Arusha · Tarangire · Lake Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro
Every headline park, comfortable lodges, all by road with your own private guide
7
Days / 6 nights
4
Headline parks
A$6,200
From, per person
All by road, out and back
Getting around
This is a sample itinerary, not a package. Every lodge, day and park can change. Get in touch and we design your trip from scratch.
An example itinerary, built to flex
This is the trip that put northern Tanzania on the map, and the one we suggest when you want to see all of it without stretching the budget. In seven days you'll cover Tarangire's baobabs and elephant herds, the forests and shallows of Lake Manyara, the open Serengeti and, on the way home, the Ngorongoro Crater, all by road, with a private guide beside you the whole way.
It’s a comfortable safari rather than a luxury one. You sleep in well-run Africa Safari Group lodges, eat well and keep a 4x4 to yourselves, and the money goes into time in the parks instead of extras you don't need. The trade-off is two longer days on the road, and the road is part of the trip: the Rift Valley wall, highland farms and Maasai country.
Your Trip, Day by Day
The classic Northern Circuit with your private guide the whole way. Scroll the days and follow the route: Arusha up through Tarangire and Manyara to the Serengeti, then home by way of the crater and down the Rift.
Map tiles: Esri, National Geographic. Routes are indicative.
Your private guide meets you at Kilimanjaro airport and drives you the short way into Arusha. Dinner is included tonight. Have a hot shower, a proper feed and an early night, because the bush starts tomorrow.
OvernightAfrica Safari Group lodge, Arusha
We head south-west into Tarangire, a park of ancient baobabs and elephants. In the dry months the herds gather along the river in their hundreds. You'll have a long game drive through the day, then the road climbs onto the Rift escarpment above Lake Manyara for the night.
OvernightAfrica Safari Group lodge, Rift escarpment
A morning in Lake Manyara National Park: groundwater forest, hippos, baboons, shallows that turn pink when flamingos are in, and a name for tree-climbing lions. In the afternoon you'll visit a community near Mto wa Mbu, a good chance to meet local people and see everyday life beyond the park gates.
OvernightAfrica Safari Group lodge, Rift escarpment (second night)
The longest day of the trip, and a good one. We climb the Rift wall and cross the Ngorongoro highlands, stopping on the crater rim to look down into the caldera, then drop onto the plains for a picnic at Naabi Hill and a game drive in. Allow seven to eight hours with the stops, arriving in the late afternoon.
OvernightAfrica Safari Group lodge, Serengeti
Dawn to dusk in the Serengeti. Your guide follows the game wherever it leads: lion on the kopjes, cheetah out on the open grass, and the herds when the season brings them through. Long unhurried hours, then back to the lodge under a sky full of stars.
OvernightAfrica Safari Group lodge, Serengeti (second night)
A last morning drive, then back across the Serengeti and up into the highlands to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Arrive with time to walk to the edge and look down at the caldera, a wildlife-filled bowl about 600 metres below you. The light on the rim at sunset is worth the drive.
OvernightLodge on the Ngorongoro Crater rim
Down onto the crater floor as the gates open, before the vehicles build up, for a morning among lion, elephant, buffalo and, with luck, one of the crater's resident black rhino. Back up the wall by midday, then down the Rift to Kilimanjaro. It's a full day, so we time it around your flight home and can add a night in Arusha if your flight leaves early. Prefer the beach? We'll point you to Zanzibar instead.
DepartFly home or on to Zanzibar
Where You Sleep
The Classic is built around Africa Safari Group, a lodge group we know and trust. Expect a proper bed, a hot shower and good food, in places that put you close to the parks. The crater-rim night is the one with the view.
Lodges flex with your dates, your group and the season. If something is full or you fancy a step up at one stop, we swap it and re-cost it on the spot. Browse the safari lodges and camps we use across Africa to see what a step up looks like.
Who This Suits
You want the famous places in one trip, with someone else sorting the logistics. This is the route most first safaris follow, and for good reason.
You have a private vehicle to yourselves, so the pace is yours. The price per person usually eases as the group grows.
Comfortable rooms and good food without the premium for a boutique camp. That keeps the budget for more days in the parks.
If a long day on the road at the end doesn’t appeal, the Mid-Range itinerary flies you home from the Serengeti. If you want boutique camps and a bush flight in, look at the Luxury itinerary.
The Investment
Twin share, excluding international flights, checked against our live rates on 25 October 2026. That's the price in the quieter green season. Other months cost more, and we price your exact dates before you commit to anything.
What’s included
Not included
From-pricing is a starting anchor on a two-person sharing basis. Every Kingse quote is built live against the day's lodge, park and flight rates for your exact dates and group, never from a brochure. Want to see what finished trips came to? Read real trips with real prices, or how booking works for the deposit and payment steps.
Get this costed for your datesAdd the beach
Trade the plains for the Indian Ocean. After your last safari morning we can fly you across to Zanzibar for four nights on the east coast: easy beach days, a Stone Town wander and a spice farm if you fancy it. Flights and transfers are handled for you. The price depends on your dates and the beach hotel, so we quote it with the rest of your trip.
Beach base: Reef & Beach Resort
Your Tanzania entry insurance covers your Zanzibar days too, so there’s nothing extra to buy. Zanzibar hotels collect a small infrastructure levy per person per night at check-in (about USD 5). We flag it in your pre-departure pack so you land prepared.
Before You Decide
Four pages worth a few minutes before you send an enquiry.
Costs
Prices from Australia in A$, by comfort level and trip length, and what's not in them.
Read more →Real trips
Eight private safaris we've run or booked, with what each one cost per person.
Read more →Choosing
Seven checks to make before you pay a deposit to anyone, us included.
Read more →Booking
The call, your quote, the deposit and when the balance is due.
Read more →Compare
Same route, different level of comfort. Mix and match freely, plenty of our travellers land somewhere in between.
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we'll build this exact trip around them, or tweak it however you like. No obligation, no pressure, just a real quote built live.
Start PlanningCall us or message us
Pick up the phone if you'd rather talk it through. We spend a good part of the year moving between Australia and Africa, so if we miss you, WhatsApp Samara and we'll come back to you whatever the time zone.
Samara Imhoof
Bookings & Client Care
Whether you're just kicking around ideas or already booked. Dates, lodges, costs, changes, payments, flights.
Free call from Australia
1800 KINGSE(1800 546 473)Jackson Potter
Founder
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