4 Days Big Five Tanzania Safari from Arusha During AFCON 2027

Morning Pickup from Arusha

Your Big Five Tanzania safari begins when our professional guide collects you from your hotel or another agreed location in Arusha. After a short introduction to the four-day itinerary, you will depart in a comfortable safari vehicle and travel through the countryside toward Tarangire National Park. This itinerary is designed for football supporters with four available days during AFCON 2027 who want to combine the tournament atmosphere with an authentic African wildlife experience.

Arrival and Morning Tarangire Game Drive

After completing the park-entry formalities, you will begin exploring Tarangire’s open savannah, acacia woodland and baobab-covered landscapes. The park is particularly famous for its large elephant population, and you may encounter family herds feeding, crossing the road or gathering near the Tarangire River. Our guide will also search for buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, impalas, warthogs and baboons.

Picnic Lunch and Big Five Search

You will stop at a designated picnic location to enjoy lunch surrounded by the park’s natural scenery. Afterward, your game drive will continue around the Tarangire River, seasonal wetlands and wildlife-rich valleys. In addition to elephants and buffaloes, the park supports lions and leopards, although sightings depend on their location and natural movements. Our guide will select suitable routes using experience, recent sightings and seasonal wildlife patterns.

Drive to Lake Manyara for the First Overnight Stay

In the late afternoon, you will leave Tarangire and travel toward your selected lodge or tented camp near Lake Manyara, Mto wa Mbu or Karatu. This location shortens the following day’s journey toward Serengeti National Park. After checking in, you will have time to relax, review your photographs and prepare for the next stage of your AFCON 2027 safari.

Breakfast and Journey through Ngorongoro

After breakfast, you will check out and begin travelling toward Serengeti National Park. The route climbs through the fertile highlands of Karatu before entering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You will pass forested slopes, Maasai settlements and expansive highland landscapes before continuing across the open plains toward Naabi Hill Gate.

Arrival in Serengeti National Park

After completing the entrance procedures, you will enter Serengeti National Park and begin your first game drive while travelling toward the Seronera region. The scenery gradually changes into vast grasslands, rocky kopjes and acacia-dotted plains. Depending on wildlife movements, you may encounter zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, gazelles and spotted hyenas along the route.

Afternoon Big Five Game Drive

You will explore Central Serengeti, one of the park’s most reliable areas for year-round wildlife viewing. Our guide will search around the Seronera River, kopjes and woodland habitats for lions, leopards, elephants and buffaloes. Lions often rest near rocky outcrops, while leopards may be found among the branches of riverine trees. You may also encounter cheetahs scanning the plains for prey.

Sunset Drive and Serengeti Overnight Stay

As temperatures begin to cool, you will continue exploring the Seronera plains, where wildlife may become more active. The late-afternoon light provides excellent conditions for photographing predators, herbivore herds and the expansive Serengeti landscape. Our guide will then take you to your selected lodge or tented camp inside the park for your second night.

Early-Morning Serengeti Safari

After breakfast, you will begin an early-morning game drive through Central Serengeti. The cooler hours provide favourable conditions for observing predators before they retreat into the shade. Our guide will search for lions returning from nighttime activity, leopards resting in trees, cheetahs moving across the plains and hyenas travelling between feeding and resting areas.

Seronera River and Kopjes Exploration

You will continue through the Seronera River Valley and surrounding rocky kopjes. Permanent water sources support abundant resident wildlife, including elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, zebras and different antelope species. Our guide will explain the behaviour of the animals and help you capture photographs without disturbing their natural activities.

Lunch and Final Serengeti Game Drive

Around midday, you will stop at a designated picnic site to enjoy lunch. Afterward, you will continue with a final game drive while gradually travelling toward the southern side of Serengeti National Park. Our guide will make the most of the available time by searching for any Big Five members or other animals you may not have encountered during the previous game drives.

Transfer to the Ngorongoro Area

Later in the afternoon, you will leave the Serengeti through Naabi Hill Gate and travel across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Along the way, you will see broad plains, distant volcanic highlands and Maasai communities living alongside wildlife. You will proceed to your selected accommodation near the Ngorongoro Crater or in Karatu for the third night of your safari.

Breakfast and Descent into the Crater

You will have an early breakfast before travelling to the Ngorongoro Crater rim. Our guide will complete the entrance procedures and take you to a viewpoint overlooking the enormous volcanic caldera. After enjoying the panoramic scenery, you will descend approximately 600 metres to the crater floor and begin the final game drive of your AFCON 2027 safari.

Ngorongoro Big Five Safari

You will explore open grasslands, wetlands, freshwater pools and woodland habitats supporting an exceptional concentration of wildlife. Our guide will search for lions, elephants, buffaloes and the endangered black rhinoceros. Leopards occur within the wider conservation area but are secretive and challenging to locate. You may also encounter wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, warthogs, spotted hyenas, golden jackals and several bird species.

Hippo Pool Lunch and Afternoon Wildlife Viewing

Around midday, you will stop at a designated picnic area, commonly located near a freshwater pool inhabited by hippos. After lunch, you will continue toward Lerai Forest, the seasonal lake and other productive areas of the crater floor. You may see elephants moving through the forest, lions resting near grazing herds and waterbirds gathering around the wetlands. Flamingos may be present when water and feeding conditions are suitable.

Crater Ascent and Return to Arusha

In the afternoon, you will complete your final game-viewing circuit and ascend the crater wall. You will then travel back to Arusha through the Ngorongoro Highlands, Karatu, Mto wa Mbu and the Great Rift Valley landscape. Our guide will drop you off at your hotel or another agreed location in the evening, completing your four-day Big Five Tanzania safari with enough time to continue enjoying AFCON 2027.