Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar
10 days from Arusha: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and three nights in the Serengeti, then a flight to Zanzibar for Stone Town and the beach.
10 days · Arusha to Zanzibar · up to 12 guests
A lioness on a kopje in the Serengeti Photo: Richard Mortel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lioness_atop_a_kopje,_Serengeti_(1)_(28625989105).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Start and end
- Arusha to Zanzibar
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Little walking. The effort is early starts, long hours in a 4x4 on rough, dusty roads, and one long day from Ngorongoro to the Serengeti.
- Meals included
- 9 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,500
- Season
- Late January to March and late June to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Three nights in the Serengeti, with dawn and sunset drives every day
- Ngorongoro Crater at first gate opening, in the morning mist
- Tarangire's elephants and baobabs, and Lake Manyara included, not sold as an extra
- No drive back to Arusha: we fly from the Serengeti straight to Zanzibar
- Forodhani Gardens at sunset and an early Stone Town walk before the crowds
- Two nights on Zanzibar's east coast, with low-tide lagoon walks and Jozani's red colobus
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 1,500.
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), which sits between Moshi and Arusha. We meet you after arrivals and drive you about an hour west to your hotel in Arusha, the safari town at the foot of Mount Meru, which rises to 4,566 metres. On a clear day you may also see the snow on Kilimanjaro from the airport road.
Evening
Before dinner your See Sight Tours guide hosts a welcome briefing: how the safari days run and why we start early, what the included tipping pool covers, how to pack for the 15 kg limit on the Zanzibar flight, and what to wear against tsetse flies. If you land early, the rest of the day is yours to rest.
Included
- Pick-up at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
- Welcome briefing and dinner with your guide
Free time: Rest of the day free
Activity: Any arrival time works on day 1. If your flight lands late, your guide catches you up at breakfast.
Tarangire's elephants and baobabs
Arusha to Tarangire National Park, then up to Karatu
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Karatu
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
We leave Arusha after an early breakfast and drive about two hours south-west to Tarangire National Park, arriving while the air is still cool and the tsetse flies are slow. The park is named for the river that runs through it, and in the dry months from June to October the river is one of the few reliable sources of water for miles, so elephant herds gather along its banks in numbers few parks match. Huge baobabs stand over the grass, some scarred where elephants have fed on the bark. You ride in a 4x4 with a pop-up roof, six guests at most per vehicle, so everyone has a window.
Evening
After a picnic lunch in the park we drive on through Mto wa Mbu and up the Rift Valley escarpment to Karatu, arriving in the early evening for two nights in the cooler highlands.
Included
- Game drive in Tarangire National Park
- Picnic lunch in the park
Activity: About 2 hours to Tarangire and 2 hours on to Karatu, plus the game drive. Wear khaki or green, not dark blue or black, against tsetse flies.
Lake Manyara and Mto wa Mbu
Karatu to Lake Manyara National Park and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Karatu
- Drive about 1 h
No early alarm today.
Morning
After breakfast we drop about 30 minutes down the escarpment to Lake Manyara National Park, where groundwater forest at the foot of the Rift Valley wall opens onto grassland and a shallow soda lake. Baboon troops sit along the track, blue monkeys move through the fig and mahogany trees, and elephants feed in the forest shade. Flamingos and pelicans gather on the water in some seasons. Other operators sell this game drive as an extra; here it is in your price.
Afternoon
At midday we stop in Mto wa Mbu, Swahili for river of mosquitoes, for lunch and a walk with a local guide through the market, the banana plantations and the rice fields, with a fair fee paid to the community. The afternoon is free at your Karatu lodge, or join a short walk on a coffee farm in the hills.
Included
- Game drive in Lake Manyara National Park
- Lunch and a village and market walk in Mto wa Mbu with a local guide
- Coffee farm walk near Karatu, by choice
Easier option: Skip the coffee farm and rest at the lodge.
Free time: Afternoon free in Karatu
Ngorongoro Crater at first light, into the Serengeti
Karatu to Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge and the Serengeti
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Serengeti
- Drive about 6 h
This is the longest day of the trip, and it is worth it.
