A Detailed Tanzania Zanzibar Rwanda Itinerary (Updated 2024)
A Detailed Tanzania Zanzibar Rwanda Itinerary (Updated 2024). A private ocean safari and spice tour in Zanzibar show cultural treasures, and a gorilla trek in Rwanda is a true “bucket list” experience.
A private lecture at Oldupai Gorge, where the remains of early man were found; a hot air balloon ride at dawn over the Serengeti, followed by breakfast; an ocean safari on a private dhow boat, with lunch on a secluded beach; and a one-hour interactive visit with a silverback gorilla family in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, with an expert guide and a personal porter, in small groups of just 8 guests. Go through the following.In Tanzania, there are trips to a Maasai village and primary school, a picnic in a prehistoric crater, and a private lecture in Oldupai Gorge. This is followed by four nights in the heart of Serengeti National Park, with a hot air balloon ride and daily game drives… in Zanzibar, two nights at a beachfront hotel with ocean view rooms in Stone Town include a walking spice tour with a coconut harvester, a cruise aboard a traditional dhow with swimming and snorkeling, and free time for exploration; and in Rwanda, enjoy a Kigali tour, visits to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Museum and Kigali Genocide Memorial, and a trek into Volcanoes National Park with expert guides to spend time with a gorilla family in the wild. Accommodations feature Serena Safari Lodges in Ngorongoro, with views of the crater, and in the Serengeti, where a Maasai-village inspired lodge overlooks the vast grasslands; Kirawira Tented Camp, combining colonial elegance with modern-day amenities – ideally located to overlook the great migration in the Western Serengeti; Park Hyatt Zanzibar, a beachfront setting in the heart of historic Stone Town; and three nights in boutique hotels in Rwanda.
Day-By-Day Tanzania Zanzibar Rwanda Itinerary
Day 1: Touch down in Tanzania
The tour will start at the Serena Hotel in Arusha. Transportation to and from the Arusha Serena Hotel and Kilimanjaro International Airport is provided free of charge. Your hotel in Tanzania, which looks out over Lake Duluti, is a wonderful starting point for your African safari. Even though most planes arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport after dark, the short ride from the airport to your accommodation will have you thinking about Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
Accommodation: Arusha Serena Hotel, Resort & Spa
Day 2: Lake Manyara & on to Ngorongoro
Check out of your Arusha hotel and head to the Maasai boma (village) of Isoito for a cultural experience and bush lunch. Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to Ngorongoro Crater, a wildlife destination; your lodge is constructed on the lip of the extinct volcano, providing breathtaking views of the “lost world” below. Tonight, after we have a welcome reception, we will have supper at the lodge.
Mean Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Day 3: Game drives & a picnic in Ngorongoro Crater
NGORONGORO, #1 Safari Tanzania!? TRAVEL GUIDE to the CRATER and Great Migration
Today is your chance to discover Ngorongoro Crater, widely hailed as Africa’s “Garden of Eden.” Animals are always moving in and out of the crater because it contains meadows, woodlands, and a freshwater lake. As you travel through Africa in your four-wheel-drive safari vehicle, keep your eyes peeled for the “Big Five” animals that have made Africa famous: the African buffalo, elephant, leopard, black-maned lion, and rare black rhinoceros. The highlight of your African safari will be a picnic inside the crater, where you may tuck into a delicious meal. When you return to the lodge for supper tonight, you may sit on your private terrace and look out over the crater of Ngorongoro, home to a wide variety of animal species.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Day 4: Visit Oldupai Gorge en route to the Serengeti
Early this morning, embark on a docent-led tour of Oldupai Gorge, where 1.8 million-year-old fossilized remnants of an early human species were discovered by archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife as you make your way through the Serengeti on the bumpy dirt roads that connect the vast grasslands and plains. Check in to your safari lodge in the Central Serengeti, built in the style of traditional Maasai homes. Enjoy a leisurely evening in the lodge’s dining room and lounge, complete with live local entertainment.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Day 5: Ballooning over the Serengeti & game viewing
Serengeti Hot Air Balloon Safari
As the sun rises over the vast Serengeti grasslands, take off on an exhilarating hot air balloon flight* and view wildlife in the early morning light. When you return, a champagne breakfast in the bush awaits. Wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippos, buffalo, jackals, and gazelles are just some of the animals that might be seen on a morning game drive through the Serengeti plains. One of the best spots to observe lion prides in all of Africa is right here. Come back to the lodge for lunch, relax for the day, and then have a special sundowner before tonight’s lodge supper.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Day 6: On to the western Serengeti
