This 9-Day Serengeti Safari, Chimpanzees & Lake Victoria Exploration will take you through Tanzania’s Northern safari circuit.
Destinations on this safari include Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, and Rubondo Island National Park in Lake Victoria.
9-Day Tanzania Safari Highlights
- Day 1: Arrival – Arusha
- Day 2: Tarangire National Park
- Day 3: Transfer to Serengeti National Park
- Day 4-5: Serengeti National Park
- Day 6: Transfer to Mwanza City
- Day 7: Transfer to Rubondo Island National Park
- Day 8: Chimpanzee Trekking in Rubondo Island National Park
- Day 9: End of Safari
Detailed 9-Day Tanzania Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival – Arusha
Upon arrival at the airport, you will be welcomed and met by your safari guide driver who will drive you to your hotel in Arusha where you will spend the night. Welcome to Tanzania.
Day 2: Tarangire National Park
Early morning transfer to Tarangire National Park after your breakfast at the hotel in Arusha.
On arrival in the home of the elephants, you will embark on a game drive as you drive to your safari lodge.
You will check in, have lunch, and later head out for a late afternoon game drive in the baobab tree-dotted Savannah plains of Tarangire National Park.
Look out for elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, buffalos, hippos, spotted hyenas, among others.
Day 3: Transfer to Serengeti National Park
Pre-sunrise game drive in Tarangire National Park for chances to spot lions, leopards out on a morning hunt and to spot more of the wild game you could have missed out on, as most animals are active in the early hours of the day.
Return to your safari lodge for breakfast and then check out and exit the home of the elephants driving to the home of the wildebeest migration, Serengeti National Park.
Drive through the scenic plains of Ngorongoro area.
Arriving in the Serengeti later in the day, you will check in at your safari camp for a relaxing evening and an overnight.
Day 4-5: Serengeti National Park
You will spend these 2 days of your 9-day safari exploring Tanzania’s most visited and most popular national park, Serengeti National Park.
Serengeti has a lot to offer, from the great wildebeest migration to vast open Savannah grassland plains teeming with a great diverse animal and bird life.
Explore this vast wilderness on game drives at different times of the day, guided walking safaris, a once-in-a-lifetime hot air balloon safari over the Serengeti, among others.
Day 6: Transfer to Mwanza City
After your breakfast in Serengeti National Park, you will pack up your bags and exit the park, driving to Tanzania’s 2nd largest port city, Mwanza city, located 150km from Serengeti.
The city is found on the Southern shores of Lake Victoria, the world’s 2nd largest freshwater lake.
Enjoy the scenic topography of the busy city that is dotted with giant granite boulders when you arrive in the city.
You will be driven to your hotel where you will spend the night.
Day 7: Transfer to Rubondo Island National Park
Have your breakfast at your hotel in Mwanza city, after which your safari driver will take you to the shores of Lake Victoria to take a speedboat to Rubondo Island National Park.
From Kasenda village, you will take 30 minutes to Rubondo, and from Nkome, you will take 90 minutes.
On arrival at the island, you will be transferred to your accommodation facility, either to the TANAPA bandas or the Rubondo Island camp.
After your lunch, you will go on an afternoon boat ride on Lake Victoria to explore the shores of the island and the lake.
Look out for crocodiles, hippos, otters, African fish eagles, kingfishers, herons, egrets, storks, and other animals on the shores like bushbucks, sitatunga antelopes, and more.
Day 8: Chimpanzee Trekking in Rubondo Island National Park
An early breakfast and then you set off into the dense forests of Rubondo Island National Park in search of the chimpanzees.
Better chances of spotting these playful great apes are during the dry season of June to September.
Your experienced TANAPA guides and trackers will lead you to the chimpanzees that you will be given a chance to observe once you track them down.
Return to your lodge after the primate experience, have some refreshments, and after transfer back to Mwanza city by boat for the night.
Day 9: End of Safari
After your breakfast at your hotel in Mwanza city, you can opt to check out the famous port city on a short stroll as you wait for your flight transfer to your next destination or to Arusha airport/Dar es Salaam to catch your flight back home.