Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tanzania family safari: Tarangire, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti
8 days from Arusha for families with children 6 and up: two nights each in Tarangire, Karatu and the Serengeti, the crater at first light and a short flight home.
8 days · Round trip from Arusha · up to 12 guests
Zebras at a stream in a riverbed in Tarangire National Park Photo: joel herzog joel_herzog, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tarangire_National_Park,_Tanzania_(Unsplash).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Arusha
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Little walking: a Maasai village visit, an hour's walk in Mto wa Mbu on flat farm paths, a coffee farm and a short climb at Naabi Hill. The effort is early starts and game drives on rough, dusty roads, with one long road day into the Serengeti. The coffee farm bike ride is on easy dirt tracks and can be done on foot or in the vehicle. Any drive can be sat out at the lodge.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 6 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 860 (estimated price)
- Season
- January to February and June to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Two nights beside Tarangire, with a dawn drive and a bush breakfast among the baobabs
- A morning with a Maasai family near Tarangire, with time for the children to ask questions
- Ngorongoro Crater as the descent road opens, and back at the lodge pool by mid-afternoon
- A bike ride through a coffee farm near Karatu, from cherry to cup
- A visit to a school or community project near Karatu
- Two nights in the central Serengeti, then a short flight home instead of a full day's drive
- At most six guests in each 4x4, with each family kept together in one vehicle
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 860 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Arusha
Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arusha
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Arusha
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), between Moshi and Arusha. We meet you after arrivals and drive about an hour west, roughly 50 km, to your hotel in Arusha, the safari town at the foot of Mount Meru. On a clear day Kilimanjaro shows above the clouds from the airport road, which is a good first thing to spot from the car window.
Afternoon
Any arrival time works: if you land early, the afternoon is for the pool and the garden, and a nap after the long flight.
Evening
Before dinner your See Sight Tours guide meets the families for a short briefing on the week: why the safari days start early, how the two 4x4s work with each family in its own vehicle, what to wear against tsetse flies, and what the children can look out for each day. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner. If your flight lands late, your guide catches you up at breakfast.
Included
- Pick-up at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: Any arrival time works on day 1.
A Maasai village and Tarangire
Arusha to a Maasai village near Tarangire, then Tarangire National Park
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Tarangire
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
After breakfast we load the two 4x4 Land Cruisers and drive about two hours south-west on tarmac, some 120 km, through Maasai grazing country. Shortly before Tarangire we stop at a Maasai village, where a family shows us their homes, the cattle enclosure and the beadwork, and the children can ask about school and herding; a fee goes to the community.
Afternoon
We reach our lodge, in or beside the park, for lunch. The middle of the day is for the pool and a rest, while the animals shelter from the heat too. At about four we go out on the first game drive along the Tarangire River. In the dry months it is one of the few reliable sources of water for miles, so elephant herds come down to drink, and the huge baobabs above the river are scarred where elephants have stripped the bark.
Evening
We are back for dinner after sunset.
Included
- Maasai village visit near Tarangire, with a community fee
- Lunch at the lodge
- Late-afternoon game drive along the Tarangire River
Easier option: Skip the late drive and stay at the lodge pool.
Free time: Midday free at the lodge
Activity: Dress everyone in khaki, beige or green, not dark blue or black, against tsetse flies.
Tarangire at dawn and a bush breakfast
Game drives in Tarangire National Park
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Tarangire
Sleeping two nights here means no packing today.
Evening
We leave the lodge at first light, about half past six, with blankets in the vehicle, because the early hours are cool and the animals are moving: lions finishing the night's hunt, elephants walking down to the river, giraffes browsing the acacias. Around nine we stop at a picnic site in the park for a cooked bush breakfast in the open, a highlight for most children. We drive on through the late morning and are back at the lodge for lunch. The afternoon is free: swim, sleep, or sit on the terrace with binoculars and see what comes to the waterhole. Older children and adults can take a short guided walk with an armed ranger instead, where the park and the lodge allow it. At about four the vehicles go out again for anyone who wants a second drive before sunset.
Included
- Dawn game drive in Tarangire National Park
- Bush breakfast at a picnic site in the park
- Lunch at the lodge
- Late-afternoon game drive
Easier option: Skip the afternoon drive and stay at the lodge pool.
More active option: A short walk with an armed ranger for older children and adults, where the park and lodge allow; the age limit is confirmed at booking.
Free time: Afternoon free at the lodge
Activity: An early start, about 6:30 am. Blankets are in the vehicles for the cool first hour.
