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Safari plan · 5 days · Northern circuit · Midrange

Midrange Best of Tanzania

Tarangire, two nights in the central Serengeti and a morning on the Ngorongoro Crater floor in five days — the shortest plan that gives you all three, at the price of two long days on the road.

ArushaTarangireSerengetiNgorongoroArusha
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Length5 days · 4 nights
ParksTarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro
Starts & endsArusha
ComfortMidrange lodges & tented camps
Best monthsJune–October, December–February
OverviewThe routeDay by dayRatesWhere you sleepIncludedAdd-onsWhen to goFlights & extrasFAQEnquire
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IOverview

The three great northern parks in five days, and two of them long.

Five days is the least time we would give a trip that includes the Serengeti. Tarangire on the first afternoon, over the Ngorongoro highlands to the central Serengeti on day two, a full day there on day three, back to Karatu on day four, and the crater floor on the last morning before the drive home.

It works, but it asks something of you: days two and four are both about four to five hours on the road, much of it corrugated gravel. If you can add days, add them in the Serengeti — the longer plans and the variations below do that. It is private throughout: your own vehicle and guide for all five days.

Major attractions · 3
  1. 01Tarangire National Park
  2. 02Serengeti National Park
  3. 03Ngorongoro Crater
Trip detailsPrivate
Tour length
5 days · 4 nights
Country
Tanzania
Start / end
Your hotel in Arusha, both ways
Accommodation
Midrange
Tour type
Private safari
Group size
Maximum per vehicle
Meal plan
Full board on safari
Best period
Jun–Oct · Dec–Feb
Activity level
Easy — long days seated
Request a free quote →Questions? WhatsApp +255 762 914 714
IIThe route

Out over the highlands and back the same way.

5 days, 4 nights, 2 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.

Route map: Arusha to Tarangire, Karatu, the central Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and back Serengeti NP Ngorongoro CA Tarangire NP Arusha NP L. Manyara L. Eyasi L. Natron N Arusha Tarangire Karatu Seronera Makuyuni Mto wa Mbu Crater floor Olduvai Naabi Hill
  1. 01Arusha → Tarangire → Karatu~4 h road · ~4 h game
  2. 02Karatu → Central SerengetiThe long day~4 h road · ~2 h game
  3. 03Seronera & the Seronera valley~9 h game
  4. 04Central Serengeti → Karatu~4½ h road · ~3 h game
  5. 05Karatu → the crater → Arusha~4½ h road · ~6 h game
Overnight stopPassing throughSchematic, roughly to scale
IIIDay by day

Five 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.

Tarangire
Tarangire
01/ 05

About 2½ hours to the gate, an afternoon in the park, about 2 hours on to Karatu.

03°20′S 35°40′EDay 1 · Arusha → Tarangire → Karatu

Tarangire, then up to Karatu

Travel
~4 h road
Game viewing
~4 h
Meals
B · L · D
Sleep
Farm or garden lodge
  1. Morning

    Your guide collects you from your Arusha hotel. South-west on tarmac through Maasai country, turning off at Makuyuni for the Tarangire gate.

  2. Midday

    Picnic lunch inside the park, usually above the Tarangire River, the only permanent water for a long way in the dry months.

  3. Late afternoon

    Out before the park closes and up the Rift escarpment past Mto wa Mbu to Karatu, arriving around dusk.

Tsetse flies

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

The road down from the Ngorongoro highlands onto the Serengeti short-grass plains — 1600×1200
Into the SerengetiADD IMAGE · The road down from the Ngorongoro highlands onto the Serengeti short-grass plains
The long day02/ 05

About 4 hours on the road, most of it gravel, the last stretch a game drive.

02°27′S 34°49′EDay 2 · Karatu → Central Serengeti

Over the highlands into the Serengeti

Travel
~4 h road
Game viewing
~2 h
Meals
B · L · D
Sleep
Permanent tented camp
  1. Early

    Up through the Ngorongoro gate and along the crater rim road, often in cloud before ten. You look into the crater today; you go down into it on day five.

  2. Midday

    Down the far side of the highlands onto the short-grass plains, past the Olduvai turn, to Naabi Hill gate for lunch and permits.

