Skip to main content

Simba Pride Safaris

Tarangire · Ngorongoro · Manyara · 5 days

elephants &Crater

Two nights on the edge of Tarangire in the dry months, when elephant herds come down to the river beneath the baobabs, with a morning on foot and a drive after dark. Then a full day on the Ngorongoro Crater floor and a last morning in Manyara’s forest.

  • 5days
  • 4nights
  • 3parks
  • Private4×4 & guide
01 · Overview

Built around the dry season

From July to October the Tarangire River is the only reliable water for miles, and the park fills with elephants. This trip gives it two nights, from a camp on the park’s edge where walking and night drives are allowed, before the crater and Manyara.

From Arusha it is two hours on tarmac to Tarangire, so the first afternoon is already a game drive. Your camp sits on one of the private concessions bordering the park, which is what makes the walk and the night drive on day 2 possible; neither is allowed inside the park itself. Then you move up to the cool farming town of Karatu for two nights, with the crater floor in between, and finish with a morning in Lake Manyara on the way back to Arusha.

Starts

Your Arusha hotel, day 1

Your guide collects you after breakfast. Most guests land the night before.

Ends

Arusha or JRO, day 5

Back in Arusha by mid-afternoon, in time for most evening flights home.

Style

Private, camps and lodges

Your own 4×4 and guide, a tented camp on Tarangire’s edge, then a lodge in Karatu.

Pace

Short drives, full days

No transfer is longer than about three hours; every day has a game drive in it.

01

Pick-up · game drive · L D

From Arusha to the elephant river

Your guide collects you from your Arusha hotel after breakfast and takes the tarmac road south-west across the Maasai steppe. About two hours later you enter Tarangire, and the roof goes up.

After lunch you drive the Tarangire River, where in the dry season herds of a hundred or more elephants come down to drink beneath the baobabs. In the evening you leave the park for your camp on its edge, in time for a shower and dinner by the fire.

Meals
Lunch, dinner
Highlight
Elephant herds at the river
Sleep
Tented camp, Tarangire edge named when you book
02

Walk · game drive · night drive · B L D

On foot at dawn, in the dark after dinner

The day starts on foot. An armed ranger leads a walk of two to three hours through the concession: tracks, dung, termite mounds and birdsong, and the animals seen from their own level. You walk in single file, quietly, and stop on a raised hand.

After breakfast you drive into the park for the Silale Swamp and the river, then rest through the heat. After dinner you go out again in an open vehicle with a spotter and a red-filtered light, looking for bushbabies, genets, porcupines and lions on the move.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Highlight
The night drive
Sleep
Tented camp, Tarangire edge named when you book
03

Game drive · road day · B L D

A last river drive, then up to the highlands

One more early drive along the river while the park is cool, and a last look at the elephants coming down to drink. Then north through the market town of Mto wa Mbu and up the Rift Valley escarpment.

By the afternoon you are in Karatu, a farming town of coffee estates 30 minutes from the crater gate, and noticeably cooler than Tarangire. The rest of the day is quiet: a walk in the grounds, an early dinner and an early night before the descent.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Highlight
A last morning with the elephants
Sleep
Lodge in Karatu named when you book
04

Crater descent · B L D

A day on the crater floor

You are at the gate when it opens at 6 am and drop about 600 metres to the floor before most vehicles arrive. Lion and hyena, buffalo, elephant, hippo and flamingos share the grassland, the swamps and Lake Magadi.

With patience you may find one of the crater’s black rhino, though they are never guaranteed. Park rules allow six hours on the floor, so after a picnic at a designated site you climb out and return to Karatu for the afternoon.

Meals
Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Highlight
Black rhino, with luck
Add-on
Evening in a Maasai boma
05

Game drive · departure · B L

Manyara's forest, then home

Down the escarpment after breakfast to Lake Manyara, a narrow park between the Rift Valley wall and a shallow soda lake. The groundwater forest is full of baboons and blue monkeys, and Manyara’s lions sometimes rest in the branches.

Beyond the forest, the hippo pool and the lake shore finish the morning. After a picnic you drive two hours back to Arusha, and your guide drops you at your hotel or carries on to Kilimanjaro International for an evening flight.

Meals
Breakfast, picnic lunch
Ends
Arusha hotel or JRO
Next
Zanzibar is a short flight away

When to go

Where are the herds?

Two million wildebeest and zebra walk a year-long loop through the Serengeti, following the rain. Choose a season to see where they will be, and what that means for your week.

  • Best for this trip
  • Good
  • Green season, fewer vehicles

Herd positions follow the rains and shift a little from year to year. We tell you where they are likely to be before you book.

What it costs

Fill the vehicle, pay less each

Your private vehicle and guide, park and crater fees, four nights of accommodation, the walking safari and the night drive, priced per person. The more of you share the vehicle, the less each of you pays. No booking fees.

Mid-range fromUS$1,450per person sharing

Important information

All prices are per person and exclude international flights. Final rates depend on your travel dates, seasonal park fees and availability; we confirm them in writing with your quote.

Your selection · click a group size2 guests · Mid-range1 double

Get the exact price

Travelling with children

Children are welcome, and a private vehicle makes it easy to travel at their pace. Night drives are for children from about eight and walking safaris from 12, so younger children stay at camp with a parent. Ask us for child rates and family rooms for your dates.

in the price

  • Private 4×4 with pop-up roof, your group only
  • Professional English-speaking guide, all 5 days
  • Four nights as described, full board
  • Park, conservation and crater service fees
  • Walking safari and night drive on day 2
  • Bottled water in the vehicle
  • Pick-up in Arusha, drop-off in Arusha or at JRO

not in the price

  • International flights and visa
  • Hotel nights in Arusha before the safari
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Tips for your guide, ranger and camp staff
  • Drinks at the camps and lodges
  • Optional activities

Make it yours

Add to the week

Tick anything you like the sound of. It goes straight into your enquiry, and we will price it with the trip.

Send my enquiry →

Before you go

The practical part

Questions

Those are the driest months, when the Tarangire River is the only reliable water and the elephant herds are at their largest. The trip runs all year, but outside these months the elephants spread out through the park.

An armed ranger leads, and you follow simple rules: single file, quiet, stop on a raised hand. Walks avoid dangerous animals rather than seek them out.

Night drives are not allowed inside Tarangire itself. Camps on the private concessions bordering the park can run them, which is why you stay on the park’s edge.

In pockets of Tarangire’s woodland. Wear neutral colours and avoid dark blue and black, and a long-sleeved shirt helps in the afternoon.

Yes. The vehicle and guide are yours alone for all five days, on any dates you choose.

ready when you are

Five days, elephants and the crater

Tell us when you would like to travel and who is coming. We reply with a day-by-day plan and an exact price, with a Tarangire camp that runs walks and night drives.

Plan this trip
Ask on WhatsApp
Admit
2
guests
SPS · 05
Print itinerary

Other journeys like this one

4 days · from US$1,150Big Five Express
3 days · from US$890Crater & Lake Weekend
7 days · from US$1,890The Great Migration Classic
Loading itinerary…
Saved Trips