The 10-Day Tanzania Birding Safari offers an immersive birdwatching experience across various Tanzanian landscapes. It begins with a pickup from Kilimanjaro International Airport, followed by a stay in Arusha.
Days are filled with visits to Arusha National Park, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater, offering opportunities to spot unique bird species like Macoa ducks, Grey-breasted Spurfowl, and Rufous-tailed weavers.
The Tanzania birding safari also includes game viewing and exploration of diverse ecosystems like rain-forests and soda lakes, enriching the bird-watching journey.
Accommodations range from safari lodges to luxury retreats, enhancing the experience.
10-Day Tanzania Birding Safari Highlights
- Day 1: Arrival & Airport Transfer
- Day 2: Bird Arusha National Park
- Day 3: Transfer to Serengeti National Park
- Day 4: Bird Serengeti National Park
- Day 5: Bird Ngorongoro Crater
- Day 6: Bird Lake Manyara National Park
- Day 7: In Lake Manyara
- Day 8: Bird Tarangire National Park
- Day 9: In Tarangire
- Day 10: Back to Arusha & Departure
Detailed 10-Day Tanzania Birding Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival & Airport Transfer
Upon arrival, Meet our Driver/Guide/Representative and get picked up from Kilimanjaro International Airport, the point of entrance. Depending on the size of the group, you will be driven in a 4WD Minibus, Land Cruiser, or Land Rover. All of these vehicles are specifically built for safari, with pop-up tops for watching wildlife and window seats assured for every passenger.
It is feasible to arrange for pick-up and drop-off at Namanga, the Kenyan border with Tanzania, as well as airport pickup from Nairobi, Kenya, or shuttle bus pickup from Nairobi to Arusha.
After dinner, make your way to Arusha Town and spend the night. When you arrive at the Lodge, your tour guide will brief you.
Day 2: Bird Arusha National Park
Pre-breakfast bird watching in the Lodge grounds starts the day off with sightings of fire finches, changeable sunbirds, bulbuls, and olive thrush. After breakfast, we packed our lunches and headed to Arusha National Park, where we visited several crater lakes and saw Macoa ducks, Egyptian Geese, Hotentot teal, Comb ducks, and many other unique waders.
You can be rewarded by the woodland with orange-bellied parrots and trogons.Following our packed lunch, we leave the park and embark on a walking safari north of Arusha, stopping at the only consistently occurring White Fronted Bee Eater site in Arusha before pursuing the elusive Spike heeled Lark. We returned to our lodge in Arusha for dinner that evening.
Day 3: Transfer to Serengeti National Park
We pack our lunches and leave early in the morning to make the lengthy drive to the Serengeti, arriving in the evening. As we make our way to the Lodge, a variety of guinea pigs and sand grouses will parade past us. Dinner and a night at your camp.
Day 4: Bird Serengeti National Park
Before breakfast bird walk, looking for Tanzanian endemics in the Serengeti, such as Grey-breasted Spurfowl and Fischer’s Lovebird. Head back to the lodge for a morning meal.
Following breakfast, we spend the remainder of the day bird-watching and game viewing; as we drive along, we should be able to see the Usambiro barbets and the Grey-capped social weaver.
Getting back to your tented camp in the evening.
Day 5: Bird Ngorongoro Crater
Following breakfast, we depart from the Serengeti and enter the Ngorongoro crater, where the rare Rufous-tailed weaver will be the main attraction.
Large flocks of lesser and larger Flamingos on Soda Lake, as well as a variety of raptors like Black-winged Kites, Martial Eagles, Batleurs, Yellow-billed Kites, and Augur Buzards, should be sighted if luck allows.
The golden-winged Sunbird is another bird that can be spotted. We will also be adding a lot of huge mammals to our list.
Day 6: Bird Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast, leave the Ngorongoro conservation area and go into Lake Manyara’s jungles. Lake Manyara is well-known for its tree-climbing lions, its big hippos at the Hippo Pool, and its Maji Moto hot springs.
After having your picnic lunch at one of the many locations designated for picnics by the park authorities, you will continue to explore the rainforests around Lake Manyara, adding a good number of new species to your prior record.
In the evening, drive outside the park’s boundaries to E Unoto Retreat, Tanzania’s only authentic five-star luxury lodge, nestled in a secluded Maasai country and offering scheduled bird watching excursions.
Day 7: In Lake Manyara
We will offer an optional pre-breakfast bird walk around Eunoto Retreat.
Following breakfast, you can choose to spend the entire day game viewing in the Manyara Jungles or simply unwind on your balcony, which offers excellent bird-watching chances.
Later on, you can go for a stroll and explore the surrounding area, which will provide you more opportunities to meet locals and go bird-watching for a variety of dry country species, including waders.
Day 8: Bird Tarangire National Park
After an early breakfast, we head to Tarangire with our packed lunches. The highlight of the day is returning to seek for Tanzanian endemics, which this time include the Ashy Stirling, Rufous Tailed Weaver, and Yellow-collared Lovebird.
Day 9: In Tarangire
Tarangire Plains exploration all day. Apart from the numerous avian species observed, Tarangire boasts the greatest density of elephants per square kilometer in all of East Africa.
After spending the entire day game viewing in the park, we will have dinner and spend the night at our lodge.
Day 10: Back to Arusha & Departure
Before we head back to Arusha for our outbound connections, we might have time to go bird-watching and wildlife viewing in Tarangire, depending on our flight schedule.
Related Tanzania Birding Safari Tours:
- 30-Day Tanzania Endemics Birding Tour – An Ornithologist’s Paradise
- 14-Day Comprehensive Bird Watching Safari in Tanzania
- 12-Day Southern Tanzania Birding Safari – A Nature Lover’s Journey
