Tanzania Safari 5 Day Itinerary • itinerary post & photos by Jeanie A
Planning a safari trip to Tanzania and looking for the perfect itinerary to experience exceptional game drives, observe incredible wildlife and stay at amazing accommodations? In this post, I’ll share my safari itinerary and how I spent 5 unforgettable days in Tanzania and its iconic parks.
When you purchase through an affiliate link, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. By doing so, you are supporting the upkeep and maintenance of this site. Thank you for your support! Learn more.
If you’re looking for a classic Northern Circuit safari itinerary, this 5 day Tanzania safari offers an incredible introduction to some of the country’s most famous national parks. Over 5 days, I explored Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara National Park.
We opted to safari with Msangai Adventure and we could not have chosen a better company to experience Tanzania.
Book your Tanzania Safari with Msangai Adventure
Msangai Adventure Safaris gave us a trip of a lifetime. They put together an incredible 5 day itinerary exploring the best of Tanzania, with an expert guide, countless wildlife sightings, cozy accommodations, and delicious food!! I can’t recommend them enough.
Book unforgettable experiences and check out the below recommended Tanzania safari tours and hotels that I booked and are mentioned throughout this post:
The above map shows all the points of interest mentioned in this 5 Day Tanzania Safari itinerary. The points are color-coordinated as:
Day 1 Stop → DARK RED
Day 2 Stops → LIGHT ORANGE
Day 3 Stops → YELLOW
Day 4 Stops → GREEN
Day 5 Stops → DARK BLUE
HOW TO USE THE ABOVE TANZANIA SAFARI MAP:
Action
Description
Click a Colored Point of Interest
Shows additional information and details of the selected Point of Interest
Click the Four-cornered Square at the Top Right
Opens the map in a Larger Map view in your personal Google Maps account
On Larger Map view, click the STAR ☆ under “Tanzania Safari“
Adds the Map to your personal Google Maps account to access anytime on Computer* or on Phone App**
* On Computer: In your Google Maps, Click “Saved” on left bar → Click “Maps” → Click “Tanzania Safari“
**On Phone App: In your Google Maps app, Click “You” on bottom bar → Scroll to bottom → Click “Maps” → Click “Tanzania Safari“
High-Level Itinerary
When you book a safari, the company will provide an itinerary so you know what to expect. Since we were on a private tour, we had a bit more flexibility with the schedule so you may not experience the same exact schedule times. Below is how my 5 day itinerary played out, with time stamps:
My safari adventure began with a 7:30 AM morning pick up from my hotel in Arusha by our safari guide. We were picked up in a safari truck which is to be our main game drive hub and transportation for the next 5 days. It was outfitted with reclinable chairs, comfortable chair cushions, and openable rooftop, interior side railings (for the bumpy roads!), charging outlets, and plenty of water.
Tarangire National Park
We then made our 2 hour drive towards Tarangire National Park! Tarangire National Park is known for its massive elephant population and iconic baobab trees. Also, I was not expecting to see so many baobab trees at first, so the first one I spotted, I got really excited! But it turns out, baobab trees everywhere in the park! haha. But this didn’t stop me from being amazed at seeing these beautiful and unique trees though.
Throughout the day, we spotted elephants, zebras, impalas, and numerous bird species. AND we were so lucky to see lions! A solo female lion even walked right next to our truck!
Bush Lunch in Tarangire
Lunch was served inside the park, allowing us to enjoy a view of the Tarangire River and take a break from wildlife spotting before continuing our afternoon game drive. However, the lunch spot did have a ton of small monkeys roaming around, ready to steal food from unwatching eyes. We had a banana stolen from right under our nose! lol.
After lunch, we then continued our game drive and saw more wildlife and baobab trees. By late afternoon, we left the park and made our way toward our hotel for the night.
Stay: Mvuli Hotel Ngorongoro
For our first night on the 5 day safari, we stayed at Mvuli Hotel Ngorongoro. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the amazing staff singing to Jamba Bwana (my new favorite song hehe). The hotel is perched on a hillside, where the pool has an amazing view of the hills opposite us.
We had private villa rooms, also with an amazing view, and a HUGE bathroom! The restaurant was also cozy and the food was delicious. Once we settled into our room, we went to the pool to relax and enjoy the view with a drink until Dinner was served at 7 PM.
Day 2: Serengeti National Park
Drive to Serengeti
After breakfast, we went on our way towards the most famous wildlife destination: Serengeti National Park.
To get to Serengeti, we had to drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where the start of endless bumpy roads begin! Our guide also stopped at the Ngorongoro Crater Viewpoint while crossing through. Unfortunately, since we were high up in the mountains, there was a thick fog that covered our view of the crater.
We continued our drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and passed by the villages of the nomadic Masai people. We also saw giraffes and flamingoes while driving through.
Serengeti National Park
Then we finally made it to the entrance to the Serengeti National Park! This was truly a bucket list moment for me… to be able to arrive at such an iconic national park that so much wildlife call home. I’ve also watched a ton of wildlife and nature documentaries, and Serengeti has always been on my bucket list since I was super young. I’m grateful to be able to travel all this way, and experience a true once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Once we entered the park, we immediately saw zebras, impalas, and even our first cheetah!!! Already off to a great start and we didn’t even get to the Serengeti main gate yet! This was just a sign of what wildlife awaits us the next 2 days we’re here.
Lunch in Serengeti
When we got to the main entry gate, we parked and found a table to eat our lunch. The lunch area was pretty busy, where we had to wait for a table to be available! Since we had bought our Serengeti Hot Air Balloon tour, we also took the opportunity to get a full briefing of how the tour will go.
