10-Day Tanzania Safari & Zanzibar Beach Holiday

Day 1 — Arrival in Arusha

Your adventure begins at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), where your guide will meet you on arrival and transfer you to your lodge in Arusha. Take the afternoon to settle in, explore the town, or simply rest after your journey. In the evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at the lodge and a briefing from your guide on the days ahead. Tonight is your first night in Tanzania — the anticipation of the safari begins here.

Day 2 — Arusha to Tarangire National Park

After breakfast the safari departs, with a brief stop in Arusha town for any last-minute supplies before heading south towards Tarangire National Park. One of Tanzania’s most underrated parks, Tarangire is famous for its staggering elephant population — up to 3,000 elephants pass through during the annual migratory cycle alongside 25,000 wildebeest and 30,000 zebra. Ancient baobab trees punctuate the landscape in every direction. Enjoy a full afternoon game drive with a picnic lunch in the field. Overnight at your lodge or tented camp inside or on the boundary of the park.

Day 3 — Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast, depart for Lake Manyara National Park — a compact but extraordinarily diverse ecosystem tucked beneath the walls of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. Acacia woodlands, water forests, baobab-strewn cliffs, algae-streaked hot springs, and the lake itself create a mosaic of habitats supporting a remarkable variety of wildlife. Lake Manyara holds the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world, and its lions are famously known for tree-climbing behaviour rarely seen elsewhere in Africa. A full afternoon game drive explores the park’s varied zones before you continue to your overnight accommodation near Karatu.

Day 4 — Lake Manyara to Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, depart through the beautiful highland farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, descending from the highlands into the heart of wild Africa — the Serengeti National Park. The endless plains roll to every horizon as you make your way to the central Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. The Seronera River provides a year-round water source that attracts an exceptional diversity of species including lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, and vast herds of plains game. Arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive before settling into your camp as the savannah falls quiet for the night.

Day 5 — Full Day, Serengeti National Park

Rise before dawn for an early morning game drive — the hour when nocturnal hunters are returning from the night’s work and lion prides stir in the golden light. A full day of game drives follows, ranging across the Seronera valley and beyond. Depending on the time of year and the movement of the Great Migration, you may encounter wildebeest river crossings, vast herds on the open plains, or the intimate drama of predator and prey playing out in real time. Wildebeest, lion, elephant, giraffe, zebra, hippo, rhino, and hundreds of bird species are all possible on any given day. Overnight in the Serengeti.

Day 6 — Serengeti to Ngorongoro Conservation Area

An early morning game drive captures the Serengeti at its most atmospheric before you depart for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. En route, stop at Olduvai Gorge — one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world, where the Leakey family famously unearthed the skulls of Nutcracker Man and Handy Man, early links in the chain of human evolution. A brief guided visit brings this ancient landscape to life. Continue to your crater-rim lodge in the late afternoon, where sweeping views across the twelve-kilometre-wide caldera await. Dinner and overnight on the crater rim.

Day 7 — Ngorongoro Crater, then Zanzibar

After an early breakfast, descend over 600 metres into the Ngorongoro Crater for a morning game drive across one of Africa’s most extraordinary wildlife arenas. Approximately 25,000 animals reside within the caldera year-round — lion, hyena, jackal, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, hippo, and the critically endangered black rhino. Visit Lake Magadi in the southwestern corner, where flamingos, hippos, and water birds congregate in the shallows. After a picnic lunch inside the crater, ascend the rim and transfer to Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport for your afternoon charter flight to Zanzibar. On arrival, transfer to your beach resort. Tonight, the sound of the Indian Ocean replaces the calls of the African bush.

Day 8 — Zanzibar, Stone Town & Spice Tour

Your first full day on the island. Begin with a guided walking tour of Stone Town — Zanzibar’s UNESCO-listed old quarter, a labyrinth of narrow alleys, carved wooden doorways, bustling markets, and centuries of Swahili, Arab, Persian, and Portuguese history layered into every street corner. In the afternoon, join a spice farm tour through the island’s fragrant plantations, where cloves, cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and black pepper are grown in the shade of coconut palms. Return to your resort in the early evening for a sunset on the beach.

Day 9 — Zanzibar, Beach & Ocean

A free day to enjoy Zanzibar at your own pace. Spend the morning on the beach, snorkelling the coral reefs, or taking a traditional dhow sailing trip across the turquoise lagoon. Optional excursions include a visit to the island’s famous Prison Island to see giant Aldabra tortoises, a sunset dolphin cruise off Kizimkazi, or a guided trip to Jozani Forest to encounter the rare red colobus monkey — found nowhere else on Earth. The afternoon is yours to rest, swim, and soak in the island atmosphere.

Day 10 — Zanzibar, Departure

A final morning on the island — one last swim, a walk along the beach, or a leisurely breakfast overlooking the ocean. Your transfer to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport departs in time for your onward flight. Ten days of safari and sea come to a close, with memories of Tanzania’s wild places and island warmth to carry home.