10 Days Luxury Safari & Zanzibar
Arusha · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Crater · Zanzibar
Duration
10 days / 9 nights
Starts
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
Ends
Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ)
Safari style
Luxury
Group
Private — your own vehicle and guide
Best time
June to October and December to February. Avoid April on the coast.
Safari overview
Bush then beach: the two halves are very different, and the flight between them takes about two hours.
The safari half is short and concentrated — two nights in the Serengeti and one on the Ngorongoro rim, with a fly-out rather than the long drive back to Arusha. That buys you a whole extra day on the coast. The Zanzibar half is deliberately unstructured. After four days of pre-dawn alarms, the point is to not have a plan.
This is the luxury tier: camps inside the park rather than outside it, the crater rim rather than Karatu, and a resort on the north-east coast where the water is swimmable at more of the tide.
- Arusha — 50 km, 50 minutes
- Central Serengeti — 382 km, 6 hours with stops
- Crater rim — 145 km, 2 hours plus game viewing
- Zanzibar
- Zanzibar
- Zanzibar International Airport — 55 km, 1 hour
Safari highlights
Day by day
Every day below can be moved, lengthened or dropped. This is how we would run it.
Met at Kilimanjaro and driven up to Arusha. The first night is on the Meru slopes — coffee estate or hotel, depending on which you prefer — and it exists mainly so you sleep off the flight before the safari starts properly.
- Airport meet-and-greet
- Safari briefing
- Coffee estate walk
- Drive
- 50 km
- Travel time
- 50 minutes
- Overnight
- Arusha
- Meals
- Dinner
Tonight · Hotel · Ultra luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Arusha Coffee Lodge, depending on availability.
A long but varied day: up through the Ngorongoro highlands, past the crater rim viewpoint, down through Maasai grazing country and into the Serengeti, with a stop at the Olduvai Gorge on the way.
Two nights follow in the central Serengeti. Where exactly we place you depends on your month — in February we push south towards the calving grounds, and from July we look north instead.
- Ngorongoro rim viewpoint
- Olduvai Gorge and museum
- Game drives in the Seronera valley
- Balloon flight at dawn
- Drive
- 382 km
- Travel time
- 6 hours with stops
- Overnight
- Central Serengeti
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Tented camp · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Kon Tiki Serengeti Camp, depending on availability.
A morning game drive on the way out of the Serengeti, then east and up onto the rim. You are staying on the rim itself rather than down in Karatu, which means a twenty-minute run to the descent road tomorrow instead of an hour — the difference between arriving first and arriving eleventh.
- Morning game drive leaving the Serengeti
- Afternoon at leisure on the rim
- Sunset over the caldera
- Drive
- 145 km
- Travel time
- 2 hours plus game viewing
- Overnight
- Crater rim
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Tonight · Lodge · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Ang’ata Ngorongoro Camp, depending on availability.
Down onto the crater floor at first light for the best few hours of the day — lion, hyena, hippo, elephant and, with luck, a black rhino somewhere out on the grass. Up and out by late morning.
Then the transfer to the airstrip and a flight to Zanzibar, landing in the afternoon. You are in the sea before dinner.
- Crater floor game drive
- Flight to Zanzibar
- Transfer to the north-east coast
- Travel time
- Crater morning, then a 1-hour flight
- Overnight
- Zanzibar
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Beach resort · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Hotel Riu Palace Zanzibar, depending on availability.
Four unstructured days. Most people spend the first one horizontal and then start wanting to do things by the second.
Everything below is optional and can be arranged with a day’s notice. Stone Town deserves a half day with a proper guide — the old Omani merchant houses, the market, and the former slave market site, which is a difficult and necessary hour. Mnemba atoll is the best snorkelling and diving on the island. And the spice farms inland are far more interesting than the name suggests.
- Stone Town walking tour with a local guide
- Snorkelling or diving at Mnemba atoll
- Spice farm tour
- Jozani Forest and the red colobus
- Sunset dhow cruise
- Kitesurfing on the east coast in season
- Overnight
- Zanzibar
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Beach resort · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Matemwe Lodge, depending on availability.
A last morning on the beach, then the transfer across the island to the airport for your onward flight. If you have a late departure we will arrange a day room so you are not sitting in a terminal.
