Bush & Beach, Tanzania & Zanzibar   October 11 -20, 2024  

Land price $4695 plus $275 internal air  per person twin share.Small group.  Price based on minimum 20 participants. Deposit $500, 2nd deposit of 50% due Jun 11, final payment due Jul 11.  Single supplement limited to two, $898 additional.

Includes:  8 nights accommodation, all meals throughout the tour starting on day two, afternoon game drive in Manyara, one morning and two afternoon game drives in Serengeti national park, full day crater tour in Ngorongoro Conservancy, Tour manager and AFS GTL, Swahili lesson, all-inclusive stay at Emerald Zanzibar bar resort.

Not Included - Air from USA, gratuities of around $90 we will add later to final invoice, Visa (details in trip tips)

Be sure you save your confirmation email.  It has a link that will direct you back to your booking in order to make changes or cancel, etc.  

This itinerary is here as a convenience. All information can be found on our website at www.afstravelers.com 

Oct 11 – DEPART JFK - KILIMANJARO 

Depart the U.S. on an overnight flight to arrive in Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) airport on October 12 for the beginning of the tour. 

12 Oct-24 ARRIVAL - KILIMANJARO 

Karibu!!! Welcome to Kilimanjaro! You’ll arrive at the international airport with the famous mountain in the distance and be greeted by our local guides before transferring to the lush Arusha Serena Lodge overlooking Lake Duluti. The rest of the day is free for you to either rest or take advantage of some of the optional activities the hotel offers. Enjoy our lodge at the slopes of Mt Meru. Our stone cottages are crafted like a 1920s lake resort. Stroll the flower gardens and enjoy lakeside sundowners. 

Overnight: Arusha Serena Lodge 

At our Lake Manyara lodge, you'll find everything you need to chill, unwind, and explore the stunning beauty of this region. Our accommodation is designed in traditional circular two-story "rondavels" style, with a contemporary touch for added comfort. The Flamingo Restaurant, located at the center, serves scrumptious food and boasts a veranda with breathtaking views. Enjoy the spa and outdoor pool. Get ready for the start of a vacation of a lifetime! 

Oct-13 ARUSHA - LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK B/L/D 

Following breakfast at the hotel, we proceed to Lake Manyara National Park. The 3-hour drive features stunning landscapes and quaint villages along the way, including the agricultural and fresh produce market town of Mto Wa Mbu, which is a souvenir hunter’s paradise and situated next to the entrance of the Lake Manyara National Park. Arriving in Manyara, we’ll enjoy the Great Rift Valley Escarpment view and be greeted by groups of baboons at the entrance of Manyara. We will arrive and take an afternoon game drive with a break for a picnic lunch. The drive takes us in search of the wildlife and birdlife that Manyara hosts along with a view of famous hot spring known as "Maji Moto." 

Lake Manyara National Park is one of Tanzania's most dramatically located African wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park) at the foot of the Great Rift Valley's western escarpment. The park's varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals; including one of Africa's densely populated of herd of African elephant, famous tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos, attracted by the algae in the lake. 

We’ll arrive at the Lake Manyara Hotel in the afternoon and in the evening, we will have one hour session to learn Swahili words that can be useful during safari. note that in Africa, we move safari style to different camps and lodges. Our lodge offers a unique village lunch with guide, bush dinners, swimming pool and cultural tribal shows at night. 

Overnight: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge 

Includes complimentary Wi-Fi and delicious breakfast. Inspired by the vibrant bird life surrounding the beautifully soda-coated Lake Manyara and the pink-fringed flamingos that add a touch of charm, this extraordinary lodge boasts gracefully curving architecture that is beyond words. The lodge also offers breathtaking panoramic views of the Great Rift Valley, mesmerizing rose- gold sunsets over the Mto Wa Mbu escarpment, and the truly remarkable tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara. Designed around a captivating vanishing horizon' pool at its center, this unique lodge features a rustic African-style reception area constructed with timber, which can be reached by crossing a small stream via a charming bridge. Beyond the reception area lies the central dining room, bar, and veranda, overlooking the pool below. The pool bar and observation point, located at the very edge of the cliffs, offer awe-inspiring vistas of Lake Manyara National Park. Scattered around the grounds are a collection of circular two-story rondavels' providing delightful accommodation options, each offering picturesque views of the lake. 