  3. Afternoon

    From Naabi you are in the Serengeti, so the last hour and more to Seronera is a game drive — kopjes, lion country, the first sense of the scale of it.

Rough road

The road beyond the crater gate is gravel and often badly corrugated. It is tiring, not dangerous. We stop whenever you need to.

The Serengeti plains
Central Serengeti
03/ 05

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

02°27′S 34°49′EDay 3 · 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
  1. First light

    Out as the gates allow, with a flask and a packed breakfast. The first two hours are when cats move and hunt.

  2. Midday

    A picnic lunch under a tree wherever the morning ended. The central Serengeti holds resident lion, leopard and cheetah all year, herds or no herds.

  3. Afternoon

    Where you go depends on what the guides have heard on the radio. Back at camp before the park’s closing time.

Where the migration is

This plan stays in the central Serengeti, which is good all year. The great herds are in the far south from about December to March and the far north from about July to October — this plan does not reach them.

Coffee bushes and green hills around Karatu, below the crater highlands — 1600×1200
KaratuADD IMAGE · Coffee bushes and green hills around Karatu, below the crater highlands
04/ 05

A last game drive, then about 4½ hours back over the rim. The second long day.

03°20′S 35°40′EDay 4 · Central Serengeti → Karatu

Serengeti morning, back to Karatu

Travel
~4½ h road
Game viewing
~3 h
Meals
B · L · D
Sleep
Farm or garden lodge
  1. Morning

    One more early drive — often the best of the trip, because by now you know what you are looking for.

  2. Midday

    Out through Naabi Hill gate and back across the plains and up onto the crater highlands.

  3. Evening

    Karatu sits in cool, green coffee country below the rim. You will want a fleece at dinner.

The Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater
05/ 05

Down at the gates’ opening, about six hours on the floor, then about 3 hours to Arusha.

03°22′S 36°41′EDay 5 · Karatu → the crater → Arusha

The crater floor, and home

Travel
~4½ h road
Game viewing
~6 h
Meals
B · picnic L
Sleep
Homeward
  1. Dawn

    Up to the rim and down the descent road as it opens. Early vehicles have the floor largely to themselves for the first hour.

  2. On the floor

    Grassland, soda lake, swamp and a small forest in one sealed bowl. It is the likeliest place in Tanzania to see black rhino, though never a certainty.

  3. Afternoon

    Up the ascent road and down the escarpment to Arusha on tarmac, arriving in the late afternoon.

The six-hour rule

Time on the crater floor is limited per vehicle, currently about six hours. That is why we go down at opening.

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 size1 person2 people3 people4 people5 people6 people
From yearraterateraterateraterate
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
On request
VWhere you sleep

Three places in four nights, two of them in the Serengeti.

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×

Karatu highlands

Farm or garden lodge

Karatu puts you at the foot of the highlands, so day two starts with the rim road rather than the escarpment.

Midrange here means
Cottage rooms, fireplaces, mains power, gardens to walk in.
Step up
A lodge on the crater rim itself.
Nights 2–32×

Central Serengeti

Permanent tented camp

Two nights in the middle of the park is what makes the long drives worth doing. No packing on day three.

Midrange here means
En-suite tent, hot shower (sometimes bucket-filled), power in the evenings, no fence.
Step up
A smaller camp in a quieter corner of the central Serengeti.
Night 41×

Karatu highlands

Farm or garden lodge

Twenty minutes from the crater gate, so you are on the floor at opening.

Midrange here means
Cottage rooms, fireplaces, mains power. Often the same lodge as the first night.
Step up
A lodge on the crater rim itself — the view, at a noticeably higher price.

The properties we use

WhereMidrangeLuxury
Karatu highlandspropertyproperty
Central Serengetipropertyproperty

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 Karatu; solar or generator hours in the Serengeti. Bring a power bank.
  • Food. Full board on safari. Tell us about diets early — the camps plan supplies days ahead.
VIThe fine print

What is in the price, and what isn’t.

