5 DAYS TANZANIA BUDGET SAFARI LAKE MANYARA, SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK, NGORONGORO CRATER AND TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK

Overview

Absolutely! This is a classic and highly rewarding Tanzanian safari circuit, offering a fantastic taste of the country’s diverse landscapes and incredible wildlife. Let’s explore what makes each of these destinations so special:

Lake Manyara National Park: A relatively small but incredibly scenic park nestled at the foot of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. It’s famous for its tree-climbing lions, large elephant herds, and abundant birdlife, including vast flocks of flamingos on the alkaline lake. The park’s diverse habitats, ranging from groundwater forests to acacia woodlands and grassy floodplains, offer a condensed yet rich wildlife experience. Activities here include game drives, bird watching, canoeing on the lake, and even a treetop walkway.
Ngorongoro Crater: Often referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the Natural World,” the Ngorongoro Crater is a massive volcanic caldera teeming with wildlife. Descending into the crater is like entering a natural zoo, with high concentrations of animals including the “Big Five,” zebras, wildebeest, and a plethora of birdlife, all within the crater walls. It’s a truly unique ecosystem and offers unparalleled game viewing opportunities in a stunning setting. The surrounding Ngorongoro Conservation Area also boasts diverse landscapes and cultural encounters with the Maasai people.
Tarangire National Park: Located further inland, Tarangire is renowned for its large elephant herds, often numbering in the hundreds, and its iconic baobab trees dotting the landscape. During the dry season (roughly June to November), it experiences a significant “mini-migration” as wildlife from the surrounding areas converges on the Tarangire River, making it an excellent time for game viewing. You can also expect to see lions, leopards, buffalo, giraffes, and a variety of antelopes, as well as a fantastic array of birdlife. Activities include game drives, walking safaris, and hot air balloon rides.

Why this circuit is so popular:

Variety of Landscapes: You’ll experience the lush forests of Manyara, the dramatic caldera of Ngorongoro, and the baobab-studded plains of Tarangire, offering a diverse visual experience.
Excellent Wildlife Viewing: Each park offers unique wildlife encounters and high concentrations of animals, increasing your chances of memorable sightings.
Relatively Close Proximity: These parks are located within a reasonable driving distance of each other, making for a logistically smoother safari.
Complementary Experiences: Manyara offers a gentle introduction, Ngorongoro provides an intense and unique wildlife spectacle, and Tarangire showcases large herds and distinct scenery.

This itinerary is a fantastic choice for experiencing some of the best that Tanzania’s northern safari circuit has to offer! Are you considering a specific time of year for this trip? The dry season generally offers the best wildlife viewing in Tarangire, while the Ngorongoro Crater is excellent year-round.

Itinerary

DAY 1: ARUSHA – LAKE MANYARA.
Breakfast at the hotel the meet our driver for a transfer to the office from where we will leave for Lake Manyara national park. Arrive at the park by 1000am, with picnic lunches proceed for a game drive in search of the wildlife and he flamingos that inhabit in this national park. Lake Manyara is famous for the tree climbing lions and the flocks of Flamingos. Later in the evening leave Lake Manyara and drive to Panaroma Camp where dinner will be served followed by overnight.

DAY 2: LAKE MANYARA – SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK.
Breakfast will be served, check out and leave Panaroma camp- for Serengeti area, a 4hours drive arrive at the main gate for registration and afternoon game drive. You will have at least 6 hours game drive before proceeding to Central Serengeti at Seronera camp where dinner and overnight will be served. Serengeti is really wide and we choose to stay at Central so that we can access the area with largest animal concentration during the game drive.

DAY 3: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK – NGORONGORO CRATER.
Early breakfast at the camp then leave with picnic lunches for a t least 6 hour Game drive within Serengeti National park. Here you will tracker the wildebeest, Zebras, Giraffes, Lions, Lioness, black rhino, Cheetah, Leopard, Hyena, Bushbuck, lesser kudu, wild dog, Kongoni, impala, grant’s gazelle, black backed jackal, Mongoose, Olive baboons, Vervet Monkeys among other animals are found here and you will be lucky to some of them. By noon leave the park with a stopover at Olduvai Gorge at extra cost of usd $35 per person. By evening arrive at the conservancy area where you will have dinner and overnight at Simba camp.

DAY 4: NGORONGORO CRATER – TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK.
Breakfast at the camp, then leave for a game drive within the ngorongoro crater where you will be able to descend with a game drive with the view of Common Lions, African Elephants, Black Rhino, blue wildebeest, Leopard, Cheetah, Hyena. Wild dog, Grant’s Zebras, African buffalo and Hippopotamus at the crater rim. Have the picnic lunch at the crater rim then start ascending to the main gate, exit the crater after the 6 hours and drive to Tarangire Public campsite where dinner and overnight will be served.

DAY 5: TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK – ARUSHA.
After breakfast at the camp leave a for a game driver along Tarangire river that cuts Tarangire National park into two and supplies enough water to the animals that inhabit in the park. See large number of Elephants as they come to the River to drink water. Have the picnic lunch at the picnic site inside the park then continue with the game till late afternoon, leave the park and drive to Arusha town where you will be dropped at the Hotel.