4 Days - Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater Safari in Tanzania
This 4-Day Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater Safari in Tanzania takes you through 3 of Northern Tanzania’s top safari parks, offering an unforgettable experience in Africa. The itinerary covers Lake Manyara National Park (1 night inside or near the park), Serengeti National Park (1 night within the park), and the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater (1 night inside or near the conservation area). An additional overnight stay in Arusha can be included on your arrival day before the safari begins depending on your travel schedule. The safari starts with a convenient airport pick-up from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK) and ends with airport drop-off at the end of the safari.
Throughout the safari, you will explore diverse ecosystems ranging from Lake Manyara’s groundwater forest, birdlife, hippos, monkeys, elephants, and beautiful Great Rift Valley scenery to the endless plains of the Serengeti, one of Africa’s most iconic wildlife destinations, and the breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its exceptional concentration of wildlife in Africa.
Accompanied by our certified, professional, experienced, and passionate safari guides, you will enjoy expertly guided game drives, incredible wildlife encounters, and stunning scenery at every turn. Whether exploring the landscapes and birdlife of Lake Manyara, spotting predators across the Serengeti plains, discovering the wildlife-filled Ngorongoro Crater, spotting the Big Five, or experiencing spectacular African sunsets, this safari promises memories that will last a lifetime.
4 Days Tanzania Safari at a Glance
- Safari Name: 4 Days Tanzania Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater
- Starting Point: Arusha City or Moshi Town
- Airport Arrival: Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK)
- Ending Point: Arusha, Moshi, JRO Airport, or Arusha Airport
- Accommodation Before Safari: Optional overnight stay in Arusha or Moshi
- Night 1: Lodge / Tented Camp near Lake Manyara or similar accommodation
- Night 2: Lodge / Tented Camp within Serengeti National Park
- Night 3: Lodge / Tented Camp near/within Ngorongoro Highlands or similar accommodation
- Main Attractions: Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater
- Wildlife: Lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, hippos, hyenas, flamingos, rhinos if lucky, and more
- Best For: First-time visitors, wildlife lovers, photographers, couples, families, groups, and short Tanzania safari holidays
Important Travel Information
| Location | Distance & Travel Time |
|---|---|
| Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park | Approximately 125 km | About 2 to 3 hours drive |
| Moshi to Lake Manyara National Park | Approximately 205 km | About 4 to 5 hours drive |
| Lake Manyara to Serengeti National Park | Approximately 205 km | About 5 to 6 hours drive including park entry procedures and scenic stops |
| Serengeti to Ngorongoro Highlands | Approximately 145 km | About 3 to 4 hours drive with wildlife viewing on the way |
| Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha | Approximately 190 km | About 4 to 5 hours drive |
| Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arusha | Approximately 50 km | About 1 hour drive |
| Arusha Airport to Arusha City | Approximately 8 km | About 15 minutes drive |
Places You Will Visit on This 4 Days Tanzania Safari
Arusha City – Gateway to Northern Tanzania Safari
Arusha City is the main starting point for many northern Tanzania safaris. The city is located near Mount Meru and gives easy access to Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, and other famous safari destinations.
Most travelers spend a night in Arusha before the safari starts. This makes the journey easier and gives you time to relax, prepare, and meet your safari team before the adventure begins.
Lake Manyara National Park – Forest, Lake Views and Birdlife
Lake Manyara National Park is a beautiful park located below the Great Rift Valley escarpment. It is famous for its green forest, lake scenery, hot springs, open grassland, and rich birdlife.
During your game drive, you may see elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, hippos, baboons, blue monkeys, flamingos, pelicans, and many other birds. The park is also known for tree-climbing lions, although sightings depend on the day and season.
Lake Manyara is a great place to begin your safari because it offers wildlife, birds, forest, lake views, and beautiful scenery within a short distance from Arusha.
Serengeti National Park – Tanzania’s Endless Plains
Serengeti National Park is Tanzania’s most famous safari destination and one of the best wildlife parks in Africa. The park is known for its endless plains, big cats, large animal herds, and the Great Wildebeest Migration.
During your game drives in Serengeti, you may see lions resting on the plains, cheetahs hunting in open grassland, leopards hiding in trees, elephants moving through the bush, and large herds of zebras, wildebeest, gazelles, and buffaloes.