Mto wa Mbu and a coffee farm by bike
Tarangire to Mto wa Mbu, then up to Karatu
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Karatu
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
A slow game drive out of Tarangire after breakfast, then about an hour and a half north on tarmac, some 90 km, to Mto wa Mbu, a busy farming town at the foot of the Rift Valley wall whose name means river of mosquitoes in Swahili.
Afternoon
A local guide walks us for about an hour through the banana groves and irrigated rice fields and past a workshop of painters, and we stop for lunch in the village, with a fee paid to the community. Then we climb the escarpment to Karatu, about 40 minutes, a cooler highland town of coffee and wheat farms. After checking in, we visit a coffee farm near the lodge. Children and adults who want to ride follow the farm tracks by bike with a local guide, past the coffee bushes, then everyone sees the beans picked, hulled and roasted, and tastes the result: coffee for the adults, something sweeter for the children. The late afternoon is free.
Included
- Game drive out of Tarangire National Park
- Mto wa Mbu banana and rice field walk with a local guide
- Lunch in Mto wa Mbu
- Coffee farm visit near Karatu, with a guided bike ride for those who want it
Easier option: Walk the coffee farm with the guide, or ride to it in the vehicle, instead of cycling.
More active option: The bike ride on the coffee farm tracks.
Free time: Late afternoon free at the Karatu lodge
Activity: About an hour on foot in Mto wa Mbu on flat paths, and about an hour by bike on easy dirt tracks. Bikes and helmets in children's sizes are confirmed at booking.
Ngorongoro Crater as the road opens
Karatu to the Ngorongoro Crater floor and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Karatu
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
We leave Karatu at about half past five with breakfast packed, climb through the forest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and stop briefly at the rim, where the whole caldera lies some 600 metres below. We drive down the descent road as it opens, among the first vehicles, while mist still lies on the floor. Ngorongoro is a collapsed volcano with about 260 square kilometres of grassland, swamp and a soda lake inside its walls. Lions, hyenas, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest live here all year, and it is the best chance on this trip of a black rhino, though they are few and usually distant.
Afternoon
Breakfast is at a picnic site by a hippo pool, and lunch is a picnic too. We climb out in the early afternoon as the floor gets busy and are back at the lodge by about half past two.
Evening
At about four we visit a school or community project near Karatu for an hour, where the children can meet local children or see the project at work; then the evening is free.
Included
- Ngorongoro Crater rim viewpoint
- Ngorongoro Crater game drive from the opening of the descent road
- Picnic breakfast and picnic lunch on the crater floor
- School or community project visit near Karatu, late afternoon
Easier option: Skip the community visit and stay at the lodge pool.
Free time: Early afternoon and evening free at the Karatu lodge
Activity: The earliest start of the trip, about 5:30 am. The rim and the crater floor are cold at dawn: bring warm layers for everyone. The school visit follows term dates; out of term we visit a community project instead.
Over the highlands to the Serengeti
Karatu over the Ngorongoro highlands to Olduvai Gorge and Naabi Hill, then the central Serengeti
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Serengeti
- Drive about 5 h
This is the one long road day of the trip, about five hours of driving and over our usual four, because there is no shorter road into the Serengeti. We break it up. We leave Karatu at about half past seven, cross the highlands past the crater rim and drop down the dry western slopes on gravel, past Maasai herders and their cattle, to Olduvai Gorge, where Mary Leakey found a hominin skull about 1.75 million years old in 1959; the small museum and the view over the gorge take about an hour, and children can see casts of the finds.
Afternoon
A picnic lunch follows at Naabi Hill, the gate into the Serengeti, while the driver-guides clear the park formalities, which can add time, and there is a short climb for the view across the short-grass plains. The last 50 km to our camp near Seronera is a slow game drive, not a transfer, so the afternoon ends with animals. We arrive in the late afternoon.
Included
- Olduvai Gorge museum and viewpoint
- Picnic lunch and short walk at Naabi Hill
- Game drive from Naabi Hill to camp
Easier option: Stay at the vehicle at Naabi Hill instead of climbing it.
Activity: About five hours of driving, broken by Olduvai Gorge, a picnic at Naabi Hill and a game drive at the end; gravel and dust after the crater rim.
A full day in the Serengeti
Dawn and late-afternoon game drives around Seronera
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Serengeti
Morning
The vehicles leave camp before sunrise, which this close to the equator comes at about half past six all year, with hot chocolate and coffee in flasks. The first hours are when lions and cheetahs hunt and the light is low and warm. The Seronera valley at the centre of the park holds resident predators in every season: lions rest on the granite outcrops called kopjes, and leopards often lie up in the sausage trees along the river. If you have booked the optional balloon flight, you lift off at dawn instead and rejoin us after a bush breakfast. We are back at camp for brunch, and the hot middle hours are for a rest, a book, or the pool where the camp has one. About four, we drive out again until sundown. In a vehicle of six at most, your driver-guide has time to wait at a good sighting rather than race to the next one.
