Ndutu-Serengeti – The Great Migration & Tarangire, Ngorongoro

Day 1: Arrival in Arusha – Briefing and visit to the art gallery – 53km and 1 hr, drive
Arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport. You will be picked up and driven by private transfer to Arusha, to your reserved hotel. Your guide will come and give you an introduction to the whole safari. At noon you will be picked up and driven to the unique cultural centre, ‘Cultural Heritage Gallery’ on the outskirts of Arusha. The variety of sculptures, masks, furniture, drawings and photos from all parts of Africa on display here is extremely impressive and worth visiting. Overnight at Hotel Mtoni River Lodge or similar.

Day 2: Drive to Tarangire – Wildlife Viewing – Elephant Paradise – 135km and 2.5 hr. drive
In the early morning we drive to Tarangire. In this national park you have an excellent opportunity for game viewing. With a game viewing area roughly ten times the size of the nearby Manyara National Park and an exceptionally high game concentration from July to October, this seasonal safari park in Tanzania is a little gem on the northern safari route. Elephants are the main attraction with up to 3,000 animals living in the park during peak months. In the high season there are also many wildebeest and zebras, as well as giraffes, buffalo, Thompson’s gazelles, warthogs, larger and smaller kudu, eland, leopards and cheetahs. Tarangire is also one of the best bird watching destinations in Tanzania. Overnight in Eileen’s Trees Inn or similar, (B|L|D).

Day 3: Drive to the southern Serengeti region – into the endless Ndutu plain – 110km and 2 hr. drive
Early in the morning we drive to the Lake Ndutu region, which is located in the Ngorongoro Nature Reserve, a sublime landscape of the southern Serengeti ecosystem. The Ndutu Plain is famous for its short grasses and excellent visibility for predators. Lake Ndutu, like most other Rift Valley lakes, is alkaline. It is a vital source of water and is visited by a wide variety of wildlife living here. During the migration season, herds come to calve, which attracts large numbers of predators such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas, caracals, jackals, and bat-eared foxes, to name a few. More and more young predators are sighted, which shows how valuable this sanctuary is to the survival of the species. After an unforgettable day, we make our way to our accommodation to dine and relax by the fire in the plain under the star-lit, endless African night sky. Overnight in Ndutu Lodge or similar, (B|L|D).

Day 4: Game drive in the Ndutu region – Heard Migration
After a good breakfast, we will set off for a full day game drive in the Ndutu region. Most of the wildebeest migration usually takes place from December to April in the short grass plains. The area is usually heavily populated with elephants, giraffes, over four hundred species of birds, and a variety of other resident wildlife. We will visit the various landscapes of the region including swamps, forests, alkaline lakes and the world-famous Serengeti short grass plains. Herds of wildebeest and zebras will make our hearts beat faster during the trip. In February, several thousand calves are born here every day within 3 weeks. A unique spectacle of a great act of synchronized birth! The grass offers little protection, making the young easy prey for a wide variety of predators such as lions, hyenas, cheetahs and leopards. Wildebeest calves can walk minutes after they are born and are usually strong enough to keep up with the herd within 3 days. This unique natural spectacle will stay in your memory for a long time and possibly bring you to this wonderful country at least one more time. Overnight in Ndutu Lodge or similar, (B|L|D).

Day 5: Game drive in Ngorongoro Crater and drive to Arusha – 22 km and 40 min. drive
Today we dedicate ourselves to the Ngorongoro Crater, which offers a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop and is the best place in East Africa to see the ‘Big Five’ (elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion and leopard). Any safari in northern Tanzania should ideally include a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater. It is one of the most beautiful nature safari locations in the world and an extraordinary place to meet people from the Maasai tribe. The Ngorongoro Crater and the surrounding highlands together form one of the most beautiful regions in Africa. Volcanic craters make a great backdrop to some of the most fertile and richest grazing land in Africa. The most famous crater of its kind is without question Ngorongoro, the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world and is home to the highest density of large game in Africa. Ngorongoro is rightly one of the most famous safari destinations on the continent. In the afternoon we drive to the Serengeti National Park and spend the night there. Overnight in Hotel Mtoni River or similar category, (B|L|D).

Day 6: Departure Drive to Arusha-Kilimanjaro International Aiprort or connection component Kilimanjaro or Mt. Meru trekking/ Zanzibar
Free time until departure. Our driver will pick you up from the hotel according to your flight details and drive you to the airport or you can continue with your connection program (B).

We reserve the right to make changes to the program due to special events, force majeure or weather reasons.

Legends: B = breakfast | L = lunch | D = dinner

This tour can also be booked for individual traveller at an additional cost or for your group at any prefered date.

