9-Day Tanzania Family Safari

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrival in Arusha

Welcome to Tanzania. Your Serengeti Lion Safaris driver is already holding a sign with your family name at the airport. No stress. No confusion. Just warm greetings, cold drinks, and an air-conditioned ride to your lodge in Arusha. The kids are already trying to spot monkeys in the trees, and you’re just relieved the Wi-Fi isn’t working fast enough for them to ask for YouTube.

Accommodation:
Budget: Green Mountain Hotel
Standard: Venus Premier Hotel
Luxury: Arusha Coffee Lodge

Day 2  – Tarangire National Park: Elephant Country

Load up and head south. Tarangire is known for its massive elephant herds, ancient baobabs, and the kind of landscapes that make even teenagers look up from their phones. Within minutes, you’ll be spotting giraffes, zebra, and if luck’s on your side, a leopard snoozing in an acacia tree. The kids start a game of “Who spots it first?” You secretly let them win. You’ll overnight in a family-friendly lodge with a pool. After dinner, stories are shared around the fire, some of them even true.

Accommodation:
Camping: Zion Campsite
Budget: Tarangire Safari Lodge (Budget Rooms)
Standard: Sangaiwe Tented Lodge
Luxury: Tarangire Sopa Lodge

Day 3 – Cultural Day in Mto wa Mbu

This isn’t just about animals. Today you meet people. Real people. You’ll visit a local banana plantation, learn to grind millet, and try your hand at painting with a local artist. Kids can run free, join in dances, and you get to see Tanzania through local eyes. You’ll cook lunch with a local mama. Warning: her pilau rice will haunt your cravings back home.

Accommodation:
Camping: Migombani Campsite
Budget: Nsya Lodge
Standard: Country Lodge Karatu
Luxury: The Retreat at Ngorongoro

Day 4 – Lake Manyara National Park: Tree-Climbing Lions

Into the forested cliffs of Manyara you go. The game drive here is green and shaded, filled with blue monkeys, pink flamingos, and the mysterious lions that somehow decided trees make great beds. It’s a lush contrast to the dry savannah of Tarangire. After a slow afternoon drive, you’ll return to your lodge just in time for the kids to swim and you to sip something cold while watching the light fade across the rift valley escarpment.

Accommodation:
Camping: Migombani Campsite
Budget: Nsya Lodge
Standard: Country Lodge Karatu
Luxury: Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge

Day 5 – Serengeti Bound: Journey Into the Wild

Today’s a drive and a half—but worth every kilometer. You cross the Ngorongoro highlands, wave to Maasai herders guiding cattle through volcanic landscapes, and finally descend into the endless plains of the Serengeti. And just like that, it’s not a postcard anymore. It’s real. You’ll check into your family tented camp and fall asleep to the sound of distant lion calls, your children giggling under their mosquito nets, pretending to be explorers.

Accommodation:
Camping: Seronera Campsite
Budget: Into Wild Africa
Standard: Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp
Luxury: Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Day 6 – Serengeti Game Drives: Big Cats & Bigger Moments

This is it. The golden heart of the safari. You’re up early, chasing the sunrise and the creatures that come with it. Lions? Check. Wildebeest migration (seasonal)? Maybe. A cheetah sprinting across the horizon? If you’re lucky. Your guide keeps things fun and tailored—bathroom stops, snack breaks, and enough trivia to keep everyone engaged. Lunch is packed and eaten on the hood of the safari jeep, surrounded by zebras. No joke.

Accommodation:
Camping: Seronera Campsite
Budget: Into Wild Africa
Standard: Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp
Luxury: Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Day 7 – Balloon Safari & Picnic in the Plains

Optional but unforgettable. A sunrise hot-air balloon ride (ages 7+) lets you float silently over the herds. For the rest of the day, it’s slow drives, quiet moments, and one last wild picnic. The guides from Serengeti Lion Safaris make it feel easy—like you’ve always belonged out here, even though you just learned what a dik-dik is.

Accommodation:
Camping: Seronera Campsite
Budget: Into Wild Africa
Standard: Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp
Luxury: Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Day 8 – Ngorongoro Crater: World’s Most Dramatic Playground

You descend into the Ngorongoro Crater, an ancient volcano teeming with wildlife. It’s a game of “eye spy” but in real life. Black rhinos hide in the grass. Lions stretch under fig trees. Hippos grunt in the water. The crater floor is perfect for one last wild ride. It feels like a hidden world. And it kind of is.

Accommodation:
Camping: Simba A Campsite
Budget: Rhino Lodge
Standard: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Luxury: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

Day 9 – Departure: One Last Look

Today, you shall wake up and have a lazy breakfast before embarking on your final walking safari encounter, coffee tour and banana farm visit or optional cycling safari around Mto-wa-Mbo Ngorongoro crater area.

Mto wa Mbu provides a vibrant cultural experience, offering activities such as exploring local crafts, watching cultural performances, learning about farming practices, and sampling traditional cuisine, all while engaging with the diverse communities that inhabit the area. This is your chance to meet the local artisans as you learn more about their cultural diversity.

After the Mto Wa Mbo encounter, have your last lunch and transfer to Arusha where you are dropped off at your hotel accommodation or Arusha Airport at no extra cost.