Included
- Dawn game drive
- Brunch at camp
- Late-afternoon game drive to sunset
Optional experiences
- Hot-air balloon flight at dawn. Booked in advance; operators usually take children from about 7, with a height rule, so a 6-year-old may not be able to fly.
Easier option: Skip the afternoon drive and stay at camp.
Free time: Midday free at camp
Activity: Not every Serengeti camp has a pool; we tell you which yours has when we confirm your dates.
Fly home from the Serengeti
Seronera to Seronera airstrip, flight to Arusha, then Kilimanjaro International Airport
- Breakfast and lunch
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
A last morning drive after breakfast, with the bags already in the vehicle, ends at the Seronera airstrip, where we board a scheduled light aircraft back to Arusha airport. The flight takes about 40 minutes to an hour, depending on stops at other airstrips, and from the window the plains, the crater highlands and the Rift Valley lakes pass below; children usually remember it as much as the animals. Flying saves the six to seven hours of driving that other family safaris spend getting back from the Serengeti. The 4x4s and driver-guides drive back without us.
Afternoon
In Arusha we have lunch together, then drive about an hour, some 50 km, to Kilimanjaro International Airport. If you are staying on in Arusha, we drop you at your hotel instead. Flight times are set by the airline, so book an international flight leaving JRO after about 6:30 pm, and pack in a soft bag within the small-plane limit, often 15 to 20 kg, confirmed at booking.
Included
- Morning game drive to the Seronera airstrip
- Scheduled light-aircraft flight from the Serengeti to Arusha airport
- Lunch in Arusha
- Drop-off at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or your Arusha hotel
Activity: Book a flight leaving JRO after about 6:30 pm. Small-plane bag limit, often 15 to 20 kg per person in a soft bag, confirmed at booking; extra luggage can go back by road.
- Arusha1 night
- Tarangire2 nights
- Karatu2 nights
- Serengeti2 nights
- Arushaend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: June to October is the dry season and fits northern summer holidays: cool mornings, thin grass and animals close to water, when Tarangire's elephant herds are at their biggest. The great Serengeti herds pass through the central and western Serengeti around June and July and are mostly in the far north from August, which this trip does not reach; resident lions, cheetahs and elephants stay all year. January and February are green and warm, with calving on the southern plains, and we may base the Serengeti nights further south then. We do not run from March to May or in November, the rains.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Families with children aged 6 and up on a first safari
- Parents who want short drives, two-night stays and a pool in most bases
- Families who want village, farm and school visits as well as game drives
- Grandparents travelling with grandchildren
- Small groups of families who want their own vehicle seats and a window for every child
Not for you if you want
- Children under 6: the minimum age is 6
- Families set on the Mara River crossings: they happen in the far north, which this trip does not reach
- Anyone who wants a beach at the end: see our Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar trip
- A camping safari: every night is in a lodge or permanent tented camp
- Adults travelling without children who would rather a group of adults: see our Tanzania northern circuit safari
Minimum age: 6
Most guests are Families with children aged 6 to 16
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Arusha1 night
- Tarangire2 nights
- Karatu2 nights
- Serengeti2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 1 in Arusha, 2 at a lodge in or beside Tarangire National Park, 2 at a lodge in Karatu, 2 at a tented camp near Seronera in the central Serengeti
- Proper beds and private bathrooms throughout, no camping; at least a 3-star-plus standard, named when we confirm your dates
- Family rooms or connecting rooms where the lodge has them; a swimming pool at the Arusha, Tarangire and Karatu lodges, and in the Serengeti where the camp has one
Transport
- Pick-up at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) on day 1 and drop-off there or at your Arusha hotel on day 8
- Two 4x4 Land Cruisers with a pop-up roof and a licensed Tanzanian driver-guide, at most 6 guests each, each family kept together
- Booster seats on request
- Scheduled light-aircraft flight from the Serengeti (Seronera) to Arusha on day 8
- Drinking water in the vehicles
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip
- Licensed Tanzanian driver-guides in every 4x4
- Local guides for the Maasai village, Mto wa Mbu and the coffee farm
Activities
- Maasai village visit near Tarangire
- Tarangire National Park: two late-afternoon drives, a dawn drive with a bush breakfast and a drive out
- Mto wa Mbu banana and rice field walk
- Coffee farm visit near Karatu, with a guided bike ride
- Ngorongoro Crater game drive from the opening of the descent road
- A school or community project visit near Karatu
- Olduvai Gorge museum and viewpoint
- Naabi Hill viewpoint
- Serengeti: a game drive in, a full day of dawn and late-afternoon drives and a drive out
- All park and conservation fees, including the Ngorongoro crater fee, and community fees
- A tipping pool for driver-guides, lodge and camp staff and local guides
Meals
- Breakfast daily (7), including a bush breakfast in Tarangire and a picnic breakfast in Ngorongoro Crater
- 7 lunches, days 2 to 8, with picnics on game-drive days and a village lunch in Mto wa Mbu
- 7 dinners: a welcome dinner in Arusha and dinner every night on safari
Not included
- International flights to and from Kilimanjaro
- Tanzanian visas
- Travel insurance, which should cover medical evacuation
- Hot-air balloon flight
- Lunch on day 1
- Drinks other than water in the vehicles
- A tip for your See Sight Tours guide, which is optional
- Vaccinations and malaria tablets
- Excess baggage on the day 8 flight
- Laundry, souvenirs and personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 860 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the family safari price include?
