5-Day Tanzania Big 5 & Big Cats Safari - Tourias Pride

About this tour

Journey through three of Northern Tanzania’s headline parks on a private, mid-range safari designed for dependable big-game viewing and smooth logistics. Start in Tarangire’s baobab valleys where elephants crowd the life-giving river; then sweep across the endless Serengeti plains, a stage for lions, leopards, cheetahs and vast herbivore herds; and finally descend into Ngorongoro Crater, a wildlife-rich caldera famed for concentrated sightings. Your Tourias Pride driver-guide handles park entries, routing and timing so you can focus on photography and unhurried viewing from a comfortable 4×4 with a pop-up roof.

Handpicked properties keep you close to the action: a welcoming lodge near Tarangire and Ngorongoro, and a tented camp inside Central Serengeti. Meals are included as listed, airport transfers are covered, and the day-to-day rhythm is tuned to the season and your interests—full-day adventures with picnics or split morning/afternoon drives with a midday rest. It’s a balanced circuit for couples, friends and families seeking iconic landscapes, headline wildlife and authentic, mid-range comfort.

Customization

This tour can be customized

Duration

5 Days

Minimum Age

3 years

Countries

Tanzania

Comfort Level

Mid-Range

Maximum Group Size

Any group size

Physical Level

Moderate

What to expect

  • Daily game drives in a private pop-up-roof 4×4 with a professional driver-guide
  • Big-game highlights across Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, with chances for the Big Five
  • Handpicked mid-range properties positioned for wildlife access; meals as listed
  • Airport transfers included; optional cultural stop in Mto wa Mbu on the final day
  • Flexible pacing: full-day drives with picnics or split AM/PM outings
  • Optional hot-air balloon in the Serengeti (on request)

Best time

  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December

Best for

  • Cultural Experiences
  • Ecotourists
  • Families
  • Female Travellers
  • Group Travellers
  • Honeymooners
  • Photography and Art Enthusiasts
  • Students

You will visit

  • Mto wa Mbu
  • Ngorongoro Crater
  • Serengeti
  • Tarangire

Getting There

  • This Tour starts in Arusha, Ends in Arusha
  • Your flight should arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)

Transport details

  • Game drive transport is by VAN
  • Transfer between destinations is by VAN
  • Airport transfer is by VAN

Day 1

Tarangire

Ngorongoro Farm House

Day 1:

Tarangire

Leave Arusha after breakfast for Tarangire National Park, famed for its riverside wildlife and ancient baobabs. Work the river loops for elephant families, zebra and wildebeest herds, and scan open woodlands for giraffe, buffalo and the tawny shapes of lions resting in shade. Your guide uses the cooler morning hours for active sightings and the soft light that suits photography, with interpretive stops on the park’s birdlife and habitats. A picnic lunch keeps you out in prime country and allows you to follow fresh tracks and behavior cues as they unfold across the day.

As heat builds, shift to slower circuits near water and marsh edges where animals gather to drink. Later, as shadows lengthen and elephant herds drift toward the river, you’ll capture classic Tarangire scenes framed by baobabs. Exit the park before sunset and continue to your Karatu-area lodge for dinner and a relaxed evening beneath bright southern skies.

Main Activities

  • Game Drive

Transport

  • 4x4 Closed pop-up roof vehicle

Meals

  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drinks

  • Drinking water, Coffee

Accommodation

Day 2: Central Serengeti

After breakfast, climb through the Ngorongoro highlands, watching for baboons and forest birds, then descend onto the Serengeti’s open plains. Game-drive en route toward Central Serengeti/Seronera, a year-round wildlife hub where river lines, acacias and granite kopjes attract predators and herds alike. With your private vehicle, you can linger at sightings for photographs or range farther to follow spoor and radio calls safely and respectfully. After checking into your tented camp, enjoy lunch and a brief rest before a golden-hour drive targeting cats and plains game in soft afternoon light.

The afternoon circuit often sweeps past sausage trees and fig groves where leopards move between branches, and across short-grass clearings where cheetah scan for opportunity. As day cools, expect bursts of activity—elephants heading to water, giraffe stepping across the skyline, and lions stirring near kopjes—before returning to camp for dinner and a fireside recap under a star-strewn sky.

