# 8-Day Premium Tanzania Safari A private luxury safari at an easy pace: two nights or more in every camp, afternoons kept free, and the option of a flight home from the Serengeti. Two nights in Tarangire, two on the Ngorongoro crater rim and three in the central Serengeti, in smaller camps with your own vehicle and guide throughout. The safari ends with a proposed light-aircraft flight back to Arusha, to be confirmed when you book. - **Length:** 8 days, 7 nights - **Route:** Tarangire National Park → Ngorongoro Crater → Serengeti National Park - **Style:** Private - **Comfort:** Luxury - **Pace:** Relaxed - **Best months:** January, February, June, July, August, September, October ## About this journey ## The shape of the trip Eight days, seven nights, and every stay at least two nights long. You spend two nights in Tarangire, two on the Ngorongoro crater rim and three in the central Serengeti. The last morning is a light-aircraft flight back to Arusha, an option we'd confirm when you book. The pace is relaxed on purpose. Afternoons can go on a long lunch, a rest or a short walk where it's allowed. The vehicle is yours, so game drives start and end when you like. ## What makes it premium Not the thread count. Time, space and a private guide. Two-night stays mean you unpack once per area, and full days without a transfer mean you can wait at a sighting instead of watching the clock. The camps on this version are smaller, with fewer guests sharing the views and the dining tent. Optional extras fit easily into the slack: a guided walk with an armed ranger where permitted, or a dawn balloon flight over the Serengeti, subject to availability. ## The light-aircraft leg Driving from the central Serengeti back to Arusha takes about 8 to 10 hours with stops. The flight takes a morning. It runs on scheduled light aircraft, which means seats have to be available on your date and luggage goes in soft bags within the airline's limit. If you'd rather fly into the Serengeti as well, that can sometimes be arranged from the Lake Manyara airstrip, depending on schedules. Ask when you plan. ## Comfort, luxury and ultra versions As written, this is a luxury safari: a smaller camp in or beside Tarangire, a lodge or camp on the crater rim, and a premium camp in the central Serengeti. For the smallest, most exclusive camps, ask about the ultra version, which keeps the route and changes the stays. A comfort version, with mid-range camps and a lodge in Karatu, works too. It usually drives back to Arusha rather than flying, which adds a long last day. ## When to go June to October is dry and clear, with Tarangire at its best. January and February are a good second window, when the migration herds are usually on the southern plains and within reach of a long day out. The long rains, roughly April and May, close some camps. For a comparison of what changes between levels, see [safari comfort levels explained](/travel-guide/safari-comfort-levels-explained). ## Day by day ### Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire Your private guide meets you in Arusha after breakfast and drives you west, about 2 to 3 hours, to Tarangire. There's no rush today. Lunch is at your camp, then an afternoon game drive as the heat starts to ease. Tarangire's dry-season elephant herds are among the largest in northern Tanzania, and its baobabs give the park a look the Serengeti doesn't have. You're back for sunset with two nights ahead, so there's no need to pack again in the morning. - Meals: Lunch, Dinner - Driving: about 2 h 30 min ### Day 2: A slow day in Tarangire A full day in one place. Go out at dawn and come back for a late breakfast, or take a picnic to the Silale swamp in the south of the park, where elephants and buffalo graze the wet grass and birdlife is plentiful. Where permitted, a guided walk with an armed ranger can be arranged. Walking changes what you notice: tracks in the sand, the size of a dung beetle's ball, the alarm call of a francolin. The middle of the day is yours to rest in camp before a late drive. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 3: Tarangire to the crater rim After a final morning drive, you head for the highlands, about 2 to 3 hours via Mto wa Mbu and up the Rift Valley escarpment. You reach your lodge on the crater rim in the afternoon, with nothing else on the plan. The view down into Ngorongoro is the reason to stay up here, and it shifts through the day as cloud comes and goes over the crater walls. Evenings at this height are cold, so keep a warm layer handy. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner - Driving: about 2 h 30 min ### Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater You leave the rim early for the descent road and spend the morning, longer if you like, on the crater floor. Zebra and wildebeest graze the open grass, buffalo lie up by the swamps, and lions and hyenas keep an eye on all of them. The Lerai Forest of yellow fever trees is a good place to find old bull elephants. Black rhino are here too, in small numbers. After a picnic lunch you climb back to the rim for a quiet afternoon. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner - Driving: about 1 h 30 min ### Day 5: To the central Serengeti A travel day with game viewing at the end of it. The road follows the crater rim and drops onto the Serengeti plains. Olduvai Gorge, known for its fossils of early human ancestors, is a short detour if you'd like to see the museum. At Naabi Hill Gate you can walk to the top of the hill while your guide sorts the permits. From there to your camp the drive becomes a game drive. Expect about 5 to 6 hours in all. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner - Driving: about 5 h 30 min ### Day 6: The central Serengeti Start the day with a dawn balloon flight over the Seronera valley if you've booked one; it's optional and subject to availability. Otherwise, head out at first light with your guide. Lions, leopards and cheetahs all live around Seronera, and the kopjes, granite islands rising from the grass, are good places to find them resting. Come back to camp at midday or stay out with a picnic. The point of three nights here is that nothing has to be squeezed in. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 7: The Serengeti, at your pace A second full day. If the migration is within reach, your guide can plan a longer outing towards the herds: south towards the short-grass plains between December and March, or west in June. Otherwise, explore further around Seronera or out to the Moru Kopjes, or take the morning off and go out only in the late afternoon. Photographers often use a day like this to return to one sighting and wait for better light. Tonight is your last night in the bush. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 8: Fly back to Arusha After breakfast, and a last drive if the flight time allows, your guide takes you to the airstrip for a light-aircraft flight to Arusha. This leg is an option to confirm when you book: it depends on seats on scheduled flights and on your luggage. The alternative is to drive back by road with your guide, which takes about 8 to 10 hours with stops. In Arusha you're taken to your hotel or to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward flight. - Meals: Breakfast - Driving: about 1 h ## Included - Private safari vehicle with pop-up roof and driver-guide - Park and conservation fees for the itinerary - Accommodation as listed in the itinerary - Meals as listed in the itinerary - Drinking water in the vehicle - Light-aircraft flight from the Serengeti to Arusha on day 8, where confirmed - Airport transfers at the start and end of the safari ## Not included - International flights - Visas - Travel insurance - Tips for your guide and camp or lodge staff - Drinks unless stated - Optional activities such as hot-air balloon flights and guided walks - Excess luggage charges on the light-aircraft flight - Your hotel night in Arusha before day 1 ## Questions ### What makes this a premium safari rather than a standard one? Mostly time and space. Every stay is at least two nights, afternoons are left free, and you have a private vehicle and guide throughout. The camps are smaller and better placed than on a comfort-level trip, and the end of the safari is a flight rather than a long drive. The route itself is the classic northern circuit, just taken slowly. ### Is the flight back to Arusha confirmed? It's proposed, and we confirm it when you book. Flights from the central Serengeti run on scheduled light aircraft, so it depends on seats being available on your date and on your luggage fitting the limit. If flying doesn't work, your guide drives you back by road, which takes about 8 to 10 hours with stops. ### Does this safari work for a honeymoon? It's a good fit. The slow pace, two-night stays and free afternoons leave room for time together, and the private vehicle means you never share a game drive. Tell us it's a honeymoon when you enquire, so the camps we suggest suit couples. Many people add a few days on Zanzibar afterwards, with a short flight to the coast. --- Source: https://untamedsafariexperience.com/safaris/8-day-premium-tanzania-safari Last updated: 2026-10-25 Plan a journey: https://untamedsafariexperience.com/plan-your-safari