3-Day Tanzania Safari from Arusha
Safari Overview
Experience three of Tanzania’s most popular safari destinations on this 3-day Tanzania safari from Arusha. The itinerary takes you to Lake Manyara National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire National Park, offering an exciting combination of diverse landscapes, abundant wildlife, and unforgettable game drives.
Your safari starts and ends in Arusha, making this itinerary an excellent choice for travelers looking for a short but rewarding Northern Tanzania safari.
Travel with an experienced safari driver-guide who knows the parks, wildlife, and best game-viewing areas. From Lake Manyara’s lush forests and tree-climbing lions to the wildlife-rich Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire’s magnificent elephant herds, this three-day adventure offers an incredible introduction to Tanzania’s world-famous safari circuit.
Safari Highlights
Explore Lake Manyara National Park on a full-day game drive
Look for elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, baboons, and blue monkeys
Search for Lake Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions
Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for an approximately 5-hour game drive
See the crater’s rich concentration of wildlife, including lions, elephants, hippos, zebras, and possibly rhinos
Enjoy a picnic lunch near the scenic Hippo Pool
Discover Tarangire National Park, famous for its giant baobab trees and large elephant herds
Return to Arusha at the end of your safari
Day 1: Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park
Your 3-day Tanzania safari begins with a pick-up from your hotel in Arusha at approximately 8:30 AM. After meeting your safari guide, you will depart for Lake Manyara National Park with a packed picnic lunch.
As you enter the park, the landscape changes to lush groundwater forests filled with towering acacia and mahogany trees. The beautiful scenery provides the perfect setting for your first Tanzanian game drive.
During the day, keep an eye out for buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, zebras, impalas, baboons, and blue monkeys, as well as a variety of bird species. Lake Manyara is also well known for its tree-climbing lions. While sightings are never guaranteed, seeing one of these big cats resting in the branches is a memorable safari experience.
Depending on the season and water conditions, you may also see large numbers of flamingos along the shores of Lake Manyara, sometimes creating a spectacular pink-colored scene.
A picnic lunch will be enjoyed during the game drive before you continue exploring the park into the afternoon. Later, you will leave Lake Manyara and head to your selected camp or lodge, where you can enjoy dinner and relax after an exciting day of wildlife viewing.
Accommodation: Camp/Lodge
Meals: Lunch & Dinner
Activity: Full-day game drive in Lake Manyara National Park
Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater Game Drive
After an early breakfast, you will depart for the Ngorongoro Crater, one of Tanzania’s most remarkable wildlife destinations.
You will descend to the crater floor for approximately 5 hours of game viewing. The crater is home to an extraordinary variety of wildlife, giving you excellent opportunities to see lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, buffaloes, antelopes, jackals, flamingos, and many other animals. With some luck, you may also spot the endangered black rhinoceros.
The Ngorongoro Crater is also an excellent destination for birdwatching. Depending on the season and location, you may see flamingos, eagles, vultures, storks, sacred ibises, kori bustards, herons, and other bird species.
Around midday, you will stop for a picnic lunch near the beautiful Hippo Pool before beginning the ascent from the crater floor. From the crater rim, continue to your accommodation in the Karatu area, approximately two hours away.
After arriving at your lodge or camp, enjoy a freshly prepared dinner and take time to relax after a full day of safari.
Accommodation: Camp/Lodge in Karatu
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activity: Approximately 5-hour Ngorongoro Crater game drive
Day 3: Tarangire National Park to Arusha
After breakfast at your accommodation, your final day begins with a drive to Tarangire National Park, where you will enjoy a half-day game drive before returning to Arusha.
Tarangire is famous for its spectacular baobab trees, diverse wildlife, and large herds of elephants. The Tarangire River is an important source of water for wildlife, particularly during the dry season, when many animals gather around the river and other remaining water sources.
During your game drive, you may encounter elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, lesser kudus, elands, oryx, and other wildlife. The park is also home to an impressive variety of bird species.
After your half-day game drive, you will leave Tarangire in the afternoon and begin your journey back to Arusha. You are expected to arrive at approximately 6:00 PM, depending on road and traffic conditions.
You will then be dropped off at your preferred location in Arusha, marking the end of your 3-day Tanzania safari.
With incredible wildlife encounters, beautiful landscapes, and unforgettable memories, your Northern Tanzania safari comes to an end.
