Tanzania Experience with Neptune Retreats

Arrival at Kilimanjaro; completion of customs formalities and meeting with the Italian-speaking guide/driver. Transfer to Arusha, which is about an hour and a half away. Check-in at the lodge; afternoon to rest after the journey. Dinner at your leisure and overnight stay. 

After an early breakfast, departure for Lake Manyara and first photo safari in one of Tanzania's most biodiverse parks, declared a World Heritage Site in 1981. It is home to over 380 species of birds, offering the spectacle of large flocks rather than individual sightings.

During the green rainy season, the lake is frequented by thousands of flamingos. Stop for lunch at Gibb's Farm, then continue to Karatu. Arrival and accommodation at the lodge. Dinner and overnight stay. 

Breakfast at the lodge. Today, you will descend into the crater, an enormous volcanic caldera formed around two and a half million years ago by the collapse of the now inactive volcano. A twenty-kilometre-wide amphitheatre with six-hundred-metre-high walls that is home to an incredible number of animals, including the “big five”: elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhinoceros. The latter, although present in the Serengeti, where it is rarely seen and only from a distance, can be clearly observed in the crater. Picnic lunch (alternatively, lunch can be arranged in the crater at an additional cost).

The spectacle continues with wildebeests, buffaloes, cheetahs, zebras, hyenas and more, as well as a wide variety of birds, including thousands of pink flamingos, buzzards, hawks, ostriches and eagles. In a way, the crater offers everything the animals need, a sort of paradise on earth, but it can also be a source of major and bloody struggles for survival. At the end of the day, return to the lodge. Dinner and overnight stay.

After breakfast, departure for Serengeti Park, known for being the scene of the Great Migration, i.e. the transhumance of herbivorous animals that takes place every year from one territory to another, in conjunction with the pressure exerted by large herds on pastures following the rainy season in search of fresh grass.

From January to March, they give birth in the nutrient-rich southern plains; between April and May, they migrate in small groups to the Western Corridor, forming long lines as they move. From June to October, they advance northwards to the northern Serengeti and the Masai Mara, where the famous river crossings take place. Finally, between November and December, they return to the central Serengeti, with some groups deviating through different regions.

Arrival at the camp in time for lunch. In the afternoon, first safari in Tanzania's most important park. Dinner and overnight stay at the camp.

Full day photo safari inside the park (total duration approx. 8 hours). Meals and overnight stays at the camp.

After breakfast, transfer to Seronera airstrip (35km/approx. 50 minutes) and flight to Arusha; arrival and transfer to Arusha Coffee Lodge for lunch. At the end of the day, transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport and departure on the return flight. Meals and overnight stay on board.