Main Activities

  • Game Drive

Transport

  • 4x4 Closed pop-up roof vehicle

Meals

  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drinks

  • Drinking water, Coffee

Accommodation

Day 3: Central Serengeti

Rise before dawn for a sunrise drive when predators patrol and herbivores shift to fresh grazing. Work the river circuits and kopje systems, scanning for lions warming on granite slabs, cheetah coursing the short-grass, and leopards threading between fig trees. Your guide adapts the route to current movements and your interests—wildlife behavior, birds, or photography—keeping an unhurried pace that maximizes time at quality sightings. Consider an optional hot-air balloon (pre-book) for a bird’s-eye perspective, followed by a celebratory breakfast.

After a relaxed lunch and siesta at camp, head out again as the light softens for last-light encounters and silhouette shots. You might stake out a quiet waterhole for elephant and buffalo arrivals or circle back to a promising area where morning tracks hinted at cats returning to hunt. Return to camp after sunset for dinner and the sounds of the African night.

 

Main Activities

  • Game Drive

Transport

  • 4x4 Closed pop-up roof vehicle

Meals

  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drinks

  • Drinking water, Coffee

Accommodation

Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater

Depart the plains with a picnic and drive to Ngorongoro Crater, descending more than 600 meters to the wildlife-rich floor—an extraordinary mosaic of grasslands, marshes and soda lakes. Cruise quiet tracks in search of lions, large buffalo herds and, with luck, black rhino along the fringes. Hippo pools and fever-tree pockets offer classic scenes and excellent birding, while sweeping crater-wall backdrops make for dramatic photographs. Your guide times entry and routing to maximize hours on the floor and to work around peak traffic where possible.

After a scenic picnic and more game viewing, ascend to the rim and continue to Karatu for a restful evening. Enjoy a hearty dinner, share highlights from the day, and prepare for tomorrow’s cultural option and return to Arusha.

Transport

  • 4x4 Closed pop-up roof vehicle

Meals

  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drinks

  • Drinking water, Coffee

Accommodation

Day 5: Arusha

Savor a relaxed breakfast, then begin the journey back toward Arusha with an optional cultural visit in Mto wa Mbu. This lively Rift Valley town offers a guided glimpse of smallholder farms, local markets and artisan workshops—an engaging contrast to the savannahs you’ve explored. It’s a gentle way to stretch your legs, pick up a few stories and souvenirs, and meet the communities that call this corridor home.

Continue across the escarpment with views over Lake Manyara before arriving in Arusha for lunch and your onward plans. Your Tourias Pride team aligns drop-off with your schedule and can arrange extra nights or a Zanzibar beach extension if you’d like to keep the adventure going.

Main Activities

  • Game Drive

Transport

  • 4x4 Closed pop-up roof vehicle

Meals

  • Breakfast, Lunch

Drinks

  • Drinking water, Coffee
End of this tour

2025 Rates and Prices

PAX

Price per person sharing

2 People

US $2,430

3 People

US $2,430

4 People

US $2,430

5 People

US $2,430

6 People

US $2,430

2026 Rates and Prices

PAX

Price per person sharing

2 People

US $2,430

4 People

US $2,430

6 People

US $2,430

Please note:

  • Prices are per person sharing (Ask a tour organizer for more price information)
  • Accommodations listed on this tours are subjected to availability, it may change depending on the time of booking
  • The price for this tour may also depends on government imposed charges. Please be in touch with the organizer of this tour at the moment of enquiring this tour.

Price Excludes

  • Additional Accommodation after Safari
  • Additional excursions
  • Alcoholic Drinks
  • Domestic Flights
  • International Flight
  • Personal Item expense
  • Pre-arrival accommodation
  • Souvenirs
  • Tips

Payment Terms

  • A 20% deposit is required to secure a booking. This deposit forms part of the payment for the trip and shall be offset to the total amount charged to the client.
  • After the initial 20% deposit is received, the balance payment should be made four (4) weeks prior to the arrival date.
  • Clients booking within four (4) weeks of tour departure are required to pay the full amount immediately to secure the reservation.
  •  All bank charges are to be settled by the client.

Cancellation Policy

Any trip cancellations must be sent in writing to the office that confirmed the reservation. Cancellations shall only be effective from the date of receipt of cancellation by the booking office. In case of a booking cancellation, the Company shall retain the full deposit.

Additional Information

  • A vegetarian option is available; please let us know at the time of booking if you require it.
  • Children must be accompanied by their parents
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking

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