Tanzania Budget Camping Safari to the Serengeti

Tanzania Budget Camping Safari is ideal for travelers with limited time and budget but wants to be close to nature! We use the existing Public Campsites managed by Tanzania National Parks. It is the BEST way to experience Tanzania in an affordable wild and adventurous way!

Day 1:Arusha to Tarangire National Park

This day we leave Arusha at 7.00 am for Tarangire National Park.
After arriving at the gate, we proceed with check-in and then to the camp to off-load the gears and chef and then proceed with game drive until around 1300 we drive back to the camp for hot lunch. After lunch, you will have a siesta before driving out again for afternoon game viewing and sun-downer at this magical National Park. Dinner and overnight at the campsite.

About Tarangire National Park:

The park is dominated by Elephants and giant Baobab trees believed to have lived for thousands of years on earth! The Tarangire River is also a spectacular sight to witness with a lot of animals congested in especially during the dry season. The nights here are characterized by the roaring of lions and hyenas laughs, characteristically of African wild! Elephants and other animals are frequent visitors to the campsite. Dinner and overnight at Campsite 1

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Day 2:Tarangire - Lake Manyara National Park - Karatu

Today we have early morning game drive before we come back to the camp for breakfast. Then after we pack everything and drive to check out from Tarangire National Park and drive to Mbuyu wa Mjerumani Village and take the way to Magara Village. You will witness different rice farming activities along the way below the escarpment of the Rift Valley. We stop at Magara Waterfalls for a look and walk on the sand.

We proceed through different villages along the way with stopping to cheer back to the kids who normally wave to the tourists’ vehicles, shout, and maybe with stops to admire the scenery. We then check-in at the southern gate of Lake Manyara National Park.

This park is one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park), located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment. The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, Lake Manyara’s unique tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae in the lake. In the afternoon you will stop for your packed lunch at the “Maji Moto” picnic site to enjoy your delicacies. In the late afternoon, you leave the park and drive to Panorama Inn (clean-budget hotel) in Karatu. You will check-in and have hot showers. At 1830, you will go to a nearby restaurant for local dinner, barbecue and some drinks. Return to the hotel for overnight.

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 3: Karatu via Ngorongoro to Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, depart Karatu for Serengeti through the Ngorongoro Crater, stop at the viewpoint to enjoy a spectacular view of the crater, and then stop at the Maasai Village for a short visit.
(Optional: From December to Mid March – proceed to Ndutu for a quick view of the migration of the wildebeests in their calving area. Game drive in the grasslands of Ndutu where the big cats mostly are seen. We will be trying to see the wildebeests calving. Late afternoon proceeds to the Serengeti). Evening at the Pimbi or Nyani campsite for dinner and overnight.)

(Optional: Other times of the year, after a visit to the Maasai Village, we proceed to the Serengeti with game drive en-route. Proceed to the camp for pitching tents and lunch. Afternoon proceeds with game drive. Dinner and overnight at the campsite.

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 4-5: Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, game drive in the Serengeti for full day or morning and afternoon. Serengeti is the park with the largest concentration of big mammals in the world. Here you will see most of the animals in your trip including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, impalas, giraffes, and many more. Dinner and overnight at Pimbi or Nyani Campsite

Game drives can be divided into the early morning, morning, and afternoon game drives. Evening you can stop for sundowner somewhere and then to the camp for dinner and overnight

Optional: Balloon ride in the Serengeti at an extra cost of USD 570 per person.

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 6:Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast, you have morning game drive in the Serengeti and then late afternoon you drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area for dinner and overnight at Simba Campsite. There is an option to visit the Olduvai Gorge at an extra cost of USD 14 per person. Olduvai Gorge is a site in Tanzania that holds the earliest evidence of the existence of human ancestors. Paleoanthropologists have found hundreds of fossilized bones and stone tools in the area dating back millions of years, leading them to conclude that humans evolved in Africa. Dinner and overnight at Simba ”A” Campsite.

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• All drinks (Except for spirits/liquor)

Day 7:Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha

After an early breakfast, you will check-out and drive to the Ngorongoro Crater. You will descend over 600 meters into the crater floor for an exciting full-day safari. Supported by year-round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and elephant. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park is its dense population of predators, which include lion, hyena, jackal, cheetah, and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. You will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner of the crater which is one of its main features. A large number of pink flamingo, hippo, and other water birds can be seen here. Late afternoon ascend the crater walls and drive to Arusha for drop off.

Rates include:

• Park fees(For non-residents)
• All activities(Unless labeled as optional)
• All accommodation(Unless listed as upgrade)
• Camping equipment
• A professional driver/guide
• All transportation(Unless labeled as optional)
• All Taxes/VAT
• Meals(As specified in the day-by-day section)
• Drinks(As specified in the day-by-day section)

Rates exclude:

• International flights(From/to home)
• Roundtrip airport transfer
• Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
• Sleeping bag
• Bath towels
• Tips(Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
• Personal items(Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
• The government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees