Tauck Tanzania: A Grand Family Safari

• Tauck Exclusive – On-tour film vignettes custom-made for Tauck by BBC Earth natural history experts
• Small group departures are limited to 30 guests for a more intimate safari experience

• On-Tour Air (2 flights)
• Gratuities to Tauck Director, local guides and drivers included
• Hot air balloon over the Serengeti
• Private game drives in open-top safari vehicles – a window seat for everyone
• Multiple-night stays in tented camps and lodges mean more time for safari drives
• Three-night stay at Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, a safari-themed resort
• Visit to a primary school Tauck helps to support and a visit to the traditional home of a Chagga family
• Dinner under the stars and a drum circle; learn Maasai dancing and to speak Swahili
• Airport transfers upon arrival and departure as noted
• 27 meals; service charges, taxes, admission fees and porterage

Day 1: Arrive Arusha, Tanzania

Tour begins: Kilimanjaro International Airport. A transfer is included from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arumeru River Lodge in Arusha. Your African lodge, set in dreamlike tropical gardens, is located on the grounds of an old coffee farm. Tauck’s family Africa tours are among the world’s greatest adventures – and your family’s begins in the morning!

Day 2: Start your safari in Kilimanjaro or Arusha national parks

A choice of adventures awaits to kick off Tauck Bridges’ family Africa tour and safari today! You can choose to hike with us in Kilimanjaro National Park – home to Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the world’s highest mountains. While you won’t be going all the way to the top, you’ll take an exciting walk up (and down) Kilimanjaro’s Merengu Trail, keeping an eye out for inquisitive monkeys, doe-eyed antelopes and abundant birdlife; you’ll also visit the traditional home of a member of the Chagga tribe.

Or, your family can join an experienced local guide on a full-day game drive in Arusha National Park (the first of many on your journey) to look for gentle giraffes, boisterous baboons, colorful flamingoes and big buffalo. Later, everybody meets back at the lodge for a welcome dinner tonight to share stories of the fun you’ll have on this Africa tour.

Day 3: Tarangire, where legends say life began

Head to Tarangire National Park today – the place where life began, according to Maasai legend, and immortalized in many movies about Africa. Marvel at the classic African savannah stretching out all around you, the wildlife-rich plains studded with baobob trees. Hop aboard our open-topped safari vehicles for an afternoon game drive; look for big cats lounging under baobab trees or elephants cooling off at a watering hole. Enjoy dinner and the evening at Tarangire Safari Lodge.

Day 4: Game drives in the African bush

An up-close look at wildlife in Tarangire today begins with a morning game drive to Silale Swamp. After returning to the lodge for lunch and and some hands-on learning of Maasai crafts, head back out into the bush for an afternoon game drive and even more experiences guaranteed to create shared memories that will last lifetimes. Following dinner back at camp, learn some Swahili around the campfire, perhaps including such words as jambo (hello), kwa heri (goodbye), simba (lion) and ninafurahia (I am having a great time)!

Day 5: A village school, Lake Manyara & a Maasai boma

Make your way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area today. En route, you’ll stop for lunch in Lake Manyara National Park, a bird-lover’s paradise; meet the students and teacher at a new primary school that Tauck helps support; and visit a Maasai boma (a traditional hut village preserving Maasai cultural customs). Arrive late afternoon at your colonial lodge in Karatu, where your cottage-style accommodations for the next two nights overlook a coffee plantation and the eastern wall of the remarkable Ngorongoro Crater.

Day 6: A two-million-year-old “Garden of Eden”

One of the best places on this Africa tour to spot the Big Five – elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo and the rare black rhinoceros – ancient Ngorongoro Crater, often called Africa’s “Garden of Eden,” is home to almost every species in Africa… except the giraffe, which can’t negotiate the steep incline down into the caldera. Game drives and a unique picnic lunch on the crater floor offer ample opportunities to spot lions, cheetahs, hippos and lots of birds. Then it’s back to your lodge in Karatu for the evening.

