Home/Safari plans/Serengeti & Zanzibar, Bush and Beach

Safari plan · 10 days · Serengeti & Zanzibar · Midrange

Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar

A ten-day Tanzania safari and Zanzibar holiday: Tarangire, the central Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater by road with your own guide, then a short flight to Zanzibar and four nights on the beach at Nungwi — the most asked-for shape of a first trip to Tanzania.

ArushaTarangireSerengetiNgorongoroZanzibar

Request a quote →See the days

Length10 days · 9 nights

ParksTarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, then Zanzibar

Starts & endsKilimanjaro Airport / Zanzibar Airport

ComfortMidrange lodges, tented camps & beach hotel

Best monthsJune–October, December–February

Overview The route Day by day Rates Where you sleep Included Add-ons When to go Flights & extras FAQ Enquire

IOverview

Five days on safari, four on the beach, and one hard day between.

The northern circuit first: Tarangire for its elephants, two nights in the central Serengeti where the big cats are resident all year, and the Ngorongoro Crater floor at opening time. Then Arusha, a flight of about an hour and a half, and four nights at Nungwi on Zanzibar’s northern tip.

The safari days are private — your own vehicle and guide, nobody else in it. The price of fitting it all into ten days is day six, which goes from the crater floor to the beach in one go. It works, but it is long; the variation that adds a night in Arusha is the one we would take if you can spare it.

Major attractions · 4

01Tarangire National Park
02Serengeti National Park
03Ngorongoro Crater
04Nungwi, Zanzibar

Trip detailsPrivate

Tour length: 10 days · 9 nights
Country: Tanzania, mainland and Zanzibar
Start / end: Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) in · Zanzibar (ZNZ) out
Accommodation: Midrange
Tour type: Private safari, then beach
Group size: Maximum per vehicle
Meal plan: Full board on safari; on Zanzibar per hotel
Best period: Jun–Oct · Dec–Feb
Activity level: Easy — long days seated, one very long

Request a free quote →Questions? WhatsApp +255 762 914 714

IIThe route

A loop through the north by road, then a flight to the island.

10 days, 9 nights, 5 places to sleep. The solid line is this plan; the dotted lines are the other roads through the region. Point at a day to see its leg.

01Kilimanjaro Airport → Arusha~1 h road
02Arusha → Tarangire~2½ h road · ~5 h game
03Tarangire → Central SerengetiThe long day~5 h road · ~2 h game
04Seronera & the Seronera valley~9 h game
05Central Serengeti → Karatu~4½ h road · ~3 h game
06Karatu → the crater → Arusha → Zanzibar → NungwiThe long day~1½ h flight · ~5½ h road · ~4 h game
07NungwiTravel home
08NungwiTravel home
09NungwiTravel home
10Nungwi → Zanzibar Airport~1½ h road

Overnight stopPassing throughSchematic, roughly to scale

IIIDay by day

Ten days, one at a time.

Each day lands on top of the last as you scroll: honest road time, game time, meals and where you sleep. Times are door to door in a safari vehicle and move with the season and what you stop for.

Arusha

01/ 10

About an hour by road. Nothing else asked of you.

03°22′S 36°41′EDay 1 · Kilimanjaro Airport → Arusha

Arrive in Arusha

Travel: ~1 h road
Game viewing: No game drive
Meals: Dinner
Sleep: Mount Meru Hotel

On landing
Your guide meets you at arrivals with your name. The drive to Arusha is about an hour, on tarmac, with Mount Meru ahead if the cloud allows.
Evening
Dinner and the briefing: the route, the rules of each park, and what day six will ask of you.

Arriving late?

Most long-haul flights land in the evening. That is what this night is for.

Tarangire

02/ 10

About 2½ hours on tarmac, then a full afternoon in the park.

