Hotel Description

Choose one of these amazing Safari Experiences! This isn’t the cheapest safari you’ll find, and it isn’t meant to be. A quick search will turn up plenty of cheaper ones, mostly in a shared vehicle with people you’ve never met. This is the one you’ll still be talking about in twenty years.

From price is per person for our 6-night safari with 4 of you travelling. Longer trips add Serengeti walking and the Hadza. Everything in Tanzania included.

Tanzania is THE safari destination in Africa, vast plains teeming with wildlife as far as the eye can see across the endless Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater – the Garden of Eden of Africa, 10 miles across and 2000 feet deep it is the home to thousands of animals from rare Rhinos to hungry lions.

The nearest airport to fly in and out of is Kilimanjaro International. Direct flights from Qatar, KLM, Turkish & Ethiopian or feeder flights from Nairobi.

Crew rate: Crewconnected members get our best direct price, 20% off what the same safari costs through a retail agent, and the price per person depends on the size of your group. Subject to availability.

Included: everything in Tanzania. That means airport transfers, park fees, all meals, wine, beer and sodas with dinner, a private 4×4 with your own guide, and Flying Doctors membership. Not included: international flights, visas, tips and personal items.

** 6 NIGHT PRIVATE TANZANIA SAFARI, from $5,989 pp, 4 travelling

A private trip for you and your travelling companions, and nobody else. There are no fixed departures and we can’t pair you with other travellers. Everything is private: your own camps, your own vehicles and your own guide, built around your dates. The price is per person and depends on the size of your group, so the more of you there are, the less each person pays. Travelling on your own is possible, but you’d be paying for a whole private safari, which makes it the most expensive way to do it. If you’re hoping for a bargain solo deal, or to tag on to someone else’s trip, this isn’t it. Do bring friends or family.

Most safaris are a string of lodges. This one is three camps that we run ourselves, and while you’re in each of them, it’s yours. Exclusive use means exactly that: your group has the camp to itself and never shares it with strangers. The tents are vast and properly furnished, with real beds, a desk, and your own ensuite bathroom. It’s all solar powered, with not a generator in sight, and the food is something we’re quietly very proud of.

You start with two nights at Itikoni, in the forest high on the slopes of Mount Meru, an hour and a half or so from Kilimanjaro airport. We have special permission to drive into the park after dark, so a late flight goes straight to camp. There’s a full day to shake off the journey: long walks with an armed ranger, colobus monkeys overhead, a bush lunch by a waterfall, and sundowners on the knoll as Kilimanjaro catches the last light.

Then south to Lake Manyara and up to Mysigio, in the Ngorongoro highlands, where we’ve worked with the Maasai village for over thirty-five years. You get a full day in Ngorongoro Crater, then the Olpul in the evening. It’s a real Maasai feast up the hill from camp, with goat cooked over the fire, stories from the elders, and warriors dancing with you. In the morning, a walk with Kambatai, who started with us as an apprentice and is now our head walking guide.

Finally, across the empty plains by our secret back route to Pembezoni, our permanent Serengeti camp, with no other camps anywhere near. Tea and biscuits before dawn, a big breakfast back at camp, a half-day walk if you fancy it, and campfire dinners in total darkness with lions roaring and hyenas whooping out there somewhere.

** 6 NIGHT PRIVATE TANZANIA SAFARI

Day 1: Into the forest. Most flights land after dark, which suits us fine. We have special permission to drive into Arusha National Park at night, so there’s no hotel in town and no wasted hour. The road climbs through the dark to Itikoni, an hour and a half or so from the airport, where there’s a hot meal, a proper bed, and Mount Meru somewhere above you that you won’t see until morning.

Day 2: A day for walking. You wake to colobus monkeys calling through the canopy, a sound like nothing else on the trip. Today is for long walks on old game trails, with an armed ranger beside you, past streams and through little gorges to a waterfall where lunch is waiting. At dusk there are sundowners on the knoll, and Kilimanjaro turning gold across the plains.

Day 3: Down into the Rift. South to Lake Manyara, where tree-climbing lions, elephants, hippos and flamingos are all possible and none of them promised. Then up into the Ngorongoro highlands to Mysigio, in a grove of ancient acacias, twenty minutes from the highway and a world away from it. The stove in the mess tent is already lit when you arrive.

Day 4: The crater, and the Olpul. Down into Ngorongoro Crater, ten miles across, its floor teeming with life. With luck you’ll see the Big Five, rhino included, and animals so used to vehicles that you can fill a memory card by lunchtime. Back at camp comes the Olpul, a Maasai feast held up the hill for generations. Goat is cooked over the fire, the elders tell stories, and the warriors dance with you, not for you. Ole Dorop, the village chief, has been our friend for more than thirty years.

Day 5: With Kambatai, then the secret way across. A morning walk with Kambatai, who started with us as an apprentice and is now our head walking guide. He’ll show you how the Maasai read this land and use the plants around them. Then across the empty plains by our secret back route, a game drive in its own right, to Pembezoni, our permanent Serengeti camp. No other camps are anywhere near. Dinner is round the campfire, in the kind of darkness cities have forgotten.

