People come from all over the world to see lion, leopard and cheetah – the biggest felines on the African continent. Your safari is hardly complete without seeing at least one of these amazing predators in the wilderness. When searching out the wild cats, it’s also important to look out for the smaller yet equally fascinating serval and caracal

This safari will take you to Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire in Searching for wildcats

Day 1: Arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport

Arrive at any time at Kilimanjaro International airport and transfer by our naturalist guide on your private vehicle to Arusha at Lodge/Hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax and recover from your flight, laze by the pool or explore the town.

Dinner and overnight at Lodge/Hotel

Day 2: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Today we drive to Tarangire National Park, for excellent game viewing. Tarangire is a small park that offers some excellent sights. Generally, in the dry seasons, Tarangire comes alive as wildlife and birdlife congregate on the Tarangire River, which is a permanent source of water.

We spend the night at our lodge beautiful set outside the park with stunning views and a unique atmosphere.

Dinner and overnight at Lodge/Camp.

Day 3: Tarangire to Lake Manyara National Park

We depart from your lodge in Tarangire and proceed to Lake Manyara National Park. Although it is small in size, this park is one of the most diverse reserves in the country. Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park. At the backdrop is the wall of the Great Rift Valley, before which lies the groundwater forest, areas of open grassland near the lake foreshore, and the Soda Lake. We enjoy a picnic lunch in this area, which consists of open grassy areas, hot springs, dense woodlands, and steep mountainsides. Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise that has more than 350 species of bird. The park is also famed for its unique and elusive tree-climbing lions.

Dinner and overnight at Lodge/Camp

Day 4: Lake Manyara to Serengeti

We head towards the Serengeti National Park. we drive into the Serengeti itself and the rest of the afternoon is spent game viewing in the vast plains that are broken only by stands of acacia trees and the occasional kopje. In December, January and February we will normally meet the migration with large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. There are always plenty of resident animals, such as giraffe, buffalo, and elephant, and many large predators such as lion, cheetah, and leopard. We return to our special tented camp for the night.

Dinner and overnight at Lodge/Camp

Day 5: Serengeti National Park in searching for Cats

We have another full day in this wonderful park, rising early to make the most of our time. Our guides will choose the best spotting locations for the time of year; we can spend time at the Hippo pool watching these majestic animals laze about in the cool water happily living alongside the crocodiles, watch a big pride of lions, be in the middle of the migration, sometimes surrounded by wildebeest, sometimes by zebras, which travel with the wildebeest. We journey from the wide-open plains to the kopjes: these volcanic rocky outcrops provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals and from the top, we can look out across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti. This diverse and interesting landscape will provide us with the ultimate in game viewing, we will hopefully see all of the plain games; elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lions and if you are lucky the elusive leopard and cheetah, as well as huge amounts of the interesting birdlife, from the elegant secretary birds to the flightless ostrich. We return to our special tented camp for the night.

Dinner and overnight at Lodge/Camp

Day 6: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Conservation Areas

Morning game drive in Serengeti; afternoon drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

We have a final game drive in the Serengeti before heading back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater where we spend the night.

Dinner and overnight at Lodge/Camp

Day 7: Ngorongoro Full Day Game Drive in Searching for Cats – Arusha

We start the day with an early morning game drive before heading to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Ngorongoro is a special place in that it is a Conservation Area, not a National Park; this means that the whole area is managed for both the animals and the local Masai people who graze their cattle alongside the indigenous wildlife. During the drive-in Ngorongoro, we have a chance to glimpse something of the Masai way of life. After stopping at the entrance gate, where there is a chance to learn more about this fascinating volcanic landscape, we will drive around the rim of the Crater itself, and from here we can look down and see the herd of wildebeest or buffalos. Finally, we descend into the crater. The crater walls provide a natural sanctuary for the animals, which means there is plenty to see: lions, elephants, buffalo, rhino, and leopard (if you are lucky). The only animal you won’t see here is a giraffe, whose long legs are unable to cope with the steep’s sides of the crater. In the afternoon we travel back to Arusha.

Dinner and overnight at Lodge Camp.

Day 8: Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport

Depending on your flight schedule and departure point you will be transferred to the airport to connect your flight for further travel.

Note: From Arusha you can connect to Zanzibar for further experiences.

Bon Voyage/ Safiri Salama/ Good Bye

Please Note:  The accommodation names are not mentioned in this itinerary. This is because we work with hotels and Camps in different price ranges and we want to accommodate you according to your preference! We work with more than 70 hotels, ranging from standards to luxurious five-star hotels. We will provide accommodation details on request.

INCLUDED SERVICES

• Pick-up and drop off at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
• Transportation in a 4×4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof
• Professional, English-speaking guide
• All National Park fees and Entry fees
• Overnight accommodation according to the itinerary
• Three meals per day on safari
• Domestic Flight if applicable
• Bottled of mineral water throughout the tour
• Flying Doctors insurance (AMREF) during the safari
• 24/7 phone support

DOES NOT INCLUDES: –

• International flights.
• Cost of Visas.
• Tip/gratitude to the driver guide and hoteliers.

• Expenses belong to person nature e.g. Drinks not included on the meal plans, personal purchases, Laundry etc.
• Travel Insurance

Optional Services Includes

• Balloon Flight over the Serengeti
• Night Game Drives or any tour which have not been mentioned above.
• Combination with Zanzibar Possible

Any Extension of days on safari can be arranged anytime but doesn’t guarantee it will depend on availability.