03°52′S 36°00′EDay 2 · Arusha → Tarangire

Tarangire — the elephant park

Travel: ~2½ h road
Game viewing: ~5 h
Meals: B · L · D
Sleep: Tarangire Safari Lodge

Morning
South-west out of Arusha on good tarmac through Maasai country, turning off at Makuyuni.
Midday
Picnic lunch inside the park, usually above the Tarangire River, the only permanent water for a long way in the dry months.
Afternoon
Slow driving between baobabs. From June to October the river draws some of the largest elephant gatherings in the north.

Tsetse flies

Tarangire has them in the wooded stretches. Wear light, neutral colours; dark blue and black attract them.

Central Serengeti

The long day03/ 10

About 5 hours on the road, the last stretch on corrugated gravel.

02°27′S 34°49′EDay 3 · Tarangire → Central Serengeti

Over the highlands into the Serengeti

Travel: ~5 h road
Game viewing: ~2 h
Meals: B · L · D
Sleep: Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Early
Back to Makuyuni and up the escarpment past Mto wa Mbu and Karatu into the Ngorongoro highlands.
Midday
Down onto the short-grass plains, past the Olduvai turn, to Naabi Hill gate for lunch and permits.
Afternoon
From Naabi you are in the Serengeti, so the last stretch to Seronera is a game drive.

Central Serengeti

04/ 10

No transfer today. Out at first light, back at dusk.

02°27′S 34°49′EDay 4 · Seronera & the Seronera valley

The Serengeti, all day

Travel: No transfer
Game viewing: ~9 h
Meals: B · picnic L · D
Sleep: Same camp, second night

First light
Out as the gates allow, with a packed breakfast. The first two hours are when cats move and hunt.
Midday
A picnic under a tree wherever the morning ended. The central Serengeti holds resident lion, leopard and cheetah all year.
Afternoon
Where you go depends on what the guides have heard. Back at camp before the park’s closing time.

Where the migration is

The great herds are in the far south roughly December to March and the far north roughly July to October. This plan stays central, which is good all year.

Central Serengeti

05/ 10

A last game drive, then about 4½ hours back over the rim.

03°20′S 35°40′EDay 5 · Central Serengeti → Karatu

Serengeti morning, back to the highlands

Travel: ~4½ h road
Game viewing: ~3 h
Meals: B · L · D
Sleep: Farm lodge

Morning
One more early drive in the Serengeti before turning for the gate.
Midday
Out through Naabi Hill gate and back across the plains onto the crater highlands.
Evening
Karatu is cool and green below the rim. Pack tonight for the beach as well as the crater: tomorrow you do both.

Ngorongoro Crater

The long day06/ 10

The hardest day of the trip: the crater at opening, the drive to Arusha, a flight, and an hour or more to the beach.

05°44′S 39°18′EDay 6 · Karatu → the crater → Arusha → Zanzibar → Nungwi

The crater floor, then the island

Travel: ~1½ h flight + ~5½ h road
Game viewing: ~4 h
Meals: B · picnic L
Sleep: Beach hotel

Dawn
Down into the crater as the descent road opens, for about four hours on the floor — the likeliest place in Tanzania to see black rhino, though never a certainty.
Midday
Up and out, and about three hours back down the escarpment to Arusha, with a picnic lunch on the way. Your guide leaves you at the airport.
Evening
The flight to Zanzibar, about an hour and a half, then met by a driver for the road north to Nungwi, roughly an hour and a quarter. Expect to arrive after dark.

Take the easier version

If you can add a night, sleep in Arusha after the crater and fly to Zanzibar the next morning. It turns the hardest day into two easy ones.

Zanzibar

07/ 10

No alarm, no vehicle, no timetable.

05°44′S 39°18′EDay 7 · Nungwi

Nungwi, nothing planned

Travel: No transfer
Game viewing: No game drive
Meals: Breakfast; other meals per hotel plan
Sleep: Same hotel

Morning
Sleep. The northern tip of the island is much less tidal than the east coast, so the sea is there for most of the day.
Evening
Nungwi faces west, so the sun sets over the sea.

