Explore! Serengeti Lodge Safari for solo travellers

Day 1: Arusha

Join the group in Arusha, a small town at the foot of Mount Meru. Depending on your arrival time you may wish to take a taxi into the town or to relax by the pool after the long journey before meeting your Explore Leader this evening.

Day 2: Manyara National Park

This morning we head south-west to Lake Manyara National Park for our first game drive. This drive takes us through villages and towns, where busy markets and locals in traditional, bright dress line the route. On arrival at our lodge we will have lunch and a short while to take in the view over the floodplains below, before heading out on our first game drive.

Day 3: Serengeti National Park

Today we have a long but rewarding journey into the world famous Serengeti National Park. The scenery and views are spectacular as we travel around the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and transit through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We pass several Masai homesteads before arriving at Olduvai Gorge, where in 1959, anthropologists Dr and Mrs Leakey discovered the remains of an almost intact human skull named ‘Nutcracker Man’. It was here at this important prehistoric site, together with other startling discoveries, that have contributed to the furthering understanding of early human development. Olduvai Gorge and the fossils that it contains give a unique insight into the role this part of the world played in human evolution. We’ll enjoy a packed lunch in the courtyard of the Olduvai Gorge visitor centre, before walking around the interactive, timeline museum to learn more of this fascinating place. A local guide will then talk us through the ages of the gorge whilst we look out over the valley below.

Day 4: Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti covers almost 15,000 square km in area and is Tanzania’s oldest, and arguably, greatest park. Famed for the awe-inspiring spectacle of the annual migration, it offers some of the best game viewing in Africa. We will travel through various different habitats from dry, dusty savannahs to long grasses and mud pools. Prey and predator can be found in the park, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffe and buffalo, as well as over 500 species of bird. This day is guaranteed to be exciting, and binoculars and cameras need to be at the ready! We’ll take a packed lunch with us but timings and location will depend on the wildlife movements for the day. We’ll return to our accommodation this evening in time for ‘Bush TV’, also known as a bonfire and the opportunity to enjoy a local beer whilst watching the sun go down.

Day 5: Ngorongoro Conservation area

We’ll make one last early morning game drive as we retrace our route back to Naabi Hill Gate and back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We will pass various settlements en route and the Masai can often be seen herding their livestock or working the land in the surrounding fields.

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater

This morning we will have a very early start to make our way to the crater where we will we descend from the upper rim, driving down a steep track that drops a staggering 600m to the grassy plain, lake and marshes of the basin floor below. The crater provides a unique wildlife spotting experience and is home to the Big Five. Among the animals to watch out for are elephant, lion, cheetah, buffalo and rhino. The perennial marshes teem with birdlife.

Day 7: Tarangire National Park

Today we leave Karatu and continue our journey to Tarangire National Park. One of the most striking features of the park are the majestic old baobab trees with massive silvery trunks and gourd-like fruit that dominate the skyline. Tarangire has the greatest concentration of wildlife outside of the Serengeti ecosystem and is part of a larger ecosystem that extends further south into the Masai steppes. The permanent water sources in the park result in Tarangire being home to the largest elephant populations in Tanzania, where during the dry season over 300 elephants can be seen digging for water in the riverbeds. The park is also home to the shy fringed eared oryx and the gerenuk antelope that are not seen in other parks.

Day 8: Return to Arusha

This morning we make our way back to Arusha where the tour ends.

• Meals: 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 6 dinners
• Accommodation: 4 nights standard lodge, 3 nights tented camp
• Explore Tour Leader / Driver
• Transport
• Small group size between: 10-16

• Search for the Big Five, sleep under canvas in the bush and watch the sun go down over the plains.
• Serengeti – The most iconic and prolific national park in Africa
• Ngorongoro Crater – The world’s largest complete caldera home to rhino, leopard and giraffe Tarangire – Huge herds of elephants and tree climbing lions in baobab dotted plains.

Please note, prices listed are guide prices only and are based on 1 person travelling on a twin share basis. People sharing and don’t include any additional supplements. Holiday prices are fluid and dynamic and may be changed at a moment’s notice, prior to booking, at which point they are confirmed. Please call the team free on 0800 707 6229 for more departure dates available and a quote.

All of Explore group tours are planned and operated on a twin-share basis, meaning that the standard cost is based either on individual travellers sharing accommodation with another group member of the same sex, or people who book together sharing accommodation.

Please contact Travel Club Elite on 0800 707 6229 to find out more information about booking a single room option. For Self-Guided trips the Single Room supplement offers the option of a single room each and is charged per person. The Single Room supplement also applies to the third person in a party of three that will be accommodated in a single room.