Day 6: The Serengeti gets under your skin. Tea and biscuits in the dark, then out before dawn, when the plains are at their best. Back at camp for a big breakfast at about ten, and in the cooler part of the day, a half-day walk with our guide and an armed ranger, if you fancy it. It’s the bush at walking pace. Tonight the lions may roar and the hyenas will whoop, and there won’t be a light for miles.

Day 7: Home, the long way. An early start and game viewing on the way out. Or, if the whole group would like it, fly from the Serengeti to Arusha as an extra, and watch the plains slide away beneath you.

** 8 Night Private Safari with Serengeti Walking. Eight nights, ending on foot in a corner of the Serengeti almost nobody has walked.

A private trip for you and your travelling companions, and nobody else. There are no fixed departures and we can’t pair you with other travellers. Everything is private: your own camps, your own vehicles and your own guide, built around your dates. The price is per person and depends on the size of your group, so the more of you there are, the less each person pays. Travelling on your own is possible, but you’d be paying for a whole private safari, which makes it the most expensive way to do it. If you’re hoping for a bargain solo deal, or to tag on to someone else’s trip, this isn’t it. Do bring friends or family.

Start with the six-night safari: two nights at Itikoni in the Meru forest, two at Mysigio with the crater and the Maasai, two at Pembezoni in the Serengeti. All three camps are ours, exclusive-use, solar powered and properly comfortable, so your group never shares a camp with strangers. Then we add the part that sets this trip apart.

Two nights of walking safari in a vast block of the eastern Serengeti that has barely been walked in nearly seventy years. There are no tracks, no trails, no designated campsites and no other people. Our lead guide is a Hadza bushman with ancestral tracking skills, with an armed ranger at the rear, and a camp that moves with you. It’s lightweight but not rough: dome tents you can stand up in, proper cots with duvets, good food, and cold beer and wine at the end of the day, all carried in by our team while you walk.

It isn’t a route march. There are no set routes and no fixed distances, and a morning in a sandy riverbed watching elephants dig for water can be the whole day and a perfect one. Minimum age 12.

** 8 NIGHT PRIVATE SAFARI WITH SERENGETI WALKING, from $7,987 pp, 4 travelling

Day 1: Into the forest. Most flights land after dark, which suits us. We have special permission to drive into Arusha National Park at night, so you go straight to Itikoni, an hour and a half or so from the airport. There’s a hot meal and a proper bed, and Mount Meru somewhere above you that you won’t see until morning.

Day 2: A day for walking. Colobus monkeys wake you, calling through the canopy. Today is for long walks on old game trails with an armed ranger, past streams and gorges to a waterfall where lunch is waiting. At dusk there are sundowners on the knoll, and Kilimanjaro turning gold across the plains.

Day 3: Down into the Rift. South to Lake Manyara, where tree-climbing lions, elephants and flamingos are all possible and none promised, then up to Mysigio, in a grove of ancient acacias in the Ngorongoro highlands. It’s twenty minutes from the highway and a world away from it.

Day 4: The crater, and the Olpul. A full day in Ngorongoro Crater, ten miles across and teeming with life, with luck the Big Five included, and rhino too. Back at camp, the Olpul: a Maasai feast held up the hill, goat cooked over the fire, stories from the elders, and warriors dancing with you. Ole Dorop, the village chief, has been our friend for more than thirty years.

Day 5: With Kambatai, then the secret way across. A morning walk with Kambatai, our head walking guide, who’ll show you how the Maasai read this land. Then across the empty plains by our secret back route to Pembezoni, our permanent Serengeti camp. There’s no other camp anywhere near, and dinner is round the campfire.

Day 6: One last day with the vehicles. Out in the dark for the dawn, back at camp for a big breakfast, and a lazy afternoon in the heat of the day. Tomorrow you leave the tracks behind.

Day 7: Leaving the tracks behind. We drive out into the eastern Serengeti wilderness, then stop, step out and walk. There are no roads, no trails, no campsites and no other people, because almost nobody has walked here in nearly seventy years. Our lead guide is a Hadza bushman, with an armed ranger at the rear. Meanwhile our camp team drives ahead and builds camp: dome tents you can stand up in, cots with duvets, a mess tent, a fire already lit. Cold beer and wine come with dinner.

Day 8: Where the day decides itself. A dawn walk, breakfast, then a full day on foot with a packed lunch. There’s no route and no target, only the day itself. Perhaps a morning in a sandy riverbed watching elephants dig for water, perhaps the ground read for tracks by the man beside you. By evening the camp has moved ahead of you and is waiting.

Day 9: The last dawn. One more walk in the early light, then breakfast, and the drive out. By road it’s a long day, but a game-viewing one. Or fly from the Serengeti to Arusha if the whole group prefers, as an extra. You will not be quite the same person who arrived.