- Transfer to Zanzibar International Airport
- Day room for a late flight
- Drive
- 55 km
- Travel time
- 1 hour
- Overnight
- Zanzibar International Airport
- Meals
- Breakfast
Where you stay
These are the camps we would book. If any are full on your dates we substitute something of the same standard — and we tell you what changed and why.
Gran Meliá Arusha
A large international hotel on the Meru slopes, with the space, spa and service of a city resort at the start of…
Sueños de Africa Luxury Camp
An intimate luxury tented camp that moves with the migration through the Serengeti seasons.
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Built into the crater rim itself, with rooms looking straight down onto the floor. The location is the whole point.
Melia Zanzibar
A large resort on the north-east coast at Kiwengwa, with deep gardens running down to the beach.
Prices
| Season | Solo | 2–3 guests | 4–5 guests | 6+ guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low season 01 April – 31 May The long rains. Lowest prices, greenest landscape, some camps closed. | US$4,360 | US$3,505 | US$3,005 | US$2,758 |
| Shoulder season 01 March – 31 March Also 01 November – 19 December. | US$4,750 | US$3,820 | US$3,275 | US$3,005 |
| High season 01 June – 30 June Also 01 January – 28 February and the month of October. | US$5,185 | US$4,170 | US$3,575 | US$3,280 |
| Peak season 01 July – 30 September Also 20 December – 02 January. Book nine to twelve months ahead. | US$5,580 | US$4,485 | US$3,850 | US$3,530 |
All prices are per person sharing, in USD.
Supplements & child rates
| Single supplement For guests travelling alone or wanting a room to themselves. | US$940 per stay |
|---|---|
| Child sharing with two adults Children under 3 travel free of our costs; park fees may still apply. Ages 3–11 | US$1,985 per person |
| Room upgrade — luxury tier Upgrade the safari camps to the next comfort level throughout. | US$1,160 per person |
What is and is not included
Included
- Private 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof and a guaranteed window seat
- Professional English-speaking Tanzanian driver-guide throughout
- All national park and conservation area entry fees
- All accommodation as listed, or a camp of the same standard
- All meals on safari, on a full-board basis
- Drinking water in the vehicle throughout
- Airport meet-and-greet and all ground transfers
- Unlimited game drives within park operating hours
- All government taxes and levies
- Emergency evacuation cover (Flying Doctors) for the safari days
- 24-hour contact with our Arusha office for the whole trip
- Domestic flight from the Serengeti or Arusha to Zanzibar
- Zanzibar airport transfers and beach resort accommodation
Not included
- International flights to and from Tanzania
- Tanzanian visa — currently obtained on arrival or online in advance
- Travel and medical insurance, which we require you to hold
- Tips for your guide and camp staff
- Alcoholic and soft drinks unless stated
- Laundry, telephone and other personal expenses
- Optional activities such as balloon flights and cultural visits
- Anything not specifically listed under what is included
Questions we get asked
Yes. You have your own vehicle, your own guide and your own schedule. We do not put unrelated guests together unless you specifically ask us to, in order to share costs.
That is rather the point. Every itinerary on this site is a starting draft. Add nights, drop a park, change the comfort level, start from Zanzibar instead — tell us what you want and we will rebuild it and re-cost it.
A Toyota Land Cruiser adapted for safari: pop-up roof, charging points, a cool box, and enough space that nobody sits in a middle seat. Windows open fully on both sides.
For July to September, nine to twelve months if you want the better camps. For the green season, three to four months is usually enough. We can occasionally do much shorter notice — ask.
It is customary but not compulsory. As a guide, most guests give their driver-guide around US$20–30 per vehicle per day, and leave something in the camp staff box.
It depends on what you want a beach day to look like. The north (Nungwi, Kendwa) has deep water at every tide and the most going on. The east has a big tidal range — beautiful, but at low tide you walk a long way to swim. The south-east is quietest. We will ask before we book.
It is enough for the Serengeti and the Crater done well, which is what most first-time visitors want alongside a beach. If wildlife is the main reason you are coming, add two nights and take the fourteen-day shape instead.
Request this safari
Tell us your travel dates and group size. We will adjust the itinerary and send you an exact quote.
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