Oct – 14 LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK - SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK B/L/D 

(Optional Balloon Safari details -Book now direct at serenahotels.com. More details on this coming soon.) 

Welcome to Africa's most famous game reserve for it's dense predator population (big cats) and migration of countless animals heading south in search of the rains. Look for the big five and the smaller critters like impala, gazelle, springboks, eland and the many species of giraffes. Following breakfast, we travel to the legendary Serengeti National Park (2.5 hours), passing through Olduvai Gorge, the site of the Leakey's family discovery of fossils of human and animal ancestors dating back to almost two million years. The Olduvai Gorge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and features fascinating information about the earliest humans to walk our planet. We will have a picnic lunch on the way to Serengeti and be astounded at the countless animals we see in the park’s vast grasslands. 

Our home tonight is the exclusive Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp, situated in the heart of the Serengeti. This deluxe encampment is the quintessential safari experience where we can take in our surroundings, enjoy a scrumptious dinner and go to sleep to the sounds of Africa. 

You'll all love your tents set on a stone platform with thatched roof, two queen beds with nets and a full bathroom. There's free Wi-Fi and room service, bush breakfast, sundowners around a campfire, bush bar and more. Staff can arrange a guided walking safari with a ranger into the wild bush. 

Overnight: Mbuzi Mawe Serena Camp (2 Nights) 

Guarded by three million year-old granite towers in the magnificent Serengeti National Park, Mbuzi Mawe Serena Camp offers the quintessential African Serengeri safari experience. Our elegant tented camp is located on one of the main annual migration corridors for over one million wildebeest, half a million zebras and gazelles and their accompanying cast of predators; the camp also offers close proximity to lions, giraffes, hippos and all of the other fascinating wildlife that inhabits this 14,763 square-kilometre park. 

Oct 15 - SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK - B/L.D 

We start early after breakfast for morning and afternoon game drives through the Serengeti National Park. The park is Tanzania’s largest, covering more than 14,000 square kilometers. Here, we will witness the annual great wildebeest migration where wildebeest, zebra and gazelle migrate from Serengeti National Park to Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and come back later in the year. It takes place across the park’s endless plains which is full of wildlife and birdlife elsewhere in Africa. 

The park supports many species of wildlife including lions, African leopards, African elephants, cheetahs, African buffalos, Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, topi, elands, water bucks, hyenas, baboons, impalas, African wild dogs, and giraffes. There are more than 500 bird species here, including ostriches, secretary birds, Kori bustards, crowned cranes, marabou storks, martial eagles, lovebirds, and many species of vultures. We’ll be back late in the afternoon in time for a hot shower and dinner. 

Overnight: Mbuzi Mawe Serena Camp 

Oct-16 SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK - NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA B/L/D 

We head to the Ngorongoro Conservations area after breakfast (90 minutes). We will check into Ngorongoro Serena lodge located on the rim of the crater, offering incredible vistas of the caldera below. 

This is a day of leisure where you can explore or relax. Our past groups loved this property. The NGO Crater is a UNESCO world heritage site. Some call it the 8th wonder of the world in "a land that time forgot.'' Our lodge rooms with private balconies offer magnificent views of the crater. There's a spa, evening dance shows and wildlife & Tanzania culture talks at 9 PM in the bar. 