Serengeti gives you the true feeling of a classic African safari. Its wide landscapes, rich wildlife, and dramatic game-viewing moments make it one of the main highlights of this 4 Days Tanzania Safari.
Ngorongoro Highlands – Scenic Overnight Before the Crater
The Ngorongoro Highlands are located between Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. The area is known for cool weather, green hills, farms, forests, Maasai villages, and beautiful views.
Spending a night near/within the Ngorongoro Highlands gives you a good location for an early morning descent into the crater. It also adds a peaceful and scenic experience to your Tanzania safari.
Ngorongoro Crater – Tanzania’s Natural Wildlife Wonder
Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most famous wildlife destinations in Tanzania. It was formed millions of years ago after a large volcano collapsed, creating a huge natural caldera filled with animals.
The crater floor has grassland, forest, swamp, lake areas, and open plains. This makes it home to many animals throughout the year, including lions, elephants, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, hippos, hyenas, gazelles, and the rare black rhino.
Because many animals live inside the crater, Ngorongoro gives visitors one of the best chances to see a lot of wildlife in a short time.
Why Choose This 4 Days Tanzania Safari?
- Visit three famous northern Tanzania safari destinations in one trip.
- Explore the forest and lake scenery of Lake Manyara National Park.
- Experience the endless plains of Serengeti National Park.
- Enjoy a game drive inside the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater.
- Good chance to see big cats and many other wild animals.
- Great option for travelers who want Serengeti in a short itinerary.
- Professional English-speaking safari guide.
- Comfortable 4x4 safari Land Cruiser with pop-up roof.
- Airport pick-up and drop-off available from JRO or Arusha Airport.
- Suitable for couples, families, solo travelers, groups, and photographers.
Best Time for This 4 Days Tanzania Safari
This 4 Days Tanzania Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater can be done throughout the year. The dry season from June to October is one of the best times for wildlife viewing because animals are easier to see around water sources and open areas.
The green season from November to May is also beautiful, with fresh landscapes, many birds, fewer crowds, and good photography conditions. Serengeti and Ngorongoro offer excellent wildlife viewing in many seasons, while Lake Manyara is especially beautiful when the scenery is green.
Detailed 4-Day Tanzania Safari Itinerary
Day
0
Arrival in Arusha – Airport Pickup & Hotel Stay
Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK), our safari representative will meet and welcome you to Tanzania. After a short introduction, you will be transferred to your hotel in Arusha for relaxation and overnight stay before your safari begins.
This arrival day gives you time to rest after your flight, prepare your safari luggage, and get ready for the adventure ahead. Depending on your arrival time, you may also meet your safari guide for a short briefing about your 4-day Tanzania safari itinerary, including Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, and Ngorongoro Crater.
You will spend the night at your selected hotel in Arusha, ready to start your safari journey the following morning.
Day
1
Arusha Town to Lake Manyara National Park
You will leave from your hotel early in the morning after breakfast and drive from Arusha towards Lake Manyara National Park. The drive from Arusha takes approximately 2 hours, passing through local villages, beautiful landscapes, and the busy town of Mto wa Mbu near the park entrance.
After reaching the area, your guide will assist with park entry procedures before you begin your game drive inside Lake Manyara National Park. This park is one of the most beautiful safari destinations in northern Tanzania, famous for its green forest, lake views, open grassland, acacia trees, and rich wildlife.
During your game drive, you may see elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, baboons, blue monkeys, hippos, and many other animals. Lake Manyara is also known for its tree-climbing lions, although sightings depend on the day and season.
The park is also a wonderful place for bird watching. Near the lake, you may see flamingos, pelicans, storks, birds of prey, and the colorful lilac-breasted roller. The mix of wildlife, birds, forest, and lake scenery makes Lake Manyara a perfect first stop for this 4-day Tanzania safari.
After enjoying your game drive and picnic lunch, you will continue to your accommodation near Lake Manyara or Karatu for dinner and overnight stay, ready for the next day’s journey to Serengeti National Park.
Day
2
Lake Manyara National Park to Serengeti National Park
After a fascinating breakfast in the Lake Manyara National Park, we travel towards the Central Serengeti National Park by passing through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We enter into the center of wild Africa; Serengeti National Park known as endless plain. We head to the central Serengeti area, the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the Serengeti National Park, with its beside Seronera River, as water source attracting wildlife animals’ representatives of most of the Serengeti’s wildlife species. We will arrive best time for lunch in the afternoon and proceed with game drive in the Serengeti National Park. Dinner and overnight at your hotel/camp.
