5 Days Northern Tanzania Safari from Arusha During Afcon 2027

Morning Pickup from Arusha

Our professional guide will collect you from your hotel or another agreed location in Arusha in the morning. After an introduction to the five-day itinerary, you will depart in a comfortable safari vehicle and travel through the northern Tanzanian countryside toward Tarangire National Park. This programme is carefully arranged for visitors who want to combine AFCON 2027 with a complete Northern Circuit wildlife experience.

Tarangire Morning Game Drive

After completing the park-entry procedures, you will begin exploring Tarangire’s open savannah, acacia woodland and ancient baobab landscapes. The park is renowned for its large elephant population, and you may see family herds feeding, crossing the road or moving toward the Tarangire River. Our guide will also search for buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, impalas, warthogs and baboons.

Picnic Lunch and Afternoon Safari

Around midday, you will stop at a designated picnic area to enjoy lunch. The afternoon game drive will take you through river valleys, seasonal wetlands and other wildlife-rich areas. Lions, leopards and cheetahs inhabit the park, although sightings depend on their natural location and movements. Our guide will use experience and recent information to select productive routes for wildlife viewing and photography.

Drive to Karatu

Later in the afternoon, you will leave Tarangire and travel through the Great Rift Valley landscape toward Karatu. This pleasant highland town is conveniently located between Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the route to Serengeti. You will check in at your selected lodge or tented camp and have time to relax after the first day of your AFCON 2027 safari.

Breakfast and Drive through Ngorongoro

After breakfast, you will leave Karatu and drive into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The route climbs through forested highlands before continuing across broad plains used by Maasai pastoralists and wildlife. Depending on weather and visibility, you will enjoy beautiful views of volcanic landscapes and the surrounding wilderness.

Journey through Naabi Hill Gate

You will travel toward Naabi Hill, which serves as the southeastern gateway to Serengeti National Park. After completing the entrance formalities, you will stop for lunch at a suitable location. Your journey toward Central Serengeti will become a game drive, allowing you to search for wildlife as the landscape opens into the park’s famous plains.

Afternoon Central Serengeti Game Drive

You will explore the Seronera region, where permanent water sources support wildlife throughout the year. Our guide will search for lions, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, gazelles and spotted hyenas. Leopards may be encountered in trees near river valleys, while cheetahs are often associated with open areas where they can watch for prey.

Sunset Drive and Serengeti Stay

During the late afternoon, you will continue exploring Central Serengeti while the temperature cools and animals become more active. The warm evening light offers excellent photography conditions across the plains and around the rocky kopjes. You will then proceed to your selected lodge or tented camp inside the Serengeti.

Morning Predator Search

After breakfast, you will begin a full-day safari across Central Serengeti. The morning hours provide excellent opportunities to observe predators before the temperature rises. Our guide will search for lions returning from nighttime activity, leopards resting in acacia trees, cheetahs scanning the plains and hyenas moving between feeding and resting areas.

Seronera River and Rocky Kopjes

You will explore the Seronera River Valley, open grasslands, woodland and granite kopjes. These different habitats provide food, water, shade and shelter for numerous animals. Lions frequently rest near the kopjes, while elephants and buffaloes can be found moving through the woodland and riverine areas. Hippos may also be observed in suitable pools.

Picnic Lunch in the Wilderness

Around midday, you will stop at a designated picnic location for lunch. Our guide will explain the Serengeti ecosystem, animal behaviour and seasonal wildlife movements. During certain months, migrating wildebeest and zebras may pass through Central Serengeti, although their location depends on rainfall, water and fresh grazing.

Afternoon Wildlife and Photography Safari

After lunch, you will visit additional wildlife areas selected according to recent sightings. You may encounter giraffes feeding among acacia trees, elephants travelling between water sources or lions resting near herbivore herds. You will return to your selected Serengeti accommodation later in the afternoon after completing a rewarding full-day game drive.

Final Morning in Central Serengeti

You will have breakfast and begin another morning game drive through Central Serengeti. Our guide will focus on areas that were not fully explored on the previous day or places where interesting wildlife activity has recently been reported. This provides another opportunity to search for leopards, cheetahs and any other animals you may not have encountered earlier.

Seronera Wildlife Exploration

You will continue through the Seronera plains, river valleys and rocky areas while observing resident wildlife. Elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, hippos and several antelope species may be encountered. Our guide will help you identify the animals and explain how they adapt to the Serengeti’s changing environmental conditions.

Lunch and Drive toward Naabi Hill

Around midday, you will stop for lunch before beginning the journey toward the southeastern side of the park. Wildlife viewing will continue as you travel toward Naabi Hill Gate, giving you a final opportunity to photograph the Serengeti landscape and its animals before leaving the national park.

Transfer to the Ngorongoro Area

After exiting the Serengeti, you will cross the open landscapes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Along the route, you may see Maasai communities, livestock and wild animals sharing the plains.. You will proceed to your selected lodge or tented camp near the Ngorongoro Crater or in Karatu, ready for the following morning’s crater safari.

Crater Viewpoint and Descent

After an early breakfast, you will travel to the Ngorongoro Crater rim. Our guide will take you to a viewpoint where you can admire and photograph the vast volcanic caldera. You will then descend approximately 600 metres to the crater floor and begin exploring one of Tanzania’s most remarkable wildlife habitats.

Morning Big Five Game Drive

You will travel across grasslands, woodlands and wetlands inhabited by wildebeest, zebras, buffaloes, gazelles, warthogs and spotted hyenas. Our guide will search for lions, elephants and the endangered black rhinoceros. Leopards inhabit the wider conservation area but remain challenging to find because of their secretive behaviour.

Hippo Pool Lunch and Afternoon Tour

Around midday, you will stop at a designated picnic area, commonly located near a freshwater pool where hippos may be observed. After lunch, you will continue toward Lerai Forest, the crater plains and areas surrounding the seasonal lake. You may encounter elephants, lions, jackals and numerous waterbirds, including flamingos when conditions are favourable.

Crater Ascent and Return to Arusha

In the afternoon, you will complete your final wildlife-viewing circuit and ascend the crater wall. You will then drive through Karatu, Mto wa Mbu and the Great Rift Valley countryside on the way back to Arusha. Our guide will drop you off at your hotel or another agreed location in the evening, concluding your five-day Northern Tanzania safari during AFCON 2027.