Four cheetahs resting on rocky outcrop against blue sky, Olkeri Camp, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
Courtyard lodge with illuminated colonial-style buildings at dusk, Arusha Coffee Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania
Antelope standing on deck in front of modern lodge building, Laba Ngorongoro Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Canvas safari tent with wooden deck in grassland, Dunia Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Luxury safari tent with wooden deck overlooking golden grassland at dusk, Olkeri Camp, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
Overhead view of curved white building with pool surrounded by vegetation, Xanadu Villas, Zanzibar & Pemba, Tanzania
Intimate outdoor lounge with woven chairs and firepit at dusk, Arusha Coffee Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania
Luxury safari lodge beneath baobab trees at golden hour, Olkeri Camp, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
Luxury bedroom suite with warm wood paneling and views to terrace, Laba Ngorongoro Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Spacious safari tent bedroom with canvas walls and large windows, Dunia Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Luxury villa pool with white picket fence and garden views, Xanadu Villas, Zanzibar & Pemba, Tanzania
Outdoor evening gathering with fire pit and lanterns in garden setting, Arusha Coffee Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania
Canvas safari tent interior with bed and savanna views through windows, Olkeri Camp, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
Luxury bedroom with tropical palm wallpaper and wooden furnishings, Laba Ngorongoro Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

inspiration

tanzania: the northern circuit and the coast

Private Safari
From $11,245 pp
2 guests
11 nights

trip highlights

  • In the Randilen Wildlife Management Area on Tarangire's edge, walking safaris and night drives are permitted where the national park forbids them.
  • An early descent from the southern rim brings you onto the Ngorongoro Crater floor, which holds one of the densest concentrations of large mammals in Africa.
  • The Moru Kopjes of the central Serengeti hold resident lion, leopard and cheetah, and remain one of the few places black rhino can still be tracked.
  • Zanzibar's Michamvi Peninsula pairs coral reefs and dhow waters with the red colobus forest of Jozani-Chwaka Bay.
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Leopard walking across grassland savanna in daylight, Dunia Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Northern Circuit and the Zanzibar Coast

Eleven nights link northern Tanzania’s parks with the Indian Ocean coast. You begin in Arusha, the staging town beneath Mount Meru, then move to Randilen on Tarangire’s edge, the wooded southern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and the Moru Kopjes of the central Serengeti, before closing on the Michamvi Peninsula on Zanzibar’s southeast coast.

You travel by road between the parks and by air to the coast. The days hold twice-daily game drives, walking safaris and night drives where the land allows, an early descent to the crater floor, then reefs, dhow waters and long beaches. The camps and lodges are the working bases for each region, from a plantation lodge and tented bush camps to coral-walled beach villas.

plan your safari

Daily Itinerary Breakdown

Arusha Beneath Mount Meru

You land at Kilimanjaro International, often after dark, and wake to Mount Meru's outline before the drive to the parks begins. The single night sits at around 1,400 metres, high enough for cool air and a low-malaria climate that suits the start of a trip. Set inside a working Arabica coffee estate five minutes from Arusha Airport, Arusha Coffee Lodge puts you among the coffee rows, with a guided walk that follows the bean from tree to cup and finishes with a tasting. Cottages and suites stand among the bushes at the foot of Meru, each with a private veranda.

Tarangire's Edge: Walking and Night Drives

From Arusha you drive to Randilen, on the northeastern edge of the Greater Tarangire ecosystem. Because the camp lies beyond the national park boundary, the days can include what the park itself forbids: walking safaris with an armed guide and drives after dark, alongside twice-daily game drives across both the management area and the park. Elephant herds, giraffe and plains game move through year-round. Olkeri Camp keeps eight canvas tents plain and comfortable, its mess, lounge and bar set over a waterhole where wildlife appears within view of the campfire.

Ngorongoro Crater From the Rim

A drive brings you up to the wooded southern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, at around 2,200 metres in montane forest. The signature outing is an early descent to the caldera floor, made before the heavier flow of vehicles arrives from lodges further out; the crater holds black rhino and elephant, lion and leopard among its dense concentration of large mammals. Higher up, buffalo, waterbuck and zebra graze below the terraces. Laba Ngorongoro Lodge sits minutes from the main gate, its rooms warm and cocooning, with the preserved 1950s stone house of Henry Fosbrooke serving as reception and bar-lounge.