✓Included

  • Private 4×4 safari vehiclePop-up roof, charging points, window seat for everyone
  • A professional driver-guideThe same guide for all five days
  • All park and conservation feesIncluding the crater service fee. Itemised on your quote
  • Four nights’ accommodationAs described above
  • Meals as listed each dayFull board on safari
  • Drinking water in the vehicle
  • Collection and drop-offYour hotel in Arusha

–Not included

  • International flights
  • Tanzanian visaApply online before you travel
  • Travel insuranceRequired. It must cover medical evacuation
  • Tips for guide and camp staffWe send guidance with your booking
  • Drinks at lodges and campsUnless the property includes them
  • Nights in Arusha before and afterWe can book them
  • Optional activitiesBalloon flight, cultural visits, walks
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.

+2 daysprice

Slow it down to a week

Add a night at Tarangire at the start and one in Arusha to arrive, and the drives stop feeling rushed.

Makes senseA first safari with a week to give
The Great Midrange Journey →
−4 h roadprice

Fly out of the Serengeti

Swap the day-four drive for a light aircraft from Seronera to Arusha, and see the crater another time or add a day for it. Costs more; gives back most of a day.

Makes senseWhen time matters more than money
Private flying →
Same lengthprice

Balloon over the Serengeti

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

Makes senseAny season it operates
The balloon, honestly →
+1 nightprice

A third Serengeti night

The single best addition. A second full day in the park, and the long drive back feels less of a price.

Makes senseAlmost always
The Serengeti →
−2 daysprice

No time for the Serengeti

Three days: Tarangire, the crater and Lake Manyara, sleeping twice in Karatu.

Makes senseOnly if you must
The three-day express →
+3–5 nightsprice

Finish on Zanzibar

Fly from Arusha to the island after day five. About an hour in the air.

Makes senseMost of the year
Zanzibar →
VIIIWhen to go

Rated for this route, not for the country.

This plan runs in every month. The dry months, June to October, are best for Tarangire and busiest everywhere. April and May bring the long rains: the gravel road to the Serengeti slows down, some camps close, and prices fall. The central Serengeti has resident cats all year.

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. Day one leaves Arusha after breakfast, so land the day before and spend a night in Arusha; we can arrange it.

Depart

Kilimanjaro International (JRO)

Day five reaches Arusha in the late afternoon, and the airport is about an hour further. Only the latest departures work the same day; otherwise stay a night. Ask us before booking.

Via Nairobi

Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO)

Workable: a short regional flight or a road transfer across the Namanga border to Arusha. It adds most of a day, so allow an extra night.

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
XWhy book with us

Only what we can prove.

01

Arusha, since 2010

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

02

Licensed and registered

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

03

One guide, one vehicle

The same guide drives you from the first day to the last. Nobody else joins your vehicle.

04

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

The ones we are asked most.

It is the minimum. You get one full day and two part days there, with a long drive either side. With a sixth day we would add a third Serengeti night before anything else.

Not reliably. The plan stays in the central Serengeti, which has excellent resident wildlife all year. The great herds are in the south roughly December to March and the north roughly July to October.

Yes. The vehicle and guide are yours alone, which is why the days can bend around what you want to see.

Tarmac from Arusha to the crater gate. Beyond it the road across the conservation area and into the Serengeti is gravel and often corrugated. Days two and four are tiring; they are not dangerous.

Yes, though the two long days are hard on small children. Some camps set a minimum age; we choose properties that welcome the ages in your group. Our family plan has shorter driving days.

Karatu is twenty minutes from the crater gate, cooler and quieter than town, and considerably cheaper than the rim. The rim is a step up if the view matters to you.

Begin here

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

Named camps, the right direction of travel for your month, every fee on its own line — and a straight answer if another plan would suit you better.

Rather talk it through?WhatsApp us+255 762 914 714
Safari request Midrange Best of Tanzania 5 days · 4 nights · private
01When, and what for?
How fixed are the dates?
What do you want from it? Pick any
02Who’s coming?
Travelling as
03How you like it
Style of camp

Not a commitment. It lets us send something realistic instead of something you have to reject.

04Where to reach you
We need a name to write back to.
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Other safari plans
7 days · Northern circuitThe Great Midrange JourneyRead the plan →
3 days · Northern circuitTarangire, Ngorongoro & Manyara ExpressRead the plan →
4 days · Northern circuitSerengeti Fly-inRead the plan →
8 days · Northern circuitFamily Northern CircuitRead the plan →
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