** 12 NIGHT PRIVATE SAFARI WITH SERENGETI WALKING & THE HADZA, from $11,904 pp, 4 travelling

A private trip for you and your travelling companions, and nobody else. There are no fixed departures and we can’t pair you with other travellers. Everything is private: your own camps, your own vehicles and your own guide, built around your dates. The price is per person and depends on the size of your group, so the more of you there are, the less each person pays. Travelling on your own is possible, but you’d be paying for a whole private safari, which makes it the most expensive way to do it. If you’re hoping for a bargain solo deal, or to tag on to someone else’s trip, this isn’t it. Do bring friends or family.

This is the full expression of what we do. Two nights at Itikoni, two at Mysigio with the crater and an evening at the Olpul, then two nights at Lake Eyasi with the Hadza, one of the last click-speaking hunter-gatherer tribes on earth. We truck a lightweight camp down and put it up close to their village, in real wilderness, and you spend your time with them. You can go out gathering, join a hunt, watch the honey-guide birds lead them to hives, and have a go at making an arrow or lighting a fire. It’s never a show. Mostly it’s sitting and listening. Meeting the Maasai and the Hadza on one trip is genuinely rare.

Then two nights at Pembezoni, and four nights on foot in the eastern Serengeti wilderness, unwalked for nearly seventy years, with no tracks, no other people and a camp that moves with you. Our lead guide is a Hadza bushman with an armed ranger alongside, and there are cots, duvets, hot food and cold beer at the end of every day. It’s not a route march. Minimum age 12.

** 12 NIGHT PRIVATE SAFARI WITH SERENGETI WALKING & THE HADZA

Day 1: Into the forest. Most flights land after dark, and we have special permission to drive into Arusha National Park at night. So you go straight to Itikoni, an hour and a half or so from the airport, for a hot meal and a proper bed, with Mount Meru somewhere above you.

Day 2: A day for walking. Colobus monkeys call you awake. Today is for long walks on old game trails with an armed ranger, past streams and gorges to a waterfall lunch. At dusk there are sundowners on the knoll, and Kilimanjaro turns gold.

Day 3: Down into the Rift. South to Lake Manyara, where tree-climbing lions, elephants, hippos and flamingos are all possible and none promised. Then up to Mysigio, in a grove of ancient acacias in the Ngorongoro highlands, and a warm stove waiting.

Day 4: The crater, and the Olpul. A full day in Ngorongoro Crater, ten miles across and teeming with life, with luck the Big Five and rhino. Back at camp, the Olpul: a Maasai feast held up the hill, goat over the fire, the elders’ stories, warriors dancing with you. Ole Dorop, the village chief, has been our friend for more than thirty years.

Day 5: With Kambatai, then to the lake. A morning walk with Kambatai, our head walking guide, reading the land as the Maasai do. Then south to Lake Eyasi, where a lightweight camp has been set up close to the Hadza, and your first meeting with them in the afternoon.

Day 6: A day with the Hadza. The Hadza are among the last click-speaking hunter-gatherers on earth, living broadly as people did five thousand years ago. Go out with the hunters at dawn, follow the honey-guide birds, and try your hand at making an arrow or lighting a fire. It’s never a show. Mostly it’s sitting and listening, to a language full of clicks, and understanding a little of how humanity once lived.

Day 7: North, the long way. A last early morning with the Hadza, then a long day north through the highlands and across the plains to Pembezoni, our permanent Serengeti camp. It’s a journey in itself, and you arrive to a campfire.

Day 8: The Serengeti gets under your skin. Tea and biscuits in the dark, out at dawn, back for a big breakfast, and a lazy afternoon. Tonight the lions may roar and the hyenas will whoop, and there won’t be a light for miles. Tomorrow you leave the tracks behind.

Day 9: Leaving the tracks behind. We drive into the eastern Serengeti wilderness, stop, and walk. There are no roads, no trails and no other people, in ground almost nobody has walked in nearly seventy years. Our lead guide is a Hadza bushman, with an armed ranger at the rear. The camp team drives ahead and builds camp: dome tents you can stand up in, cots with duvets, a mess tent and a fire already lit, with cold beer and wine at dinner.

Day 10: A river of sand. A dawn walk, breakfast, then a full day on foot with a packed lunch. There’s no route and no target. Perhaps a morning in a dry riverbed, watching elephants dig for water. It could be the whole day, and a perfect one. Camp moves ahead of you and is waiting.

Day 11: Reading the ground. Today is about tracks, dung, birdsong and the small things the bush is telling you, once your guide teaches you how to listen. Kopjes, open plain, the odd surprise. Nothing on the ground has been promised, and that’s the point.

Day 12: The last night. One more day of walking and your last evening around the fire, wrapped in the wilderness and the silence, with the stars very close. You won’t want it to end.

Day 13: The way home. A last dawn walk, breakfast, and the drive out. By road it’s a long day, but a game-viewing one. Or, if the whole group prefers, fly from the Serengeti to Arusha as an extra.

African Environments Offers Private 6 to 12 Night Tanzania Safaris, Everything Included, from $5,989 pp for Crewconnected Members

Includes all your transport and guiding on safari, all park entrance fees, full board accommodation with great meals and drinks with dinner.

Make your booking request crewcon@africanenvironments.com and tell us your dates and how many of you are travelling.