Best-Price Tanzania Migration, Manyara & Karatu (Private Fly/Drive)

Your safari begins in Arusha where you are collected by your guide and driven to Rivertrees Country Inn, lying just 25 kilometres / 15 miles from Kilimanjaro International Airport and sitting snugly in the foothills of Mount Meru. A former coffee farm, Rivertrees now features attractive cottages dotted along the river banks or set under shady trees in the lush gardens. It is the perfect overnight stop before your safari begins the following day; enjoy a walk around the gardens, relax in the lounge and perhaps spot a bird or two before sitting down to dinner under a thatched roof. Rivertrees offers complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access and there is even an optional massage service if you would like to really unwind after a long flight.

After breakfast at Rivertrees it is time to head for your first safari destination: Lake Manyara. A shallow alkaline lake, Manyara is most famous for its flamingos that are resident in huge numbers at certain times of year. Naturally a bird-watching paradise, the lake is largely protected by a national park and you have an opportunity to explore its various habitats. Game drives take you into the Lake Manyara National Park itself, most famous for its tree-climbing lions but home also to buffalo, giraffe and large-tusked elephants. Your accommodation, Maramboi Tented Camp, lies close to Lake Manyara and its rooms offers magnificent views over the lake and its dramatic Rift Valley scenery.

Travelling onto the Ngorongoro Highlands, you pass through a pleasant rural landscape of traditional thatched villages and herdsmen with their cattle. Your destination is the town of Karatu, set in a fertile agricultural region and home to your accommodation for the next two nights. A beautifully restored manor house on a working coffee estate, Ngorongoro Farmhouse makes the perfect base from which to explore Ngorongoro Crater. There is a swimming pool, Internet access and a massage therapist on the one hand as well as serene gardens and silent views of the brooding Oldeani Volcano on the other. The next day is enjoyed on a full-day safari in the Ngorongoro Crater, home to Africa’s densest concentration of large mammals as well as all of the Big 5 (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo), usually seen over the course of a single day.

The landscape flattens out as you travel into the central Serengeti Reserve and Kati Kati Camp, a semi-permanent, mobile tented camp strategically positioned to deliver the best possible views of the Wildebeest Migration. One of nature’s greatest spectacles, the Migration sees nearly two million animals – wildebeest, zebra and gazelles – trekking through the Serengeti/Masai Mara ecosystem and attracting the attentions of Africa’s biggest predators: big cats, wild dogs and spotted hyenas. You have several game drives to look forward to and a traditional safari experience on your return to camp. Your tent at Kati Kati has all the comforts you need: each is fitted with either a king-sized bed or twins and has an en suite bathroom with hot-water bucket shower and flush toilet.

You enjoy a final breakfast at Kati Kati before a short drive to a bush airstrip and a scheduled charter flight back to Arusha. This cuts out an all-day drive, and puts you at Kilimanjaro International Airport in plenty of time for your onward travel arrangements.