12-Day Bush to Blue
OVERVIEW
FIRST THE WILD. THEN THE WATER.
Some journeys shouldn’t end when the safari does.
Begin among the elephants and ancient baobabs of Tarangire. Descend into Ngorongoro Crater. Follow the road until Tanzania opens into the enormous plains of the Serengeti.
Then leave the road entirely.
Fly east.
Trade game-drive tracks for white sand, canvas walls for ocean air and early-morning lion searches for mornings with absolutely nowhere to be.
Seven days of safari.
Five days beside the Indian Ocean.
One Tanzania, completely transformed halfway through.
DAY 01 / ARRIVE IN ARUSHA - ARRIVE. EXHALE.
Welcome to Tanzania.
Meet your driver at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer to your lodge in Arusha.
Today is intentionally simple.
Check in.
Take a shower.
Have something cold.
Watch the light disappear behind the trees.
Tomorrow, we go wild.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Lodge, Arusha
MEALS
Dinner, depending on arrival time
DAY 02 / ARUSHA → TARANGIRE - START WITH THE GIANTS.
Leave Arusha after breakfast and travel toward Tarangire.
The landscape gets drier.
Then the baobabs appear.
Tarangire is elephant country, with herds moving through an extraordinary landscape of ancient trees, seasonal wetlands and the Tarangire River.
Spend the afternoon game driving in search of elephants, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, antelope and predators.
Your first proper safari day ends beneath a very large African sky.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Lodge or Tented Camp, Tarangire
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 03 / TARANGIRE → NGORONGORO - ONE MORE MORNING WITH THE ELEPHANTS.
Wake early for another drive through Tarangire.
Morning brings cooler temperatures and another chance to explore the park before leaving elephant country behind.
Later, travel toward the greener Ngorongoro Highlands.
The dusty plains gradually become farms, forest and rolling hills.
Arrive at your lodge later in the afternoon.
Tomorrow morning, you’re going down.
Way down.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Lodge, Ngorongoro / Karatu
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 04 / NGORONGORO CRATER - INTO AN ANCIENT WORLD.
Start early and travel toward the crater rim.
Then descend approximately 600 metres to the floor below.
Ngorongoro feels almost self-contained, with grassland, woodland, wetlands and freshwater supporting an extraordinary concentration of wildlife.
Search for lions, elephants, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, hippos and hyenas.
The endangered black rhino is also present, although sightings are never guaranteed.
Enjoy a picnic lunch inside the crater before climbing back toward the highlands.
One volcano.
An entire wild world inside it.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Lodge, Ngorongoro / Karatu
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 05 / NGORONGORO → SERENGETI - WATCH THE WORLD OPEN UP.
Leave the highlands and travel toward Serengeti National Park.
The road descends.
The trees thin.
The horizon begins moving farther away.
Then suddenly there doesn’t seem to be an edge anymore.
Enter the Serengeti and begin game driving toward camp.
Depending on the season, the landscape may hold enormous concentrations of wildebeest and zebra or scattered resident wildlife across the plains.
Arrive at your tented camp before evening.
Tonight, listen carefully.
The Serengeti doesn’t necessarily go quiet after dark.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Tented Camp, Serengeti
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 06 / SERENGETI - FOLLOW THE WILD. FORGET THE CLOCK.
Wake before sunrise if you’re willing.
It’s worth it.
Spend the day exploring the Serengeti with your private guide, following wildlife rather than a rigid route.
Search rocky kopjes for lions.
Scan trees for leopards.
Watch the open plains for cheetahs.
Follow elephants through woodland and, when the migration is nearby, let the enormous herds determine where the day goes.
Stay out with a picnic lunch or return to camp for a slower middle of the day.
This is your full Serengeti day.
Give it all of you.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Tented Camp, Serengeti
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 07 / SERENGETI - STAY FOR ANOTHER STORY.
One more full day.
Because the Serengeti deserves more than a quick appearance.
Explore a different area or return to somewhere yesterday left unfinished.
An optional hot-air balloon safari can be arranged for this morning, beginning before sunrise and lifting you above the plains as the wilderness wakes below.
Later, continue with your private guide.
Finish the day with your final Serengeti sunset.
Tomorrow morning, something rather dramatic happens to this journey.
We swap the savannah for the sea.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Tented Camp, Serengeti
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 08 / SERENGETI ✈ ZANZIBAR - FROM BUSH TO BLUE.
One final morning in the Serengeti.
Depending on your flight schedule, enjoy breakfast and perhaps a short game drive before transferring to the bush airstrip.
Board your scheduled aircraft.
Watch the plains disappear beneath you.
Then fly east.
Eventually, blue appears.
A lot of it.
Land in Zanzibar and meet your private transfer to the coast.
Check into your beach hotel, leave your shoes somewhere and don’t worry too much about finding them again.
You’ve officially changed journeys.
OVERNIGHT
Beach Resort, Zanzibar
MEALS
Breakfast · Dinner
DAY 09 / ZANZIBAR - TODAY’S PLAN: VERY LITTLE.
No wake-up call.
No game-drive vehicle waiting outside.
No need to search for anything.
Sleep late.
Swim.
Read beside the pool.
Walk along the beach.
Have lunch somewhere with a view of the Indian Ocean.
Then perhaps do absolutely nothing for a while.
After a week of safari, doing nothing feels surprisingly luxurious.
OVERNIGHT
Beach Resort, Zanzibar
MEALS
Breakfast · Dinner
DAY 10 / ZANZIBAR - FOLLOW THE TIDE.
Today is yours.
Stay at the resort or add an ocean experience depending on where you’re staying and what sounds good.
Options can include snorkeling, diving, a traditional dhow trip, sandbank excursion or simply exploring the coastline.
The pace is deliberately different now.
On safari, you followed tracks.
Here, follow the tide.
OVERNIGHT
Beach Resort, Zanzibar
MEALS
Breakfast · Dinner
DAY 11 / STONE TOWN - TRADE WHITE SAND FOR OLD STREETS.
After breakfast, head toward historic Stone Town for a change of scenery.
Walk through narrow streets shaped by centuries of African, Arab, Indian and European influence.
Explore carved Zanzibar doors, bustling markets, old buildings and the waterfront while learning about the island’s complex history and Swahili culture.
Depending on your preferred pace, combine Stone Town with a spice-farm experience before returning to the coast.
Then there’s one final Zanzibar sunset waiting.
Don’t waste it.
OVERNIGHT
Beach Resort, Zanzibar
MEALS
Breakfast · Dinner
DAY 12 / ZANZIBAR → DEPARTURE - SHOES BACK ON. PROBABLY.
Wake beside the Indian Ocean for the final time.
Enjoy a slow breakfast and, depending on your flight time, perhaps one last swim.
Later, transfer privately to Zanzibar International Airport for your onward flight.
Twelve days ago, the journey began beneath the shadow of Kilimanjaro.
Since then:
Elephants.
Baobabs.
A crater.
The Serengeti.
Lions.
Bush planes.
Turquoise water.
Old Stone Town streets.
And sand that will somehow still be in your bag when you get home.
MEALS
Breakfast
END POINT
Zanzibar International Airport
$5,450
MAKE THIS JOURNEY YOURS
Safari Includes
- All Park Fees
- All transportation
- Professional private safari guide
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Private 4×4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof
- Accommodation as specified in the itinerary
- Government taxes and VAT
Safari Excludes
- International flights
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips
- Personal items
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Some Meals