Morning
We leave Karatu at first light with a packed breakfast and reach the Ngorongoro gate as it opens, so we drop to the crater floor in the morning mist, among the first vehicles of the day. Ngorongoro is a collapsed volcano about 600 metres deep, with some 260 square kilometres of grassland, swamp and the soda lake Magadi on its floor. Lions, hyenas, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest live here all year, and it is your best chance on this trip of a black rhino, though they are few and often distant.
Afternoon
We picnic at a quieter spot your driver-guide picks, climb out at midday, stop at the Olduvai Gorge museum, where Mary Leakey found a skull about 1.75 million years old in 1959, and enter the Serengeti at Naabi Hill, game driving on the way to camp.
Included
- Ngorongoro Crater game drive from gate opening
- Picnic lunch on the crater floor
- Olduvai Gorge museum
- Game drive from Naabi Hill to camp
Activity: A long day of about 11 hours, much of it on rough roads. The crater rim is cold at dawn: bring a warm layer.
Serengeti sunrise and sunset
Dawn and late-afternoon game drives in the Serengeti
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Serengeti
Morning
We leave camp before sunrise, which here near the equator comes at about half past six all year, with coffee in a flask and breakfast packed in the vehicle. The first hours are when the cats are most active and the light is soft and gold, so keep your camera ready. The Serengeti covers some 14,750 square kilometres; in the central Seronera valley lions rest on the granite outcrops called kopjes and leopards lie along the branches of the sausage trees by the river. If you have booked the optional balloon flight, you lift off at dawn instead and meet us after a bush breakfast.
Afternoon
We return to camp for lunch and a rest through the heat of the day, then head out again at about four for a late drive that ends with the sun going down over the plains.
Included
- Dawn game drive with packed breakfast
- Late-afternoon game drive to sunset
Optional experiences
- Hot-air balloon flight at dawn. Booked in advance.
Easier option: Skip the afternoon drive and stay at camp.
Free time: Midday free at camp
A full day where the herds are
Full-day game drive in the Serengeti, by season
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Serengeti
A full day out, planned around where the animals are. On departures from late January to March we stay on the southern plains near Ndutu, where hundreds of thousands of wildebeest give birth within a few weeks, usually peaking in February, and lions, cheetahs and hyenas follow close behind. On departures from late June to October we stay in the central Serengeti, which keeps its resident predators all year. The great herds move north through the western and central Serengeti in June and July and are mostly near the Mara River from August, so the river crossings are not part of this trip.
Afternoon
Either way we take a picnic lunch, stop at a hippo pool, and give your driver-guide time to wait at a good sighting rather than rush to the next one.
Evening
A sundowner on the way back closes your third evening on the plains.
Included
- Full-day game drive with picnic lunch
- Hippo pool stop
- Sundowner on the evening drive
Easier option: Return to camp at lunchtime with one vehicle, when the group agrees.
Fly to Zanzibar, sunset at Forodhani
Serengeti airstrip to Zanzibar, then Stone Town
- Breakfast
- Stay in Stone Town
- By plane
Morning
A short last game drive at first light, breakfast at camp, then we drive to the airstrip for the light-aircraft flight to Zanzibar, which usually stops or connects in Arusha on the way.
Afternoon
There is no long road back to Arusha and no dead day there: you swap the plains for the Indian Ocean by early afternoon. We meet you at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) and drive about 20 minutes to your hotel in Stone Town, the old trading quarter of Zanzibar City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Evening
Before sunset we walk to Forodhani Gardens on the seafront, which faces west across the harbour. As the light fades the food stalls fire up their grills, with seafood skewers and Zanzibar pizza, a stuffed and folded street pancake. Dinner here is on you, and your guide shows you how it works.
Included
- Short dawn game drive
- Flight from the Serengeti to Zanzibar
- Transfer from Zanzibar airport (ZNZ) to Stone Town
- Sunset walk to Forodhani Gardens with your guide
Free time: Evening free at Forodhani
Activity: Light-aircraft baggage limit of about 15 kg per person in a soft bag.