Nungwi

08/ 10

One excursion if you want one.

05°44′S 39°18′EDay 8 · Nungwi

Nungwi, a day on the water or none

Travel: No transfer
Game viewing: No game drive
Meals: Breakfast; other meals per hotel plan
Sleep: Same hotel

Morning
If you want to do something: a dhow trip, snorkelling around Mnemba’s reefs off the north-east coast, or diving. We book them locally, with local guides.
Afternoon
Or none of it, and the beach.

Nungwi

09/ 10

A half-day in the old town is possible; so is doing nothing.

05°44′S 39°18′EDay 9 · Nungwi

Stone Town, or the beach

Travel: No transfer
Game viewing: No game drive
Meals: Breakfast; other meals per hotel plan
Sleep: Same hotel

Option
A guided walk through Stone Town and a spice farm, with a local guide. It is over an hour each way by road, so it takes most of the day.
Otherwise
The last full day on the beach. Pack loosely tonight.

Zanzibar Airport

10/ 10

Roughly an hour and a quarter by road to the airport.

06°10′S 39°11′EDay 10 · Nungwi → Zanzibar Airport

To the airport and home

Travel: ~1½ h road
Game viewing: No game drive
Meals: Breakfast
Sleep: Homeward

Morning
Breakfast and check-out. Ask the hotel about a late room if your flight is in the evening; it is not always possible.
Departure
A driver takes you to Zanzibar airport, timed to your flight.

IVRates

Priced by group size, because the vehicle is shared.

Park fees, accommodation, vehicle, guide and meals as listed — per person, no booking fees. Rates move with the month and lodge availability; your quote is fixed once you book.

Midrange · price per person, sharing
Group size	1 person	2 people	3 people	4 people	5 people	6 people
From year	rate	rate	rate	rate	rate	rate

Single supplementamount

Children

Child policy: ages, sharing discount, lodge minimum ages

Luxury · price per person, sharing
Group size	1 person	2 people	3 people	4 people	5 people	6 people
From year	rate	rate	rate	rate	rate	rate

Single supplementamount

Children

Child policy: ages, sharing discount, lodge minimum ages

What moves the price

What changes itHow much

The month you travel
The dry season and the Christmas weeks are peak rates at almost every camp. The long rains are the lowest.
How many share the vehicle
The vehicle and guide cost the same for two people or six, so the per-person price falls as the group grows.
Where you sleep
The same night can cost several times more at one camp than at another a short drive away.
Flying instead of driving
A light-aircraft seat replaces hours in the vehicle, and costs more than the time it saves.
Park fees
Fixed per person per day by the authorities, and the same whoever you book with. We show them as their own line.

Not sure which level suits you? Tell us your dates, group and budget and we will send an itemised quote with named properties.

Request a free quote →

On request

VWhere you sleep

Five places in nine nights, the last four without packing.

Each night is described by type first, because the right camp depends on your month. The properties we normally use at each level are listed below; your quote confirms them against availability.

Night 11×

Arusha

City hotel

One night to land, sleep off the flight and be briefed.

Midrange here means: En-suite room, hot water, mains power, Wi-Fi.
Step up: A coffee-estate lodge on the slopes of Meru.

Night 21×

Tarangire

Tented lodge inside the park

Sleeping inside the park puts you out on the tracks at first light.

Midrange here means: Canvas walls, proper beds, en-suite, solar or generator power.
Step up: Suites on an escarpment above the Tarangire River.

Nights 3–42×

Central Serengeti

Permanent tented camp

Two nights in the middle of the park, and one full day with no transfer.

Midrange here means: En-suite tent, hot shower (sometimes bucket-filled), power in the evenings, no fence.
Step up: Stone rondavels on a ridge north-west of Seronera.

Night 51×

Karatu highlands

Farm or garden lodge

Twenty minutes from the crater gate, so you can be at the descent road at opening.

