8-Day Family Safari – Shorter Drives, More Time Together

On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, your Karibu Tena representative will meet your family outside the arrivals area and escort you to a private transfer. Continue to Ilboru Safari Lodge on the lower slopes of Mount Meru for check-in and a restful first night. There is no safari driving today, allowing parents and children time to recover from the international journey, enjoy the gardens or swimming pool, and prepare comfortably for the safari ahead.

After breakfast, leave Arusha with your private driver-guide and travel to Tarangire National Park for the family’s first game drive. Explore baobab landscapes and the Tarangire River area while looking for elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelopes and predators. The schedule remains flexible, with comfort stops and a picnic lunch inside the park. In the afternoon, continue to Tarangire Safari Lodge, where the family can relax, enjoy the views and swimming pool, and settle in for dinner.

Begin with a relaxed breakfast and, depending on the family’s energy, enjoy a short morning game drive while leaving Tarangire National Park. Continue through the changing landscapes of northern Tanzania to Ngorongoro Farm House, set in the Ngorongoro Highlands. Arrive with time to settle into the family accommodation, enjoy lunch and spend an unhurried afternoon in the gardens or beside the swimming pool before dinner. This lighter day creates a comfortable pause before the crater experience.

After an early breakfast, travel to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descend into the crater for an extended family game drive. Explore the grasslands, woodland and wetlands while searching for lions, elephants, buffalo, hippos and, with luck, black rhino. Enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor before ascending in the afternoon and continuing to Ang’ata Ngorongoro Camp on the crater rim. Settle into the family tent, enjoy dinner and spend the night close to the next day’s route toward the Serengeti.

After breakfast, leave the Ngorongoro highlands and travel toward Central Serengeti. This is the longest overland stage of the safari, so the journey is planned with comfort stops, a picnic lunch and wildlife viewing as you enter the park. Continue through the central plains to Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge, where the family will stay for three consecutive nights. After check-in, relax, enjoy the lodge facilities and settle into the Serengeti without needing to pack again the next morning.

Today is devoted entirely to Central Serengeti, with no lodge change and no long transfer. Your private driver-guide will adapt the schedule to the family’s energy and interests. Choose an early start with a picnic lunch, or a gentler morning and afternoon rhythm where wildlife conditions allow. Search for lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, cheetahs and abundant plains game, then return to Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge for time at the pool, dinner and another night together in the Serengeti.

Enjoy a second full day in Central Serengeti. The additional night gives your guide time to revisit productive wildlife areas, follow fresh sightings and avoid the pressure of moving to another camp. Families may choose a longer game drive or return to the lodge between outings for rest and pool time. A picnic lunch is included when spending the full day in the park. Return to the same family accommodation for dinner and the final night in the Serengeti.

After breakfast, enjoy a final game drive while travelling to Seronera Airstrip. Board the included scheduled flight to Arusha, avoiding the long overland return journey from the Serengeti. On arrival at Arusha Airport, meet your private transfer for onward drop-off at an Arusha hotel or Kilimanjaro International Airport, depending on the confirmed travel plan. International flights should be scheduled with sufficient connection time after the domestic flight.