Africa: The Ultimate Safari Tour

You’ll start this Unforgettable adventure flying into Kilimanjaro international airport (Northern Tanzania). You will be met on arrival in Kilimanjaro, and transferred to Arusha Coffee Lodge to stay for the night. Relax here after your international flight, ready for your safari the following morning!

Fly from Arusha to Manyara airstrip, where you will be met on arrival and transferred to Plantation Lodge in the Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest inactive caldera in the world and was created by the collapse of a volcano over two million years ago. As a result, the area around Ngorongoro is rich and fertile, providing a haven for wildlife. The crater floor homes the Big Five and is one of the best opportunities in Tanzania to see black rhino and large tusker elephants. Interestingly, the crater floor is missing some animals there are no giraffe. While the views are spectacular, it is the drive from crater rim down to floor that is an unforgettable experience in itself.

You’ll have a full-day private game drive descent down into the Ngorongoro Crater. You will depart from your lodge early in the morning, and spend the day inside the crater, with the opportunity to see zebra, elephant, lions, and a host of antelope and other plains game. At the end of your crater descent, you’ll head back to your lodge to relax.

Today you will fly from the Ngorongoro Crater to the northern plains of the Serengeti National Park. You will stay in a luxury lodge, Lemala Kuria Hills or another of our recommended camps for 4 nights. A day on safari here includes an early morning game drive, leaving camp around 6am. You’ll enjoy a few hours on safari, in open-sided jeeps with a professional safari guide. Get the opportunity to see huge elephant herds, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, a host of antelope, and all of the big cats – including leopard, lion and cheetah. If you visit during the June to October window, you will have the opportunity to see the Great Migration. Over two million wildebeest and zebra circulate around the Serengeti National Park, with predators lurking.

After your morning game drive, you will fly to the eastern plains of the Serengeti, to stay in a luxury camp here for 4 nights. This eastern area of the Serengeti was closed for over 20 years in an effort to replenish the cheetah population. Today, only a handful of luxury camps sit in this area, so a safari here will feel exclusive. The cheetah population – and in fact, all big cats – have thrived so you will get the opportunity to see a huge amount. Your safaris here will be the same setup as the previous days. You will have a game drive early morning and late afternoon, in open-sided jeeps where you will be guided by a professional safari guide. These are on a shared basis with other guests from the camp, and you will of course, stop for bush breakfasts, coffee breaks, and sundowner drinks watching the sun go down. Your luxury camp will have a swimming pool, plunge pools and comfortable lounge areas to relax in during the middle of the day.

After 10 nights on safari in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park, you will fly to Kilimanjaro, and then connect onto a flight to Nairobi. You will be met on arrival and transferred to the iconic, Giraffe Manor. Located in the leafy suburb of Nairobi called Karen, the Manor is a colonial house which today, is a boutique hotel with a twist. The manor house, owned by the Safari Collection (with sister properties across Kenya) has 12 rooms, where you can spend a night with the Rothschild giraffes. You will get to spend an ample time with these habituated giraffes, enjoying afternoon tea, dinner and breakfast with them.

Note: This is subject to availability. Giraffe Manor is extremely popular and requires a minimum of 12 weeks to book in advance. 

After your memorable breakfast with the giraffes, you will fly from Nairobi to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. As one of the natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls is often featured on a bucket list, and rightly so. The 1,708-meter-long waterfall spreads across both Zambia and Zimbabwe, with walkways on either side. The views are equally impressive from both sides, and a guided tour of the falls is a must for your first day! You will have 4 nights here in Victoria Falls which is a great amount of time to enjoy a wealth of activities. We will include a tour of the falls and a sunset cruise on the Zambezi Royal, but there are also a host of activities you can do including helicopter and micro-light flights over the falls, adrenaline-fueled activities like bungee jumping, gorge swings and canopy tours, and day trips to nearby safari destinations like Chobe or Hwange. The town itself is also worth exploring, and there are lots of cultural tours you can get stuck into.

After 4 nights in Victoria Falls, you’ll head back into the bush and fly to Maun in Botswana. From here, you’ll be met on arrival and flown into the Okavango Delta. This is one of the most unique safari destinations in all of Africa; Every year the rains from Angola make their way down to Botswana’s Okavango, flooding the savannahs and transforming the landscape. The animals have adapted to live here and the predators have adapted to hunt in these flooded conditions, and from a game-viewing perspective, you can enjoy both ‘dry’ activities like game drives and walking safaris, and ‘wet’ activities like boat safaris and mokoros (which are local, dug-out canoes). For your stay in the Delta, we’ve included 3 nights in two different locations to allow you to experience both. Depending on which camps you opt for, you will have the opportunity to take a helicopter between the two, which is an amazing way to see the Delta from above.

To end this exceptional trip, you will fly to Cape Town in South Africa. Here you will spend 3 nights in the waterfront, with plenty of cafes and restaurants on your doorstep. Cape Town is a fantastic cosmopolitan city, with panoramic views of dramatic mountains and the sparkling ocean. There is so much to do and see in Cape Town. For those who are active travelers, there are so many hikes to enjoy, like Table Mountain, Lions Head, and the mountain ranges that circulate the city. For those that are interested in food and wine, there are local food tours and cooking classes. For those that are interested in history, a visit to Robben Island is a must – known as the site of a maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held for 27 years.

Just an hour’s drive from Cape Town, you’ll then spend the final 2 nights in the Cape Winelands Region. Relax and unwind in the quaint town of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, surrounded by the most beautiful mountains and vineyards. You can enjoy personalized, private wine tours, or even jump on the wine tram (departing from Franschhoek), to visit some of the most iconic wine estates and wineries. On your final day, you will transfer back to Cape Town to depart from the international airport.