Serengeti Big Cats in the Moru Kopjes

You continue into the Moru Kopjes region of the central Serengeti, set well away from the busier routes around Seronera. The position brings resident big cats and the Great Migration within reach of a single base: lion, leopard and cheetah hold territory here through the year, and the granite outcrops of Moru remain one of the more reliable places in the park to track black rhino. Twice a year the migration passes directly by camp on its circuit. Dunia Camp is run entirely by women, its eight tents looking out over acacia woodland and open grassland, with evenings around the fire.

Zanzibar Reefs on the Michamvi Peninsula

A flight carries you from the Serengeti to Zanzibar, then a drive of about an hour and a half to Dongwe on the Michamvi Peninsula. Four nights run to warm seas, dhow sailing and reefs that rank among East Africa's finest diving, with the red colobus forest of Jozani-Chwaka Bay reachable for a day. Meals follow the guest rather than a timetable, appearing wherever suits. Xanadu Villas are nine coral-walled villas built from reclaimed dhow timber, each with a private plunge pool and a dedicated butler, on a beach that runs for miles in both directions.

Ed Charles photographing wildlife

Ed Charles, BBC Producer

Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.

Ed Charles

Bafta & Emmy award winning film producer of BBC’s Planet Earth 2 and A Perfect Planet

looking for inspiration?

Three guests posing together with mountain backdrop, Lake Natron Camp, Lake Natron, Tanzania Outdoor dining area with illuminated umbrellas and trees at night, Rivertrees Country Inn, Arusha, Tanzania Riverside camping setup with boulders and mountain backdrop, Manyara Green Camp, Lake Manyara, Tanzania Safari camp with canvas tent beneath acacia trees, Serengeti Green Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Guide serves drinks to guests during lakeside sundowner gathering, Lake Natron Camp, Lake Natron, Tanzania Seating area with flowers overlooking manicured grounds and trees, Rivertrees Country Inn, Arusha, Tanzania Wooden bedroom pavilion with four-poster bed and pendant lights, Manyara Green Camp, Lake Manyara, Tanzania Interior of canvas safari tent with two beds, Lake Natron Camp, Lake Natron, Tanzania Staff member arranging bedding in safari tent interior, Serengeti Green Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Luxury bedroom with four-poster canopy bed and tropical botanical décor, Rivertrees Country Inn, Arusha, Tanzania Guests viewing elephants from vehicle at waterhole, Manyara Green Camp, Lake Manyara, Tanzania Hiking group walks across grassland with forested mountains, Lake Natron Camp, Lake Natron, Tanzania Safari vehicle observing elephant herd in grassland savanna, Serengeti Green Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

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Guests gathered around campfire at beachside lodge at dusk, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania Chimpanzee sitting on branch in dense rainforest canopy Lodge exterior with lavender garden and mature trees, Legendary Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania Safari tent lodge with wooden deck under large trees, Chada Camp, Katavi National Park, Tanzania Wooden walkway through dense forest canopy with staff member, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania Turquoise pool with lounge chairs and tropical palms, Legendary Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania Outdoor dining setup under large tree with canvas tents, Chada Camp, Katavi National Park, Tanzania Couple relaxing in beachfront shelter overlooking ocean, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania Spacious bedroom with four-poster canopy bed and wooden beams, Legendary Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania Sunlit bedroom with large windows overlooking woodland savanna, Chada Camp, Katavi National Park, Tanzania Couple relaxing on wooden deck overlooking forest valley, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania

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Eight nights in western Tanzania, from Katavi's dry-season plains to chimpanzee tracking on foot at Mahale.

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Four guests sitting in chairs in shallow river water, Manyara Green Camp, Lake Manyara, Tanzania Colonial-style lodge building with manicured gardens and palm trees, Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania Illuminated safari tent with wooden deck at dusk, Serengeti Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Canvas safari tent with awning at golden hour, Serian Serengeti Lamai, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Riverside camping setup with boulders and mountain backdrop, Manyara Green Camp, Lake Manyara, Tanzania Tree-lined dirt path with purple flowering vines overhead, Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania Wooden bedroom pavilion with four-poster bed and pendant lights, Manyara Green Camp, Lake Manyara, Tanzania Person sitting on rocks overlooking savanna at dusk, Serengeti Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Coastal cliffs with waves crashing against rocky shore, Serian Serengeti Lamai, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Aerial view of lodge buildings nestled among dense forest trees, Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania Guests viewing elephants from vehicle at waterhole, Manyara Green Camp, Lake Manyara, Tanzania Luxury safari tent camp at golden hour in grassland, Serengeti Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Canvas safari tent illuminated at dusk among acacia trees, Serian Serengeti Lamai, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

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  • 2 guests
  • 10 nights
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Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.

Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.

Get in touch to start planning yours.

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