Day
3
Full day game drive in Serengeti National Park overnight near/within Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
After breakfast time you will proceed with a game drive safari in Serengeti National Park with lunch box following the wildebeests Migration at the Northern Serengeti, you will be able to see wildebeest, zebra, a topi hartebeest, eland, antelope, hyena, varieties of birds on the trees also taking pictures of the beauty of Serengeti landscapes and nature. We will get lunch and then continue with game view in Serengeti towards the Serengeti gate checking out of Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Dinner and overnight at your accommodation site.
Day
4
Ngorongoro Crater to Moshi/Arusha
In the early morning you wake up with healthy breakfast before descend into the Ngorongoro Crater with lunch box experiencing the game drive for more than six hours. The Ngorongoro Crater is the most crowded African wildlife area in the world. Ngorongoro Crater supports a variety of animals including herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and elephants, huge population of predators, like lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and leopards available near/within the Ngorongoro Crater floor. Then after a picnic lunch you will have a short game drive near/within Ngorongoro Crater and in the late afternoon you will ascend to Ngorongoro gate drive heading back to Arusha/Moshi Town.
Pre & Post Tour Hotels
Arusha is the base for safari tours in North Tanzania. If you need accommodation in Arusha before/after your safari tour you can check some popular hotel prices on bed and breakfast basis below.
Single Room
- Crest Safari Lodge - USD 47
- Kutoka Lodge - USD 64
- Karama Lodge - USD 113
- The African Tulip - USD 149
- Four Points by Sheraton - USD 205
- Arusha Coffee Lodge - USD 375
Double Sharing
- Crest Safari Lodge - USD 29
- Kutoka Lodge - USD 49
- Karama Lodge - USD 76
- The African Tulip - USD 112
- Four Points by Sheraton - USD 120
- Arusha Coffee Lodge - USD 240
Triple Sharing Room
- Crest Safari Lodge - USD 29
- Kutoka Lodge - USD 40
- Karama Lodge - USD 73
- The African Tulip - USD 93
- Arusha Coffee Lodge - USD 180
Add-on tours near/within Ngorongoro
- Masai Village Tour: USD 25 per person
- Olduvai Gorge museum visit: USD 35 per person
- Ngorongoro Crater Rim Hike: USD 35 per person
Add-on tours in Lake Manyara
- Canoeing in Lake Manyara: USD 74 per person
- Night Game drives in Lake Manyara NP: USD 114 per person
- Treetop Walkway: USD 54 per person
Add-on tours in Tarangire
- Hot Air Balloon Ride: USD 540 per person
- Short Walking Tour (upto 4 hours): USD 45 per person
- Long Walking Tour (upto 6 hours): USD 60 per person
- Night Game Drives (for clients staying inside): USD 100-200 per person depending on lodge
Add-on tours in Karatu
- Coffee Plantation Tour: USD 20 per person
- Iraq Village Tour: USD 25 per person
- Endoro Falls & Elephant Caves visit: USD 35 per person
Transfers Details
This tour starts from Arusha. Kilimanjaro Airport is the nearest international airport and Arusha Airport is the nearest domestic airport.
Airport Pickup / Drop
Arusha Airport: No extra charge
Kilimanjaro Airport: USD 30 per vehicle
Airport to Hotel Transfers
Arusha Airport ↔ Hotel: USD 25 per vehicle
Kilimanjaro Airport ↔ Arusha: USD 50 per vehicle
Intercity Transfers
Moshi ↔ Arusha: USD 100 per vehicle
Nairobi ↔ Arusha: USD 275 per vehicle
Flights Details
Important Note
We do not book international flights. We assist with local flights based on availability.
Intercity Flights
Zanzibar ↔ Arusha: From USD 100 (Morning flight)
Dar es Salaam ↔ Arusha: From USD 90 (Morning flight)
Arusha ↔ Zanzibar: From USD 170 (Afternoon flight)
Arusha ↔ Dar es Salaam: From USD 110 (Afternoon flight)
4 Days Meals Tips
Safari Tour Inclusions & Exclusions
Below is a clear breakdown of what is included and excluded in your Tanzania safari package. This helps you understand exactly what to expect before your journey to Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and other parks.
