7-Day Ultimate Northern Circuit Safari

This morning you set off for the Serengeti, one of the most celebrated wildlife destinations on Earth. The route climbs up onto the rim of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where you will pause to take in an unforgettable first view down into the crater itself before continuing west across the short-grass plains toward Naabi Hill, the gateway to Serengeti National Park.

As the landscape opens out into the famous endless plains, it quickly becomes clear why the Serengeti – a Maasai word often translated as ‘the place where the land runs on forever’ – has captured the imagination of travellers for generations. This UNESCO World Heritage Site and Africa's most famous national park is renowned for its sheer scale, its golden grasslands punctuated by rocky kopjes and iconic flat-topped acacia trees, and its extraordinary concentration of wildlife.

Depending on your arrival time, the afternoon offers an exciting introduction to the park with a game drive en route to camp – your first opportunity to scan the plains for lion, cheetah and the herds of zebra and wildebeest that call this ecosystem home.

Today's Highlights

• A scenic drive across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with views into the crater from the rim
• Your first arrival on the legendary Serengeti plains
• An afternoon game drive in search of lion, cheetah, zebra and wildebeest
• Classic Serengeti scenery – golden grasslands, granite kopjes and acacia-lined horizons
• A magical first sunset over the plains, with the sky turning deep red behind silhouetted acacia trees

Your Stay: Tukaone Serengeti Camps

For the next two nights, home is a solar-powered tented camp set right in the heart of the action, with the Serengeti's savannah plains and acacia trees visible in every direction. Each spacious safari tent is decorated with safari-themed touches and features its own private bathroom with shower and toilet – a genuine taste of classic East African camping, without compromising on comfort.

Evenings are spent in the welcoming dining tent or gathered around the campfire, swapping stories of the day's sightings while listening to the unmistakable sounds of the Serengeti after dark – from distant lion roars to the calls of hyena and nightjar.

Today is dedicated entirely to exploring the Serengeti, with a full day of game viewing led by your expert guide. The park's vast size and varied habitats – from open plains to riverine woodland and rocky outcrops – mean that every drive brings new scenery and new possibilities, and your guide will tailor the day's route around recent sightings and your particular interests.

The Serengeti ecosystem is renowned for hosting one of the largest and most diverse predator populations in Africa, alongside vast herds of plains game. Sightings of lion prides, leopard resting in the shade of riverine trees, and cheetah scanning the horizon from a termite mound are all part of the magic here – and with patience, a predator hunt is always a possibility.

If your visit coincides with the Great Migration, you may also witness one of nature's most extraordinary spectacles: hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra moving across the plains, with dramatic river crossings a possibility depending on the time of year and the herds' movements. Lunch is enjoyed out in the bush or back at camp, depending on the day's route.

Wildlife to Look For

• Lion prides relaxing in the shade or patrolling their territory
• Leopard resting in riverine trees – a true highlight when spotted
• Cheetah surveying the plains from rocky kopjes and termite mounds
• Large herds of elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and wildebeest
• Seasonal Great Migration herds and, timing permitting, dramatic river crossings

Your Stay

A second night at Tukaone Serengeti Camps, allowing you to make the most of this iconic setting without the need to pack up and move on.

This morning you leave the Serengeti behind and head back towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area for one of the most extraordinary days of your safari. The Ngorongoro Crater – often described as Africa's Eden – is widely recognised as one of Africa's Seven Natural Wonders and is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Formed around two to three million years ago when a large volcano collapsed in on itself, the crater is the world's largest unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera, with walls rising roughly 600 metres above a floor that spans somewhere in the region of 250 square kilometres. Within this natural amphitheatre, an extraordinarily dense concentration of wildlife lives out its days against a backdrop of dramatic crater walls, open grassland, acacia woodland and a shimmering soda lake.

Your guided descent onto the crater floor offers some of the most reliable wildlife viewing anywhere in Tanzania. This is one of the best places in East Africa to see the endangered black rhino, alongside large prides of lion, clans of spotted hyena, huge old elephant bulls with impressively long tusks, and, on Lake Magadi, flocks of flamingo and other waterbirds. After a full day in the crater, you will climb back up to the rim and continue to your lodge for the night.

Wildlife to Look For

• Black rhino – the Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most reliable places in Africa to see them
• Large prides of lion and clans of spotted hyena on the crater floor
• Huge elephant bulls, some with notably long tusks
• Flamingos and other waterbirds gathered on the crater's soda lake
• Wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and antelope grazing the crater grasslands
• Spectacular panoramic views from the crater rim

Your Stay: Farm of Dreams Lodge

Tonight you return to the warm hospitality of Farm of Dreams Lodge near Karatu – the same peaceful, palm-fringed property you enjoyed on Day 2, offering a familiar and relaxing base after an unforgettable day in the crater.

Today's drive takes you south to Tarangire National Park – a true hidden gem of the northern circuit, and a wonderful change of scenery after the open plains of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Tarangire is instantly recognisable for its ancient, swollen baobab trees, whose distinctive silhouettes against the sky give the park a fairy-tale, almost prehistoric feel.

The park takes its name from the Tarangire River, which forms the lifeline of the ecosystem during the dry season, drawing in some of the largest elephant herds found anywhere in Tanzania – family groups numbering in the dozens are a common sight along the riverbanks. Beyond elephants, Tarangire is also superb for birdlife, with several hundred species recorded across the wider ecosystem, including striking residents such as the yellow-collared lovebird and the colourful lilac-breasted roller.

Compared with the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, Tarangire sees considerably fewer visitors, giving the day a wonderfully unhurried, off-the-beaten-track feel – a fitting final full day of game viewing before your safari draws to a close.

Wildlife to Look For

• Large family herds of elephant gathered along the Tarangire River
• Iconic ancient baobab trees framing the landscape
• Lion, leopard and, occasionally, cheetah among the riverine woodland
• Wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, buffalo and eland on the open plains
• Exceptional birdwatching, with several hundred species recorded across the ecosystem

Your Stay: Malkia Trees Lodge

Malkia Trees Lodge is a comfortable and welcoming base for your final night on safari, with spacious deluxe rooms, a cosy ‘Bush Bar’ decorated with safari memorabilia and photography, and a relaxed restaurant serving hearty Tanzanian and international fare. It is the perfect place to reflect on the past week over a sundowner before your final morning.

Your Tanzanian safari draws to a close today, but not before one last chance to soak in the surroundings. Depending on your departure flight time, you may have a final relaxed morning at the lodge, or even a short activity before setting off.

From Tarangire, it is approximately a two to two-and-a-half hour drive back towards Arusha and on to Kilimanjaro International Airport, giving you time to reflect on the incredible wildlife encounters, landscapes and memories gathered over the past week. Lunch is provided en route or at the airport, depending on your flight schedule.

We hope this journey has given you a true taste of why northern Tanzania is considered one of the world's finest safari destinations – and we look forward to welcoming you back for your next African adventure.

Today's Highlights

• A relaxed final morning to enjoy the lodge surroundings
• Scenic drive back towards Arusha and Kilimanjaro International Airport
• Time to reflect on a week of unforgettable safari memories