9-Day Tanzania Big Five Safari, Culture & Zanzibar Holiday

Explore Tanzania on a 9-day Big Five safari with Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, cultural experiences, and Zanzibar beach relaxation.

Overview

Discover the best of Tanzania on this unforgettable 9-Day Tanzania Big Five Safari, Culture & Zanzibar Beach Holiday with Africa Incoming Adventures. This carefully designed journey combines thrilling wildlife safaris, authentic cultural experiences, spectacular landscapes, and relaxing tropical beaches.

Explore Tanzania’s famous Northern Safari Circuit, searching for the Big Five — lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinos — in some of Africa’s most remarkable wildlife destinations. Experience the beauty of Tarangire National Park, enjoy an exciting game drive across the Serengeti plains, and descend into the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater.

Beyond wildlife, connect with local culture through an immersive cultural experience before flying to Zanzibar, where white-sand beaches, turquoise waters, and the historic streets of Stone Town provide the perfect ending to your African adventure.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Arusha

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be welcomed by a representative of Africa Incoming Adventures and transferred to your hotel in Arusha. Depending on your arrival time, you can relax at the lodge or explore the town at your own pace.

In the evening, meet your safari guide for a briefing about the upcoming wildlife and cultural adventure.

Day 2: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

After breakfast, meet your professional safari guide and depart Arusha for Tarangire National Park. Upon arrival, begin your first game drive through a beautiful landscape of open grasslands, ancient baobab trees, and seasonal swamps.
Tarangire is famous for its large elephant herds and diverse wildlife. During your game drive, look for elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, buffaloes, and various antelope species. With luck, you may also spot lions or leopards resting beneath the trees.
Enjoy a picnic lunch at a designated site before continuing your afternoon wildlife exploration. Later, leave the park and travel to your mid-range lodge or tented camp for dinner and overnight accommodation.

Day 3: Cultural Experience – Journey to Serengeti

Begin the day with a cultural visit arranged with a local community or cultural centre. Learn about traditional customs, daily life, local crafts, and the relationship between communities and the surrounding environment.

Continue towards Serengeti National Park through the beautiful Ngorongoro highlands. Enjoy scenic stops and wildlife viewing along the way before reaching the Serengeti plains.

Day 4: Full-Day Serengeti Wildlife Safari

Spend the day exploring the spectacular Serengeti ecosystem. Head out on morning and afternoon game drives with your guide, looking for lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, hyenas, and large herds of grazing animals.

Depending on the season, you may encounter wildebeest and zebras moving across the plains as part of the Great Wildebeest Migration. Return to camp for dinner and a peaceful evening beneath the African sky.

Day 5: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Enjoy an early game drive or breakfast before travelling from Serengeti towards Ngorongoro. Continue to appreciate Tanzania’s varied scenery and look for wildlife along the route.

Depending on your schedule, visit a viewpoint overlooking the crater before checking into your accommodation in the Ngorongoro highlands or Karatu area. Rest and prepare for the next day’s crater safari.

Day 6: Transfer to Arusha Airport and Flight to Zanzibar

After breakfast, you can relax at the lodge and, if time allows, take a short tour of Karatu town for shopping before transferring to Arusha Airport. Your flight to Zanzibar will depart from Arusha Airport. Our driver in Zanzibar will be waiting for you at Zanzibar Airport for your private transfer to your hotel in Stone town.

Day 7: Stone Town Tour and Transfer To Your Beach Hotel

After breakfast, we take a full-day Stone town tour with our local guide. Once we have completed the day’s activities, we will transfer you to your beach hotel.

Admire the narrow streets lined with residential houses that preserve their original Swahili-Omani themes. Exquisitely carved doorways identify the themes with metal studs, overhanging balconies, and latticed windows. Side by side, you will see churches and mosques. The churches are due to the colonial presence in the country and the mosques commissioned by the sultans of Zanzibar. You will also visit other exciting destinations in the town.

Day 8: Relax on Zanzibar Beach and the Resort

This day are spent in Zanzibar at your leisure. Use your time to relax on the beach and at the resort. Discover Zanzibar’s best beaches, each offering spectacular sunsets, palm-fringed beaches, turquoise waters, white sand, and colorful coral reefs.

Day 9: Transfer to Zanzibar Airport

Enjoy the last few hours before you depart from the resort. We will pick you up at the resort and transfer you to Zanzibar Airport, where our service ends.

On the way back to Zanzibar International Airport, you can stop at Stone town to buy souvenirs.