The endless plains of the Serengeti, a crater that is a world unto itself, and then the spice scented sands of Zanzibar, Tanzania, the greatest safari on earth with a beach to finish.
Into Kilimanjaro and the safari town of Arusha, in the green foothills between the mountain and the plains. After the flight we keep it easy, a coffee farm dinner, a first taste of Tanzania, an early night before the bush.
A light aircraft flight into the Serengeti, the name means 'endless plains', and it is exactly that, a sea of grass to every horizon. An afternoon game drive among the lions on their kopjes, the first elephants and giraffe, a bush sunset that goes on forever.
Full days following the wildlife, and, in season, the great migration, nearly two million wildebeest and zebra moving across the plains, hunted by the big cats and crossing the rivers (July to September). A balloon at dawn, a bush breakfast, the greatest show on earth.
More game drives across different reaches of the park, the cheetah on the termite mounds, the leopard in the sausage trees, the river crossings or the calving (January to February). A sundowner on the plains, the stars coming out in their billions. (Serengeti night 4)
South to the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest intact volcanic caldera and a self contained Eden, 25,000 animals living on its floor, including the rare black rhino, all five of the Big Five in one bowl. A picnic by the hippo pool, the crater rim at dusk.
From the plains to the Indian Ocean, a flight to Zanzibar, the spice island. The carved doors and crumbling grandeur of Stone Town, the spice market lanes scented with clove and cardamom, a sunset dhow, and then the white sand of the coast.
A spice farm tour, and a boat to the Mnemba atoll to snorkel with turtles and dolphins over a reef in impossibly clear water; the sandbanks that appear and vanish with the tide. Barefoot luxury after the dust of the safari, a seafood feast on the beach.
A slow beach day on the powder sand of Nungwi or Paje, a swim, a kite surf, a dhow at sunset, a Swahili dish cooked with island spices. The perfect, languid full stop on a trip of pure adrenaline. (Zanzibar night 8)
A last morning by the ocean before your flight home. Tanzania gives you the definitive African safari and an Indian Ocean beach in one seamless trip, bush and beach, dust and turquoise, and it is hard to imagine bettering it.
Three ways to do the same route: Comfort, Premium or Luxe. Breakfasts in. Mix tiers city by city if you like, it is your trip.
Priced to your dates, your hotel tier and how the two of you like to travel. Ask, the first answer usually lands within minutes.
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