Tanzania: Custom Wildlife Safaris
Our custom safaris take you deep into the wild heart of Africa. Embark specializes in custom adventure travel; each group typically has a unique itinerary, works with us to develop that itinerary, and picks the dates of travel. Occasionally we also have pre‐planned departure dates the we can fit individuals into.
Taking a safari (literally translated as “journey” or “to travel” in Kiswahili) is like nothing most people have ever experienced and this example 5-day itinerary is packed with sights and experiences that you will not soon forget. You will explore some of the most ancient lands of our world, glimpse the daily lives of some of the world’s most intriguing animals and sleep in luxury in the middle of nowhere. Expect stunning landscapes, unforgettable experiences and memories to last a lifetime.
Tanzania harbors the great Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti is Tanzania’s first and most famous park, and a major portion of the Serengeti region, which makes up 14 percent of Tanzania’s land are and comprised not only the park, but also the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
There are literally hundreds of ways to plan safaris in East Africa. Contact Robin at Embark for more details!
Trip Highlights
- Games drives into the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater that will expose you to the animal kingdom that you will fall in love with
- Sit nervously with your heart beating intensely as you watch a cheetah track a zebra
- Fall back down into your eat as the guide drives hurriedly out of the path of a charging elephant
Itinerary
Day 1
After the Serengeti, Tarangire has the greatest concentrations of wildlife in Tanzania and in the dry season the Tarangire River is a magnet for thirsty wildlife. Large herds of elephants and migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland gather and, not surprisingly, the predators follow. This is also the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope, such as oryx and gerenuk, are regularly spotted.
Day 2
The Serengeti together with Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Park form Africa’s most famous wildlife park. The image of acacia trees on an endless grass plain epitomises Africa for many, and then add a Maasai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need go no further. The annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara is the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet- with more than a million animals following the rains. But that is not where the game viewing ends; large prides of lion, elephants and giraffes in grasslands, gazelles and eland to mention but a few. Aside from traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air-ballooning over the Serengeti plains and horseback safaris are available as well.
Day 3
More than six million hooves pound the legendary plains of the Serengeti, which is renowned for its wealth of leopard and lion. The vast reaches of the park also help the black rhino fight extinction and provide a protected breeding ground for the vulnerable cheetah. Every year, triggered by the rains, nearly two million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle undertake the long trek to new grazing lands.
Day 4
The Ngorongoro Crater is game viewing gone crazy and it is not surprising that it is one of Tanzania’s major tourist attractions. Within the crater rim a daily wildlife drama is played out as large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby lions, leopards, elephants and black rhinos. Outside the crater a similar drama continues in a more spread out manner, with Maasai herdsmen thrown into the mix.
Day 5
After breakfast, we begin with a sunrise game drive, which is always rewarding to watch the animals eating early in the morning. We have a half day game drive in and around the Ngorongoro Crater from sunrise to afternoon, exploring hippo pools, looking for lions and discovering animals around every corner. The goal is to find the black rhino.
After lunch, we begin a long journey back. It will take most of the day to get back to the airport. We will stop at some of the abundant craft markets if time permits as we return and then drop you off at the Kilimanjaro International Airport.