Stone Town early, a spice farm, the east coast
Stone Town walk and spice farm, then across the island to Jambiani
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Jambiani
- Drive about 1.5 h
We start the Stone Town walk at about half past seven, while the lanes are cool and quiet and before the day visitors arrive. A licensed local guide leads you through alleys lined with carved wooden doors, some studded with brass, past the Old Fort, built by Omani Arabs at the end of the 17th century, and the House of Wonders, the sultan's palace of 1883, now under restoration after part of it collapsed in 2020. At the Anglican cathedral, built on the site of the last open slave market, which closed in 1873, your guide tells the harder history of the island.
Afternoon
Then we drive out of town to a spice farm to see cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and pepper growing, with lunch cooked there. In the afternoon we cross the island, about an hour and a quarter, to Jambiani on the south-east coast for two nights by the sea.
Included
- Early Stone Town walk with a licensed local guide
- Spice farm visit with lunch
- Transfer to Jambiani
Free time: Late afternoon free on the beach
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in Stone Town on narrow, uneven lanes. Cover shoulders and knees.
Low tide in Jambiani, Jozani's red colobus
A free day on the coast, with an optional morning in Jozani
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Jambiani
This is your free day, and the only plan is optional.
Morning
The east coast faces the sunrise, so if you are up at about six you can watch it come up over the reef from the beach. Jambiani has a big tidal range: at low tide the sea pulls back hundreds of metres, and you can walk out over warm shallows and sandbanks to the seaweed farms that village women tend in the lagoon. Ask at reception for the tide times. In the morning your guide takes anyone who wants to go to Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, about 30 minutes away, the island's only national park and home to the Zanzibar red colobus, a monkey found nowhere else, with a boardwalk through the mangroves.
Evening
Back by lunch, the afternoon is for swimming, reading or a sail in a wooden outrigger, then a farewell dinner together.
Included
- Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park with your guide, by choice
- Farewell dinner
Optional experiences
- Outrigger sail in the lagoon
- Kitesurf lesson in nearby Paje
Free time: Afternoon free
A last swim, then home
Jambiani to Zanzibar airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
A slow last morning. Take one more early swim, or a last walk across the sand if the tide is low, then breakfast.
Evening
Check-out time is set by the hotel, and we ask for a late check-out when your flight leaves in the evening. We drive you about an hour across the island to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) in time for your flight home. Most long-haul connections from Zanzibar run through hubs such as Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Doha, Dubai or Istanbul, so plan your onward tickets with enough time to connect. If you would like to stay on, we can add extra nights on the coast or back in Stone Town for you. Your trip ends at the airport, with sand still in your shoes.
Included
- Drop-off at Zanzibar airport (ZNZ)
Free time: Morning free
- Arusha1 night
- Karatu2 nights
- Serengeti3 nights
- Stone Town1 night
- Jambiani2 nights
- Zanzibarend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Late June to October is the dry season: cool mornings, thin grass and animals near water. The great herds move north through the western and central Serengeti in June and July and are mostly in the far north from August. Late January to March is calving season on the southern plains, with green grass, predators close behind the herds and fewer vehicles. April and May bring the long rains, so we do not run then.
Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want time in the Serengeti, not a single night
- Early risers who want the best light and the quietest sightings
- A safari and a beach in one trip, without a wasted travel day
Not for you if you want
- Travellers set on the Mara River crossings: they happen in the far north, which this trip does not reach
- Anyone who dislikes early starts or long hours in a vehicle
- A trip with more than about 15 kg of luggage each
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
9 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Arusha1 night
- Karatu2 nights
- Serengeti3 nights
- Stone Town1 night
- Jambiani2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 9 nights: 1 in Arusha, 2 at a lodge in Karatu, 3 at a tented camp in the Serengeti with its own bathroom, 1 in Stone Town and 2 at a beach hotel in Jambiani
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) and drop-off at Zanzibar airport (ZNZ)
- 4x4 safari vehicles with a pop-up roof, at most 6 guests each, with a licensed driver-guide
- Flight from the Serengeti to Zanzibar
- Transfers on Zanzibar
Activities
- Game drives in Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti
- All park and conservation fees, including the Ngorongoro crater fee
- Mto wa Mbu village and market walk
- Coffee farm walk near Karatu
- Olduvai Gorge museum
- Forodhani Gardens at sunset
- Early Stone Town walk with a licensed local guide
- Spice farm visit
- Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park
Meals
- Breakfast daily
- Full board on safari, days 2 to 6
- Welcome dinner in Arusha
- Lunch at the spice farm
- Farewell dinner in Jambiani
- Drinking water in the vehicle on safari days
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, with licensed Tanzanian driver-guides on safari and a local guide in Stone Town
other
- A tipping pool for driver-guides, camp and lodge staff and local guides
- Zanzibar visitor insurance required by the islands
Not included
- International flights to Kilimanjaro and from Zanzibar
- Tanzanian visa
- Travel insurance
- Hot-air balloon flight
- Dinner in Stone Town and lunches on Zanzibar, except the spice farm lunch
- Drinks other than water on safari
- A tip for your See Sight Tours guide, which is optional
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,500
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We confirm your departure within 24 hours.
Want your own dates? We can book the same 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 confirmation.
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 price include?
Nine nights in a hotel, a lodge, a Serengeti tented camp and Zanzibar hotels, breakfast daily, full board on safari, welcome and farewell dinners, every park and crater fee, game drives in four parks, the flight from the Serengeti to Zanzibar, Stone Town, a spice farm and Jozani, water on safari, airport transfers, a tipping pool for the local crew and your See Sight Tours guide throughout.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, in two 4x4s with at most six guests each, so every guest has a window seat and a view through the pop-up roof.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own vehicle and driver-guide. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section: we can book the same lodges, camps, flight and local guides for you.
Why three nights in the Serengeti?
With one night you arrive late, have one morning and leave. Three nights give you two full days of dawn and sunset drives, a rest at camp through the midday heat, and time to wait at a sighting instead of rushing to the next park.
Will we see the Big Five and the migration?
We cannot promise any animal. Lions, elephants and buffalo are very likely, leopards are possible in the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro is the best chance of a black rhino, often at a distance. From late January to March you are with the calving herds in the south. From late June to October the herds move north and the Mara River crossings are outside this route.
How do we get to Zanzibar?
By light aircraft from a Serengeti airstrip, usually with a stop or a change in Arusha, landing on Zanzibar by early afternoon. The baggage limit is about 15 kg per person in a soft bag, so pack light; we can hold a larger bag for you if needed.
What about the roads and the tsetse flies?
Safari roads are rough and dusty, and day 4 is a long one. Tsetse flies are common in Tarangire and are drawn to dark blue and black, so wear khaki, beige or green and use repellent.
Do I need to tip?
Tips for driver-guides, camp and lodge staff and local guides come from a pool already in your price, so you do not need envelopes or small notes for every stop. A tip for your See Sight Tours guide is optional.
Can I take the balloon flight?
Yes, on the morning of day 5, as a priced extra booked in advance with your trip. The flight lifts off at dawn over the Serengeti and ends with a bush breakfast, then you rejoin the group.
Do I need a visa?
Most visitors, including Canadians, need a Tanzanian visa. Apply for the e-visa online before you fly. Zanzibar also requires a local visitor insurance policy, which we arrange for you as part of the trip.
When is the best time to go?
We run late January to March for the calving season, with green plains and fewer vehicles, and late June to October for the dry season, when animals gather near water. We skip April and May, the long rains. Some early-year departures overlap Ramadan on Zanzibar, which we flag when you book.
How much does it cost?
Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes, and differ by style: small group or private. The small group starts from CAD 5,570 per person, and a room of your own is from CAD 1,500 more. Pick your start date when you request to book, and we confirm your trip within 24 hours. 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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