Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania, you will be warmly welcomed by a member from Hallmark Travel Planners team who will transfer you to the hotel in Arusha. You’ve been dreaming of your safari for so long and the day when it begins has finally arrived. We’ll greet you, give you a quick rundown on what happens next and answer your questions. Busy Arusha is an essential part of safari life here in northern Tanzania and most travelers pass through at some stage. Whether you’re on your way out on safari or here for a little longer, you’ll catch a glimpse of streets filled with energy and color. Located at the base of Mount Meru, the city gives you endless views of this iconic mountain, as well as Mount Kilimanjaro. From Arusha and Moshi, you can easily access and climb these two majestic peaks with Uhuru Trails by Hallmark Travel Planners or spend the day at Arusha National Park or even the west plains of Kilimanjaro National.

You safari adventure begins today. After breakfast at your hotel, you will meet your professional guide who will brief you and answer any more questions that you may have. Thereafter you depart and embark on your 3 hour drive for Tarangire National Park. With picnic lunch boxes, you will enjoy a game drive in the park till late afternoon when you drive to your safari lodge for the night. Wherever you go in Tarangire National Park, you’ll come across the park’s famous and larger-than-life baobab trees and elephants. These are the twin elements that give this park so much personality. There is, of course, so much more. We don’t just mean the huge populations of wildebeest, giraffes, hippos, buffaloes, baboons, vervet monkeys and zebras. Or the rugged landscape of rocky hills and rivers, swamps and savannah plains. You also have an excellent chance of seeing lions here – Tarangire is a real lion stronghold – and keep an eye out for leopards and cheetahs as well. In the late afternoon, drive to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

On your second day of safari adventure, you follow the migration path by having a full day of safari activities in Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara National Park will allow you to tick off so many unique safari highlights, including many that you just won’t find elsewhere. Unlike the elephants you’ll see in other parks, Lake Manyara’s inhabit dense forest – there’s nothing quite like your experience of an elephant suddenly emerging from behind the nearest tree. Also, you’re just as likely to see lions here draped along a branch high in a tree as down on the ground. And baboons. Lots of baboons. The views you’ll see here, too, persist in your memory long after you’ve returned home, thanks to the combination of lake, forest and sheer cliffs, all within just a few kilometres. Just before sunset, return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Today in yet another day of safari adventure. You dedicate a whole day of safari life inside the Ngorongoro Crater. You will descend 2000 feet (over 600 meters) to the floor of the crater for a full day crater tour. Explore the forest areas that are inhabited by monkeys and elephants, the lake area, where you may see the flamingos and the open savannah where the lions hunt for food. The crater and its adjacent areas constitute the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a vast area of more than 8,000 km2, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and extended in 2010. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world. It was formed when a giant volcano erupted two to three million years ago. The caldera is a huge bowl with walls more than 600 meters high, covered with forests, plus a flat, fertile floor covering some 260 km2. You’ll learn why magical Ngorongoro is unlike anywhere else in Africa. Cloud forests encircle the crater rim, and the view out across the caldera of this former volcano – quite apart from the altitude – will leave you gasping for air. Your drive down a steep trail carries you onto the crater floor where a unique wildlife offering is added to the sheer beauty of the experience. You’ll share the sunken ecosystem of the crater floor with hyenas, lions, elephants, black rhinos and hippos. An ecosystem that has formed in the crater in the millennia since the volcano wrought its terrible fury upon the land. It could just be one of your best safari days ever. Towards the end of the day, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight

After breakfast, we leave the Ngorongoro area, driving northwards to the majestic Serengeti National Park. On the way, we make a short detour at the Ol Duvai Gorge. Olduvai Gorge, Olduvai also spelled Olduwai, paleoanthropological site in the eastern Serengeti Plain, within the boundaries of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. It is a steep-sided ravine consisting of two branches that have a combined length of about 30 miles (48 km) and are 295 feet (90 metres) deep. Deposits exposed in the sides of the gorge cover a time span from about 2.1 million to 15,000 years ago. The deposits have yielded the fossil remains of more than 60 hominins (members of the human lineage), providing the most continuous known record of human evolution during the past 2 million years, as well as the longest known archaeological record of the development of stone- tool industries. From Ol Duvai, we proceed on to arrive in time for a hot lunch at our lodge in Serengeti – central part of it, where we shall be trailing and marveling at the great migration for the next 2 days. When you explore the Central Serengeti, you’re enjoying one of the best wildlife destinations in northern Tanzania. Here you’ll find the big population of wildlife for which the Serengeti is famous. You’ll also have a good chance of seeing big cats. This area has plenty of northern Tanzania’s iconic acacia trees, as well as seemingly endless Serengeti horizons.