Midrange here means: Cottage rooms, fireplaces, mains power, gardens.
Step up: A lodge on the crater rim itself — the view, at a noticeably higher price.

Nights 6–94×

Nungwi, Zanzibar

Beach hotel

Four nights in one place after a week of moving. Nungwi is the least tidal part of the island.

Midrange here means: En-suite room, fan or air-conditioning, pool or direct beach access.
Step up: A villa or suite set apart, with its own plunge pool.

The properties we use

Where	Midrange	Luxury
Arusha	Mount Meru Hotel	Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge
Tarangire	Tarangire Safari Lodge	Lemala Mpingo Ridge Lodge
Central Serengeti	Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge	Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Karatu highlands	property	property
Nungwi, Zanzibar	property	property

What ‘midrange’ means on this trip

En-suite everywhere. Your own bathroom every night, including in the Serengeti.
Hot water. Always available; in tented camps it may be delivered to a bucket shower on request.
Power. Mains in Arusha, Karatu and on Zanzibar; solar or generator hours in the parks.
Food. Full board on safari. On Zanzibar the meal plan depends on the hotel — your quote will say which.

VIThe fine print

What is in the price, and what isn’t.

✓Included

Private 4×4 safari vehicleDays one to six. Pop-up roof, window seat for everyone
A professional driver-guideThe same guide for the safari days
All park and conservation feesIncluding the crater service fee. Itemised on your quote
Domestic flightArusha to Zanzibar
Nine nights’ accommodationAs described above
Meals as listed each dayFull board on safari
TransfersKilimanjaro Airport to Arusha; Zanzibar airport to Nungwi and back, by a driver

–Not included

International flights
Tanzanian visaApply online before you travel
Travel insuranceRequired. It must cover medical evacuation
Tips for guide, camp and hotel staffWe send guidance with your booking
Drinks at lodges, camps and the hotelUnless the property includes them
Optional activitiesBalloon flight, excursions and water sports on Zanzibar

VIIAdd-ons & changes

The plan is a starting point, not a package.

The changes people ask for most, each with what it costs you in days or hours. Not in the standard price — arranged on request, and most can be combined.

+1 nightprice

A night in Arusha after the crater

Sleep in Arusha on day six and fly to Zanzibar the next morning. The hardest day becomes two easy ones.

Makes senseAlmost always, if you can spare the night

Zanzibar →

Same lengthprice

Balloon over the Serengeti

Swap the dawn drive on day four for a flight over the Seronera valley, landing to breakfast in the bush. Weather permitting.

Makes senseAny season it operates

The balloon, honestly →

+2 nightsprice

The northern Serengeti, for the river

Fly or drive north to the Mara River region for the crossings.

Makes senseJuly to October

The migration month by month →

+1 nightprice

Stone Town on the way

A night in the old town between the flight and the beach, which also shortens day six.

Makes senseIf the history interests you

Zanzibar →

Same lengthprice

Pemba instead of Nungwi

A further short flight to the quieter island to the north. Fewer hotels, fewer people, good diving.

Makes senseWhen quiet matters more than choice

Pemba →

Beach onlyprice

Zanzibar on its own

If you already have a safari planned, the island half on its own.

Makes senseAfter another safari

Zanzibar, After the Safari →

VIIIWhen to go

Rated for this route, not for the country.

The safari half is best from June to October and from December to February. April and May are the long rains in the north and on Zanzibar alike: roads slow down, some camps and beach hotels close, and prices fall. November brings short rains to both. Nungwi is less tidal than the east coast, which helps in any month.

Jan

Dry spell, green plains

Feb

Calving in the south

Mar

Rains building

Apr

Long rains

May

Rains easing

Jun

Dry season begins

Jul

Dry, busy, cool

Aug

Dry, busy

Sep

Dry, Tarangire at its best

Oct

Dry, dusty

Nov

Short rains

Dec

Green, quieter

Three bars — the route at its bestTwo — good, with trade-offsOne — possible, and quiet

IXFlights & extras

Getting there.