Visit the Serengeti’s Western Corridor, where you can see even more animals, and hear the thunder of herds of migrating game animals. A unique African safari experience awaits you at Kirawira, your magnificent tented camp in the isolated Grumeti River valley, where you might encounter wildebeest, lion, buffalo, cheetah, warthogs, giraffes, and zebra on an afternoon game drive through the treeless plains of the Serengeti.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Kirawira Tented Camp
Day 7: Wildlife wonders on the Serengeti plains
As you observe the “circle of life” in action before your eyes in Serengeti National Park, your safari guide will share fascinating insights about the African bush after you awake in your luxurious tent in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by Edwardian-era accents that evoke the classic safari camps of a century ago. After lunch and another wildlife drive, you may unwind by the pool at Kirawira as the sun sets over Tanzania. This is as good as it gets for a typical African safari.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Kirawira Tented Camp
Day 8: To Zanzibar & a Stone Town “spice walk”
After one more morning game drive in the Serengeti, you’ll catch a flight midday to Zanzibar, an intriguing atoll in the Indian Ocean that was once a prosperous trading center for spices. Upon arrival, you and your guide will head off on foot to explore Stone Town. Your accommodations for the following two nights are at a luxurious hotel with breathtaking views of the clear water and sandy shores.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Park Hyatt Zanzibar
Day 9: Cruise via dhow on an “Indian Ocean safari”
Swahili Coast sailors have been using dhows, traditional Arabian sailboats, to trade and fish from one island port to the next for millennia. This morning, set sail from Stone Town on a traditional dhow for a “Indian Ocean safari” off the coast of Zanzibar. The captain and crew will assist you in spotting dolphins playing in the water, and you’ll stop at a secluded beach for swimming and snorkeling among the stunning coral reefs. When you get back to shore in the afternoon, you can spend as much time as you like exploring Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tonight’s dinner will be served in the comfort of your hotel.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Park Hyatt Zanzibar
Day 10: Fly to Kigali, Rwanda
Stone Town is the primary port of Zanzibar City, and you can take a “spice” tour of it first thing this morning. The aromatic mysteries of nuts, roots, and bark are revealed as you learn the origins of some of your favorite spices. Then you can take a flight to Rwanda’s Kigali airport, gateway to Volcanoes National Park, home to the critically endangered mountain gorilla and golden monkey. After checking into the Serena Hotel late that night, you can relax over a quiet meal.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Kigali Serena Hotel
Day 11: Kigali Coffee & Volcanoes National Park
Leave the hotel early this morning for the scenic drive to Ruhengeri, the city at the park’s foot where eight extinct volcanoes stand guard over the abundant local animals. Lunch will be in your grass-thatched, traditional Rwandan lodge before you head to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Museum in the foothills of the Virunga Volcano range. In preparation for tomorrow’s expedition, learn the incredible tale of Dian Fossey’s heroic efforts to conserve the mountain gorilla and gain valuable insights into gorilla behavior.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: One&Only Gorilla’s Nest
Day 12: Gorilla Trek in Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda
Get up early since this is a chance you won’t want to miss. Travel to the park’s headquarters, where a dance performance while you eat your boxed breakfast will get your blood pumping for today’s gorilla adventure and where you’ll receive a briefing from your skilled mountain guides. Take a ride in a safari vehicle to the starting point of your gorilla hike. A porter has been appointed to assist you with the transportation of your supplies and equipment, as well as to guide you to the family of gorillas you have come to observe. You will get the unique chance to observe the gorillas as they engage with each other and, if they so want, with you. After your one-hour tour, return to the resort for lunch and the rest of the day at your own pace. This afternoon, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the critically endangered mountain gorillas you had the chance to view during a lecture given by a local specialist. Tonight we will be having a farewell dinner and reception at the resort.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: One&Only Gorilla’s Nest
Day 13: Journey home
Kigali, Rwanda, is where the trip finishes. After breakfast, you’ll check out of your accommodation and return to Kigali, but not before stopping at the Genocide Memorial Museum. Learn how Rwanda was able to come together, heal, and move forward into the future with hope and resilience while paying honor to the 800,000 Rwandans who lost their lives during the crimes of 1994. To kill time before your departure back to the States this evening, continue on to the Kigali Serena Hotel, where Kabira has secured day rooms for you. Shuttle service to and from Kigali International Airport and Kigali Serena Hotel is complimentary. Airport check-in often takes three hours, so plan accordingly.
End of A 13 Days Detailed Tanzania Zanzibar Rwanda Itinerary