5-Day Nyerere, Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara Explorer

Your driver-guide collects you early from your hotel or the airport in Dar es Salaam. The road runs south through coastal villages and farmland to Nyerere National Park, the largest national park in Tanzania and part of the former Selous Game Reserve. After check-in you set out on an afternoon game drive, looking for elephants, giraffes, buffalo and impala in the woodland, and hippos and crocodiles near the water. Dinner and overnight at your camp.

Accommodation

Selous River Camp Tented Camp Mid-range

+6 +5

Start the morning with a guided boat safari on the lakes and channels of the Rufiji River. From the water you get close views of hippo pods, crocodiles basking on the sandbanks and waterbirds such as herons, storks and kingfishers. Elephants and other animals often come down to drink along the banks. Return to camp for lunch, then head out on an afternoon game drive on land. Dinner and overnight at your camp.

Accommodation

Selous River Camp Tented Camp Mid-range

+6 +5

Enjoy a last morning game drive in Nyerere, then leave the park and drive south to Kilwa Masoko, a small coastal town on the Indian Ocean. The drive takes most of the day with a stop for lunch. On arrival you check in to your hotel and have time to walk on the beach or relax before dinner and overnight in Kilwa Masoko.

Accommodation

Kilwa Beach Lodge Lodge Mid-range

+6 +5

Take a short boat ride from Kilwa Masoko to the island of Kilwa Kisiwani, once one of the richest trading cities on the East African coast. With your guide you explore the Great Mosque, the Husuni Kubwa palace, the Gereza fort and other ruins that date back to the Kilwa Sultanate. The site is part of the Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara UNESCO World Heritage Site. Return to Kilwa Masoko in the afternoon for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation

Kilwa Beach Lodge Lodge Mid-range

+6 +5

After an early breakfast, leave Kilwa Masoko and begin the drive back to Dar es Salaam along the coastal highway. This is a long day on the road, so we start early and stop for lunch along the way. You arrive in Dar es Salaam in the evening, and your driver-guide drops you at your hotel or at the airport. We recommend booking onward flights for the next day, as the journey time depends on traffic and road conditions.