Day 7: The “Cradle of Humankind,” Oldupai Gorge

Pack your own box lunch before heading out to Oldupai Gorge, in the Great Rift Valley, thought to be the home of some of Earth’s earliest “people.” Here, you’ll see the place where anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey found the fossilized remains of one of the first humans to walk upright; check out the Oldupai Museum and enjoy a talk by a docent. Then travel across the seemingly endless plains of the Serengeti, taking part in a game drive before arriving at Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, in the heart of world-famous Serengeti National Park, where you’ll spend the next three unforgettable nights of this Africa tour in luxury safari lodge accommodations.

Day 8: Hot air ballooning & a Serengeti game drive

Rise early for a whole new angle on the landscapes and wildlife of Serengeti National Park – an unforgettable ride over the vast Serengeti plains in a hot air balloon* – followed by a champagne breakfast in the bush and some game viewing later in the morning. After lunch at the lodge, look for zebras, hyenas, leopards and more on an afternoon game drive with your local guide. Back at your Four Seasons lodge tonight, enjoy a special dinner, where you’ll have more stories to share

Day 9: Maasai traditions & a final game drive

Your Four Seasons lodge in the Serengeti enables you to savor the African landscape, view even more wildlife, and discover local Maasai traditions and daily life on the last full day of your family’s fun-filled Africa tour. The whole family will learn about Maasai crafts and local conservation projects in classes at the lodge’s Discovery Center, and walks with the Center’s Maasai staff. After lunch, enjoy a farewell game drive in Serengeti National Park, where you can often see wildebeest and large numbers of lions and cheetahs, as well as herds of giraffe and zebra – an unforgettable spectacle of Africa’s circle of life, right before your eyes! Equally impressive are Tanzania’s magical sunsets, which you’ll enjoy during a farewell reception on the terrace of your lodge on your final night on safari, followed by a festive farewell dinner and some authentic Maasai fun.

Day 10: Back to Arusha & journey home

Tour ends: Kilimanjaro International Airport. Tour concludes after a flight back to the city of Arusha, lunch at the Cultural Heritage Center, and a guided tour of a local coffee plantation. Flights departing Africa leave late tonight; you have reserved a day room for you at the Arumeru River Lodge so that you can repack and relax as you wish. A transfer is included from Arumeru River Lodge to Kilimanjaro International Airport this evening.

Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti

Strategically located in the central north region of Serengeti National Park, Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti reigns over the wilderness with 74 luxury rooms and suites that make the most of their scenic setting. Individually air conditioned guest rooms invite with four-poster beds (and delicate mosquito netting!), spacious walk-in closets, flat-screen television, a private refrigerated bar, bathrooms with a view and a rain shower, and private sundecks to enjoy a relaxing moment under the Tanzanian sun.

Indoors, the lodge offers guests use of a well-stocked library and game room; outside, an infinity pool overlooks a natural waterhole for the ultimate comfort in impromptu wildlife spotting. Dining here is an event in itself and includes, true to its authentic setting, dining around an open fire pit at the Boma Grill, contemporary international and African dishes at Kula’s Restaurant, and lighter fare at Maji Bar.

Meliá Arusha Tanzania

The Meliá Arusha is a new 5-star luxury resort opening in 2019 in Arusha, Tanzania – located near Kilimanjaro International Airport and the main starting point for all the routes north to such major attractions as Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara National Park, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha National Park and Mount Meru.

Set at the gateway to an African adventure in an exceptional natural environment, the Meliá Arusha is adjacent to a traditional coffee plantation, and is perfectly integrated with the surrounding landscapes. The new resort will feature well-appointed guest rooms, a swimming pool, a variety of dining spaces (including a rooftop restaurant), a spa, a fitness center and nearly 2,000-square-meters of facilities for events and meetings.

Please note, prices listed are guide prices only and are based on 2 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.