Overnight: Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (2 nights) 

Nestled high above the plains into the Crater’s jagged rim, cloaked in river stone and indigenous vines, Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge is barely visible to the naked eye. Framed by arched stone passages and timbered decks, its torch-lit walls are adorned with stylized cave paintings. At the stone heart of the lodge burns a glowing fire, which is kept constantly alight. Rooms are looped around the Crater rim. Each has its own rock-enclosed balcony, and all enjoy completely uninterrupted views of the volcanic amphitheater far below. Our Ngorongoro hotel lodge is a place that feels as ancient as the Crater itself, yet no modern comfort has been spared in an effort to bring you the best safari
adventure in Africa and one of the most unique travel experiences in the world. 

 Oct 17 - NGORONGORO CRATER - B/L/D 

After early breakfast, we collect our picnic lunch and set out for the day to explore the Ngorongoro Crater. Teaming with wildlife, the Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world, measuring over 600m deep and some 8-19Km in diameter. It is believed to be about 8 million years old. The steep descent into the crater is almost as exciting as the scene that awaits us within. We’ll experience a fantastic showcase of nature’s best. 

The diverse landscape within the crater, in which the savannah blends into swamps, rivers, marshes, forests, and cliffs, provides sanctuary for the black-maned lions, cheetahs, buffalos, elephants, and leopards that live side by side with thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and 

zebras, both black-backed and golden jackals. The Crater is also home to some of Tanzania’s last remaining rhinos. Flamingos and hippos inhabit the alkaline lakes and freshwater pools. Old elephants can be seen patiently wading through the papyrus ponds, while way up, on the slopes of the crater, unique and beautiful Afro-Alpine vegetation blankets the ground in a rich green cover, occasionally hidden by the mist and fog that occurs at the rim, which stands at over 7500 feet above. 

Later afternoon ascent to the crater rim and exit to drive back to our lodge and dinner. Overnight: Ngorongoro Serena lodge 

Oct- 18 NGORONGORO - ZANZIBAR BY FLIGHT. B/L/D 

(Domestic flight details will be in trip tips. Pack only soft side luggage. Maximum bag weight will be 32 pounds). After breakfast, we head to Arusha and board our flight to Zanzibar and our exclusive beach resort, the Emerald Zanzibar Resort and Spa. Newly opened in 2022, this all-inclusive resort offers a chance for you to be pampered and enjoy the gorgeous beaches of a paradise in the Indian Ocean. 

Zanzibar Island is a jewel in the ocean, surrounded by beaches that rate among the finest in the world. Here we can swim, snorkel, or just lounge the hours away, while shoals of luminous fish graze over nearby coral gardens and pods of dolphins frolic offshore. In the island's capital, Zanzibar Town, sits the historic quarter of 

Stone Town, with a mesmerizing mix of influences from Africa, Arabia, India and Europe. For these reasons and more, Zanzibar Island (officially called Unguja) is the archipelago's focal point, and the most popular destination for visitors, but choose your spot carefully. While it's easy to find tranquil beauty or party buzz (or both), increasing development threatens the island’s ineluctable magic and fragile community resources. 

Overnight: 5-Star Emerald Zanzibar Resort and Spa (all-inclusive resort, 2 nights) now called The Mora Zanzibar 

Our luxury resort and spa is under the brand of leading hotels of the world. Set an expensive pure white sandy beach, surrounded by an oval reef for calm waters. Enjoy for gourmet restaurants, three beach bars, gelato shop, spa, water sports Center for your gear and snorkeling or diving and more. This is a deluxe all inclusive heaven! 

Oct- 19 ZANZIBAR – Free day B/L/D 

After breakfast at resort. This is a free day to take in everything the resort has to offer. Take in the spa or enjoy the countless watersports. If you want to explore the island and take in Stone Town, that can also be arranged. The concierge staff can arrange anything like a dhow sunset cruise, jungle walk at Jozani and a visit to see the turtles at Prison Island. 

Overnight: The Mora Zanzibar 

Oct 20- ZANZIBAR DEPART B 

Breakfast is at our beach resort and later we bid goodbye to Zanzibar and proceed to the airport to connect to flights back home..