A full day of safari drives and other activities in Serengeti National Park. The ‘Endless Plains’ of the Serengeti span some 14,700 square kilometres and capture the essence of Africa, with their main claim to fame the 3 million or so animals that make their home here. Massive numbers of grazing animals and various predators can be seen – wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, lion, cheetah, warthog, hyena, hippo and ostrich – and the interaction between the many species often provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the world. You will start around sunrise for a morning game drive and follow that up later on with an afternoon game drive, as the animals tend to be more active in the cooler hours of the day. You will usually return to camp during the hotter hours in the middle of the day, where you will enjoy a hearty meal, relax and maybe take a siesta. Depending on wildlife movements and opportunities for sightings, the drive may continue through lunch and last all day. In this case, you will return to the camp in the late afternoon. There’s also the option of a balloon ride over the park today. If you have pre-booked this activity you will be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site. After a safety briefing, you will glide through the dawn, sometimes at tree height, which provides amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you will ascend, getting an overview of the enormity of the plains and the early morning movements of the teeming herds. After landing, you’ll be treated to a five-star bush breakfast, then be returned to your camp

We follow the migration path north-west wards. After breakfast depart by road for the northwestern part of Serengeti – one of the best migration corridors. This is a remote and beautiful corner of Serengeti National Park, it perhaps is one of its best-kept secrets. Because of its remoteness, it makes for an exceptional game viewing experience with the feeling of the exclusivity. The number of visitors in this part of Serengeti is limited to around sixty guests in only a few small mid-range and luxury camps, this is a prime quality area devoid of tourist crowds. This part of the Serengeti is known for its large lion prides comprising between 20 and up to 60 individuals. The opportunities for seeing lions is outstanding; this is also the place where you can enjoy a sighting alone. Night game drives area also allowed.

Another full day of safari activities in Grumeti – Ikorongor area. Safari activities you could do while in this part of Serengeti include: walking safaris, night game drives, usual game drives, where you spot wide range of animals especially the big five since the camp is in the great migration route, bird-watching since the park has more species of birds, nature walks , hot air balloon rides etc. Seeing the enormous herds of the Great Migration making crossings of the north-western Serengeti in June and July is an excellent reason to visit this part of the Serengeti. While these river crossings are less well-known than the Mara River crossings to the north – where the river is more dangerous, wider and has more viewing points – the Grumeti River, which is the first big obstacle for the herds to tackle, still offers some exciting sightings, with the added benefit of fewer tourists at the crossing points. Overnight at your lodge.

The great migration takes place in a clock-wise motion: moving between Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve and the wider Serengeti ecosystem. Today, you leave early departing with picnic lunch boxes, heading towards Kenya. At the border point, you will go through the usual immigration, customs and health-check procedures before crossing into Kenya, and onward to the world-famous Masai Mara. Enjoy your first game drive in Masai Mara as you drive towards the lodge, to arrive in time for dinner and overnight. This is one of our favorite places to look for wildlife. That’s because the wildlife here is incredible, with big cats (lions, leopards and cheetahs) and elephants among the highlights. There’s a very good chance you’ll also see giraffes, buffaloes, wildebeests, zebras, hippos, hyenas, and, of course, impalas. And bring your binoculars, because more than 500 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve. It’s a place of beautiful savannah landscapes as well, with lots of acacia trees. On arrival Masai Mara, you transfer to your safari camp, where you spend the next 2 nights. Most safari camps are built around along the river, it is possible to see a wide variety of game from the camp including elephants, wildebeests and giraffe. The tents are tucked into the edge of the forest and have polished wooden decks with large verandahs from which you can enjoy the tranquil surroundings and the animals visiting the waterhole. The Masai Mara Reserve is a rugged jumble of ancient volcanic cones and craters, boasting with some of the best views of dotted plains, and home to a wonderful selection of game, including paradise to bird watchers’ in the south-west corner of the reserve. Tonight, tuck into a delicious dinner at the lodge, swopping stories of your adventures so far.

These two full days are spent game viewing in Kenya’s finest wildlife park, the Masai Mara National Reserve. Our morning and afternoon game drives take us in search of Africa’s Big Five and the plethora of other wildlife inhabiting this vast Kenyan game reserve. On clear days, the Masai Mara offers fantastic orange tinged sunsets well-worth capturing on camera. The Masai Mara Game Reserve is 1510km² of incredible wide-open landscapes and fertile riverine woodland following the looping meanders of the Mara and Talek rivers in Kenya. One glimpse is enough to explain its appeal; it is typical open savannah, with a mass of amazing wildlife. Wherever you go in the vast Masai Mara you will see an abundance of wildlife such as Masai giraffe, baboons, warthogs, bat eared foxes, grey jackals, spotted hyena, topis, impala, hartebeests, wildebeest. Elephants, buffaloes, zebras and hippos are also found in great numbers. It is also common to see lions either basking after a heavy meal, or surveying the plains for their next meal. Cheetahs and leopards are harder but to spot, but are reasonably common with the park.

After breakfast, depart for Nairobi, passing through Narok town, a stop over for lunch. Proceed on to arrive Nairobi in the later Afternoon. We transfer you to the airport for flight back home. –End of Our Services—