Duration: 6 days
Costs: € 2.490 per person
Group size: min. 2 Persons (all the tour dates are guaranteed with a minimum group size of only two persons)
€ 360 for single room supplement

What’s included

• Transfer from and to the airport
• All transfers in Tanzania
• Accommodation incl. breakfast in Arusha
• Hotel overnight stays including 3 meals during the safari tour
• Transport in a 4 × 4 safari vehicle (guaranteed window seat)
• Professional, English-speaking safari guide
• Mineral water on safari
• All national park fees

Not included

• All flights
• Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks other than water
• Visa fees (US $ 50)
• Tips
• Personal expenses
• Personal travel insurance

Visa
To enter Tanzania, a passport that is valid for at least 6 months and a tourist visa are required. The visa for German citizens can be applied for three to four weeks before departure at the Tanzanian embassy (approx. 50 EUR plus postage). Alternatively, the visa is also available when entering Tanzania (50 USD, to be paid in cash on site). We recommend this option; it is less complicated and cheaper. An exit tax of USD 30 is required for international flights from Zanzibar (payable locally in cash).
These visa and passport regulations are valid for the EU countries and Switzerland. Other citizens would like to inquire at the respective country consulate.

Vaccinations
No compulsory vaccinations, in particular no yellow fever vaccination, are required for direct entry from Germany / Switzerland, Austria to the mainland of Tanzania and Zanzibar. This also applies when entering a yellow fever endemic area in transit; as long as the airport is not left during the stopover and the stay is less than 12 hours. However, you should be vaccinated against tetanus, hepatitis A, diphtheria and polio. Hepatitis B and typhoid vaccinations are recommended for long stays.
We recommend that you consult your doctor in good time. Further information can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

Insurance
A travel health insurance (with rescue costs) is essential for your own safety and a prerequisite for booking our trips. In the event of an accident in the mountains or on safari that requires a helicopter, the helicopter will not take off until full coverage of the costs has been clarified.
We strongly recommend that you take out travel cancellation insurance. Flights at bargain prices in particular cannot usually be rebooked or cancelled free of charge. In Tanzania there could also be complications with the weather, your health, etc., which would force you to abandon your trip.
We asked ERGO Reiseversicherung to put together different service packages for you. You can book the right travel health insurance for you at https://www.reiseversicherung.de.

It should be noted that geoDiscovery Tours only recommends that its guests book travel insurance through ERGO and assumes no responsibility for the contractual content between the travel guest and the insurance provider. It is up to each guest to book their travel insurance through ERGO or another provider.

Standard of hotels and accommodations
In Tanzania, the hotels we have booked are good and correspond to mid-western standards. The sanitary facilities are clean and functional. The hotel kitchen is adapted to Western eating habits and the food is safe to enjoy. Sometimes there can be power cuts or sometimes no hot water is available. The hotel staff is generally very friendly and makes every effort to ensure the well-being of each guest. The hotels we have booked are as follows:

Arusha: Ilboru Safari Lodge, Mount Meru Hotel, Mount Meru Game Lodge, Rivertrees Country Inn, Arumeru River Lodge
Moshi/Kilimanjaro: Chanya Lodge, Weru Weru, Kaliwa Lodge, Salinero
Karatu: Eileen’s Trees Inn, Bougainvillea Safari Lodge, Endoro Lodge
Manyara: Lake Manyara Serena Hotel, Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Luxury Lodge
Ngorongoro: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Rhino Lodge
Serengeti: Embalakai Camps, Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge, Serengeti Serena Hotel, Lahia Tented Lodge, Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp, Four Seasons Serengeti, Melia Serengeti
Tarangire: Tarangire Safari Lodge, Tarangire Balloon Camp, Tarangire Simba Lodge, Maramboi Tented Lodge
Zanzibar: Maru Maru Hotel, Nungwi Dreams, MMelia Zanzibar, the Z hotel, Kendwa Rocks, Zanzibar Serena Hotel, Zanzibar Magic Boutique Hotel, Kholle House

Tour program
The travel program is optimally coordinated for all of the trips we recommend. However, it can happen that roads are closed or impassable without prior notice, that waiting times of several hours arise due to traffic jams or fuel shortages, that access to sites can be closed for various reasons, or other restrictions such as flight delays or even cancellations due to bad weather, strikes, Health of the participants, a pandemic or unfavourable conditions during trekking make the implementation of the travel program difficult or, in the worst case, impossible. However, our local guides are prepared for such situations and will endeavour to carry out all program points to your satisfaction. The inconvenience is usually limited. Nevertheless, it must be pointed out at this point that, for the reasons mentioned, program changes are possible at any time and are not the responsibility of the organizer. Any resulting costs are borne by the traveller. We ask for your understanding.

Flying in Tanzania
Domestic flights in Tanzania may be postponed for days due to limited airspace or weather conditions, or for technical or other reasons. Under these exceptional circumstances, our team will try – in cooperation with you – to relocate the tour to other regions or to organize road transport. The risk of delay and cancellation of these flights is borne by all participants.
In the event of a delay of several days, all participants are personally responsible for changing their flight home at least 48 hours in advance. We are of course happy to help you.

The domestic flights booked by us are:

• Air Tanzania
• Precision Air
• Flightlink
• Coastal Aviation
• Auric air

Please note that our trips are not suitable for people with limited mobility.