and taste the village’s potent banana beer brewed in large vats.
After this cultural immersion, you drive back to Arusha, a journey of about two and a half hours. You arrive in time for a late lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, you transfer to Arusha Airport or Kilimanjaro International Airport and board a flight to Zanzibar, which takes just over an hour.
Landing at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, you meet your Zanzibar driver and transfer to your beach hotel, located either on the northern coast near Nungwi or the southeastern coast near Paje. You check in and fall asleep to the sound of waves.
Mid‑range accommodation
Zanzibar Magic Boutique Hotel (Nungwi).
Day 8: Cultural Visit & Flight to Zanzibar
After breakfast at your beach hotel, you drive about an hour to Stone Town, the historic heart of Zanzibar City. You spend the morning on a guided walking tour through the narrow alleyways, which twist between coral‑stone buildings embellished with intricately carved wooden doors. Your guide takes you past the former slave market, now the site of the Anglican Cathedral, the House of Wonders with its rows of brass cannons, the Sultans’ Palace, and the bustling Forodhani Gardens overlooking the Indian Ocean.
You stop for lunch at a local restaurant, perhaps trying Zanzibari dishes like octopus curry or spiced rice. In the early afternoon, you drive a few kilometres out of town for a traditional Spice Tour at a working farm. You walk through groves of clove trees, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla vines, and turmeric, and you taste tropical fruits like jackfruit, rambutan, star fruit, and breadfruit straight from the branch.
The guides demonstrate how to climb a coconut tree and will weave you a small souvenir from palm leaves. After the tour, you drive back to your beach hotel, where you can wash off the spice dust and watch the sunset over the ocean.
Mid‑range accommodation
Zanzibar Magic Boutique Hotel (Nungwi).
Day 9: Stone Town & Spice Tour
This entire day is yours to enjoy Zanzibar’s coastline exactly as you wish. If you simply want to relax, you can spend the day moving between your sun lounger and the warm, turquoise water, reading a book, ordering fresh coconuts and grilled lobster from beach vendors, and doing absolutely nothing of consequence. If you prefer activity, you can book a morning boat trip to Mnemba Atoll, a protected marine reserve just offshore.
The snorkeling there reveals vibrant coral gardens, tropical fish of every colour, and green turtles gliding through the clear water. Alternatively, you can drive to Jozani Forest, the last remaining natural forest on Zanzibar, where you walk along boardwalks through mangrove swamps and look for the endemic red colobus monkeys, which are found nowhere else on earth. If you are staying on the southeastern coast near Paje, this is also the perfect day to try kite‑surfing, as the lagoon offers shallow water and consistent trade winds suitable for beginners and experts alike. For a memorable lunch, you can reserve a table at The Rock Restaurant, perched on a tiny islet and accessible only by foot at low tide.
Whatever you choose, your last evening is best spent on a traditional dhow sunset cruise, a wooden sailing boat that glides silently along the coast as the sky turns orange, pink, and purple.
Mid‑range accommodation
Zanzibar Magic Boutique Hotel (Nungwi).
Day 10: Full Beach Day
You wake on your final morning and have time for one last swim, one last walk along the beach, or one last leisurely breakfast with the ocean at your feet. After checking out of your hotel, your driver meets you and transfers you to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, a journey of roughly one hour from Nungwi or fifty minutes from Paje. You should arrive at least two hours before your international flight to allow time for check‑in, security, and exit formalities.
As you board your plane and look down at the green island receding into the blue sea, you carry with you the memory of elephants in Tarangire, lions on the Serengeti plains, rhinos in the Ngorongoro Crater, and the scent of cloves from a Zanzibar spice farm. Your Tanzanian adventure ends here, but the stories will last a lifetime
- No accommodation on this final night.