Arrive

Kilimanjaro International (JRO)

About an hour by road from Arusha, and the airport most long-haul connections use. Land any time on day one — the first night exists to absorb late arrivals.

Between

Arusha (ARK) → Zanzibar (ZNZ)

A scheduled domestic flight of about an hour and a half on day six. Whether a late enough flight runs on your date is something we check when we quote; if not, the Arusha-night variation applies.

Depart

Abeid Amani Karume International, Zanzibar (ZNZ)

Nungwi is roughly an hour and a quarter by road from the airport. Allow for that, and the check-in time, before an international flight.

What else to budget.

Not part of the safari price, in order of how much they matter.

Tanzanian visaApply online before travel
Current fee
Travel insuranceMust cover medical evacuation
Typical cost
TipsGuide and camp staff, per day
Guideline
DrinksAt lodges and camps
Typical range
Personal spendingLaundry, crafts, extras
Varies
Zanzibar entry requirementIsland levy or insurance, if applicable
Current requirement

XWhy book with us

Only what we can prove.

Arusha, since 2010

A Tanzanian company, locally owned, running safaris and climbs from Arusha for more than fifteen years.

Licensed and registered

TALA-licensed through the Tanzania Tourist Board and registered with BRELA. Ask us for the numbers; we will send them.

One guide on safari

On the safari days one guide and one vehicle are yours alone, from the airport on day one to the plane on day six. On Zanzibar a driver moves you, and any excursion goes with a local guide.

Every fee on its own line

Park, conservation and concession fees are shown separately on your quote, so you can see exactly what goes to the authorities.

XIQuestions

Safari and Zanzibar: the questions we are asked most.

9 days · Serengeti & ZanzibarHoneymoon: Serengeti Balloon & ZanzibarRead the plan →

12 days · North & southGrand Tanzania, North and SouthRead the plan →

7 days · Northern circuitThe Great Midrange JourneyRead the plan →

3 days · Northern circuitTarangire, Ngorongoro & Manyara ExpressRead the plan →

Ten parks, three circuits.

Where the trip lands.

The roof of Africa.

The people behind the journey.

Thirty-two guides, written in Arusha.

How you see it.

Honest reasons a trip costs less.

Out and back before dark.

Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar

Five days on safari, four on the beach, and one hard day between.

A loop through the north by road, then a flight to the island.

Ten days, one at a time.

Arrive in Arusha

Tarangire — the elephant park

Over the highlands into the Serengeti

The Serengeti, all day

Serengeti morning, back to the highlands

The crater floor, then the island

Nungwi, nothing planned

Nungwi, a day on the water or none

Stone Town, or the beach

To the airport and home

Priced by group size, because the vehicle is shared.

What moves the price

The month you travel

How many share the vehicle

Where you sleep

Flying instead of driving

Park fees

Five places in nine nights, the last four without packing.

Arusha

Tarangire

Central Serengeti

Karatu highlands

Nungwi, Zanzibar

The properties we use

What ‘midrange’ means on this trip

What is in the price, and what isn’t.

✓Included

–Not included

The plan is a starting point, not a package.

A night in Arusha after the crater

Balloon over the Serengeti

The northern Serengeti, for the river

Stone Town on the way

Pemba instead of Nungwi

Zanzibar on its own

Rated for this route, not for the country.

Getting there.

Kilimanjaro International (JRO)

Arusha (ARK) → Zanzibar (ZNZ)

Abeid Amani Karume International, Zanzibar (ZNZ)

What else to budget.

Only what we can prove.

Arusha, since 2010

Licensed and registered

One guide on safari

Every fee on its own line

Safari and Zanzibar: the questions we are asked most.

Is day six really manageable?

Why Nungwi and not the east coast?

Will we see the migration?

Is the safari private?

Can we do it with children?

Can it run the other way round?

Send us your dates. We will send you the real version.

Asante — it is with us.