Then after the briefing, we made our way into the Serengeti to spot more wildlife. On this game drive, we saw so much wildlife, the park really lived up to its name. I’ll write another post on all the wildlife we saw :). We were on our game drive until about 6 PM, when we arrived at Moyo Tented Camp.
Stay: Moyo Tented Camp
The staff greeted us singing Jambo Bwana(!!), gave us a short tour of the camp grounds, and then showed us to our incredible tent. After settling into our home for the next 2 nights, we made our way to the restaurant and waited for dinner to be served.
The food was served by a staff member coming by with each entree and side, and giving us a portion as we desired. Food was delicious, and after dinner, we went back to the tent to sleep since we had a super early morning the next day.
Day 3: Serengeti National Park
This was the most memorable days of the entire safari trip!!
Serengeti Hot Air Balloon Tour
Before sunrise, we were picked up for our hot air balloon safari over the Serengeti. We got to the launch site, had some coffee/tea, used the “loo with a view” lol, and were able to see the balloons get prepped and inflated. Then we boarded our balloon and we drifted our way across the plains.
We watched the first light of the day illuminate the Serengeti and spotted wildlife right below us. This was truly an incredible experience and one I won’t ever forget. I’ll write another post detailing this tour and if it’s worth the high price tag!
But if you want to go on the exact tour I did, click here or click “Book Now” in the widget below:
Serengeti Game Drive
At around 10 AM, we met back up with our safari guide, and we made our way to explore more of the Serengeti. We saw more wildlife today, and we had our best encounter with a leopard, a whole elephant herd at a water hole, and even saw a piece of the wildebeests’ Great Migration!
This was the perfect last Serengeti game drive. Because of the early morning and amazing sightings, we opted to get back to our camp a bit earlier on this day though so that we could rest for a bit longer before dinner.
Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater
After an early morning breakfast, we left our cozy campsite and headed toward Ngorongoro Crater, one of Africa’s most extraordinary wildlife destinations.
Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro crater was formed by the collapse of a massive volcano millions of years ago. The crater is now home to one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa.
Upon arrival, we descended approximately 2,000 feet into the crater for a game drive. The scenery was spectacular, with grasslands, forests, wetlands, and a lake all contained within the crater walls.
Then we spotted the critically endangered black rhino! When we arrived, the rhino was sleeping, so it looked like a rock. We waited for about 30-45 minutes and then the rhino stood up and grazed a bit more! Amazing. I’m so happy to have seen this rhino thriving and that poaching does not exist within the caldera walls.
Bush Lunch in Ngorongoro Crater
We then enjoyed our lunch by a small lake, where hippos were clearly occupying. Then we continued our game drive while also heading up and out of the crater.
After exiting the crater, we continued to our accommodation which had an amazing view of the Great Rift Valley.
Souvenir Shopping
On the way to our last accommodation, our guide stopped at two souvenir shopping opportunities. The first shop was at a local shop where prices were pretty high. Luckily, in Tanzania, you can bargain prices down, so we did our best into getting fair-ish prices. The second shopping stop was at Safariland, where the prices were a bit more manageable and we were also able to bargain for lower prices too.
Stay: Africa Safari Manyara Escarpment
Our last accommodation was also a tented “villa”, with tent walls, a huge bathroom, and huge living space. But the restaurant and the infinity pool were incredible. Not only was the infinity pool large with plenty of poolside seating, but the views of the valley below are amazing!
Day 5: Lake Manyara National Park
On the final day of the safari, we made our way to Lake Manyara National Park.
Lake Manyara National Park
Although smaller than the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara has a completely different landscape and ecosystem. The park is known for its lush dense forests, lake views, and diverse birdlife. We spent the morning exploring the park, which was just so crazy to me because we had just seen elephants on vast dry plains, and then we’re seeing elephants stomping through thick forest!
Bush Lunch in Lake Manyara
For our last bush lunch of the safari tour, we were treated to an amazing view of the forest canopy below, the lake, and some far-off cliffs. This was a great way to end our safari. After lunch we continued our game drive on the way out of the park. Again, we opted to leave a bit early so that we can get back to our Arusha hotel to allow us more time to rest.
Drive to Arusha
Then during our last drive back to Arusha, we relaxed in the truck on the smooth road, and reminisced about the last 5 days. What a trip!! We arrived back in Arusha around 4 PM, officially marking the end of an unforgettable adventure and this 5 day Tanzania safari itinerary.
Stay: Mount Meru Hotel
I booked this hotel separately from the safari, but it was a great home base in Arusha as we explored the surrounding areas here. The pool was nice and there’s a great view of Mount Meru as well.
Book your stay at Mount Meru Hotel by clicking here, or Search your availability in the widget below:
A Safari through Tanzania is undoubtedly a true trip of a lifetime, but sometimes it’s hard to even start to know how to plan. But in hopes to make this process easy for you, steal this itinerary, and/or reach out to Msangai Adventure Safaris for your Tanzanian safari. I hope this 5 Day safari itinerary helps you plan your Tanzania adventure.
Have you gone on safari in Tanzania? What was your safari like – Let me know in the comments below!
Jeanie has traveled to over 50 countries and has a love for new experiences, visiting iconic attractions, and finding breathtaking views. Hoping to help plan unforgettable adventures, Jeanie aims to inspire others to visit new places through her travel stories and photography.
If this post has helped you, feel free to support me on:
Leave a Reply