Seven nights in a hotel, lodges and a Serengeti tented camp, 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners, two 4x4s with driver-guides, every park and conservation fee including the Ngorongoro crater fee, the Maasai village, Mto wa Mbu, coffee farm and community visits, the flight out of the Serengeti, airport transfers, a tipping pool for the local crew and your See Sight Tours guide throughout.
What is the minimum age, and is it right for young children?
The minimum age is 6. Days are built for children: seven of eight have two and a half hours or less on the road, each base has two nights and a free afternoon, most lodges have a pool, and we fly home from the Serengeti. Game drives are long for some children, so any drive can be skipped at the lodge.
How big is the group, and will my children get a window seat?
Yes. The small group is 7 to 12 guests, children included, in two 4x4 Land Cruisers with at most six in each, so every guest has a window and room to stand under the pop-up roof. Each family stays together in one vehicle, and we bring booster seats if you ask.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group for all eight days, alongside a licensed Tanzanian driver-guide in each vehicle who knows the parks and tracks the animals. We name your guide when we confirm your departure. Local guides lead the Maasai village, Mto wa Mbu and the coffee farm.
How long are the drives on this family safari?
Seven of the eight days have two and a half hours or less on the road. Day 6, into the Serengeti, is about five hours, because there is no shorter road, and we break it with Olduvai Gorge, a picnic at Naabi Hill and a game drive. On day 8 we fly back from the Serengeti instead of driving six to seven hours.
How fit do we need to be?
Not very. The walking is a Maasai village visit, an hour on flat farm paths in Mto wa Mbu and a short climb at Naabi Hill, and the coffee farm bike ride is on easy dirt tracks, or done on foot. The real effort is early starts and rough, dusty roads; any drive can be sat out at the lodge.
I am a single parent. What does a room of my own cost?
If you travel alone with no one to share, a room of your own costs from CAD 860 more, shown before you book. A single parent sharing a room with a child pays the twin-share price for both, with any child price applied. You pay nothing extra for a window seat.
When is the best time for a Tanzania family safari?
We run from June to October, the dry season, which fits northern summer holidays and brings animals close to water, and in January and February, green and warm with calving on the southern plains. We skip March to May and November, the rains, when roads and lodges are harder going with children.
How is this different from your other Tanzania safaris?
This trip is paced for families: two nights in each base, pools, a Maasai village, a coffee farm and a school or community visit, and a flight home. The Tanzania northern circuit safari covers similar parks in seven days for adults, and the Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar trip adds the beach.
Do we need visas and vaccinations?
Most visitors, including Canadian adults and children, need a Tanzanian visa: apply for the e-visa online before you fly (recommended); the fee and child rules are confirmed at booking. If you arrive from or through a country with yellow fever risk, you may need a vaccination certificate. See a travel clinic about malaria tablets suitable for each child's age and weight.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your family only, on a date you choose, with your own vehicle and driver-guide. Travelling independently on your own dates is not a style we sell, but ask from the dates section and we can quote the same lodges and guides for you.
How much does it cost and how does booking work?
The small group starts from CAD 5,045 per person sharing a room, taxes included, and private trips from CAD 9,080. Pick your start date and request to book. We confirm your trip within 24 hours, including the child price (park fees are lower for children) and room plan, and nothing is charged until then.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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