5-Day Ultimate Fly-In/Out Safari from Arusha/Zanzibar

Whether you are flying in from Kilimanjaro, Arusha or Zanzibar, your driver guide meets you at the airstrip in the western Serengeti and welcomes you to one of the world's great wildlife sanctuaries.

From the airstrip you set straight off on a game drive through the western part of the park, known for its beauty, sunlit savannahs and rich wildlife: lions, herds of buffalo and wildebeest, zebras, antelopes and gazelles grazing side by side. With luck you may come across a pack of African wild dogs on patrol, or catch sight of a shy kudu or eland in the distance.

After a picnic lunch and a short afternoon drive you arrive at your lodge for your first dinner and a night in the African bush.

After breakfast at around 08:00 you spend a full day exploring the western Serengeti, home to great numbers of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and gazelle and an impressive range of predators, including lions, leopards, cheetahs and spotted hyenas.

The western corridor is a beautiful landscape of sunlit savannah through which the great migration passes each year as the herds move north in search of fresh grazing. Immerse yourself in the peace of the wilderness, enjoy a picnic lunch, and return to your lodge for dinner and a bonfire under a starry sky.

After breakfast you game-drive east towards Seronera, the heart of the Serengeti, renowned for the sheer variety of its wildlife. Look out for elephants feeding, prides of lions lazing under acacia trees after a heavy meal, leopards draped along branches with legs and tail dangling, and spotted hyenas looking for a fresh kill.

African wild dogs sometimes patrol the plains here, bat-eared foxes gather near their dens, and you may spot a serval or other small cat darting through the grass. Antelopes are everywhere, and Nile crocodiles bask open-mouthed on the riverbanks, so keep your eyes peeled.

After a picnic lunch and a short afternoon drive you reach your camp for dinner and a night in the bush.

After breakfast you begin with an early game drive out of the Serengeti, then visit a Maasai boma to experience the vibrant traditions and warm hospitality of the Maasai. Learn about their way of life, join in traditional dances, try on their shuka cloths and taste local delicacies.

Afterwards you visit the Shifting Sands, a dune of black, magnetic volcanic ash around 9 metres high and 100 metres long that creeps 17–20 metres westwards across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area each year. Then continue to Olduvai Gorge and its museum, one of the world's most important archaeological sites, where evidence of early humans and the creatures that lived alongside them has been uncovered.

After a picnic lunch and a short game drive you continue to your lodge in the small town of Karatu for dinner and the night.

After breakfast you drive up to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descend 610 metres into the crater, a vast collapsed volcano whose permanent water supply supports a remarkable variety of wildlife.

Dark-maned lions show off their strength, great wrinkled elephants roam the swamps, and herds of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, warthog and gazelle fill the grasslands. This is a home of the Big Five, where black rhino wander freely and ostriches, the world's largest birds, stride across the floor.

After a picnic lunch beneath the crater walls and a short final game drive, you drive back to Arusha and on to Kilimanjaro International Airport in time for your international flight home (transfer timing depends on your flight schedule). The Gip Adventure team wishes you a safe journey and a lifetime of memories.