15 Days Tanzania Family Highlight Safari

On arrival at DAR international airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel located in Dar es Salaam.  Dar es Salaam Serena is located at the heart of the city centre business district, just moments from sandy Indian Ocean beaches, a bustling fish market and eclectic crafts markets, boutiques and restaurants. A garden oasis of tranquility and charm, the five-star Dar es Salaam hotel promises the warmest of welcomes, vibrant experiences and vivid memories of your stay. Meals are at request. Overnight: Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel

After an early breakfast, your driver guide will be waiting for you at the hotel's lobby ready to start your southern safari adventure . Your first stop is Nyerere National Park, formerly Selous Game Reserve. The remote and little-visited Game Reserve covers more than 5% of Tanzania’s total area and is the largest of its kind in Africa. At an unbelievable 55,000 sq km it is almost twice the size of Belgium and four times larger than the famous Serengeti in the North. The landscape here has remained almost as it was before tourism began.  Up until 2007 there were just 6 camps in Selous.  Even with the large influx of camps, it is noticeable quiet compared with the more famous parks of the north and it is still possible at certain times of year to be out all day without seeing another game drive car. The terrain here is much more green and lush than the dry plains of the Serengeti and other northern parks. Selous is one of only 2 parks in Tanzania to offer a fantastic boat safari. Arrive at Rufiji River Camp perched high overlooking the vast Rufiji River, and where you can watch hippos lazily wallow in the shallows, birds soaring over the water and crocodiles sunning themselves on the sandbanks. Enjoy a sumptuous lunch and head out for an afternoon game drive returning to the camp at dusk. Dinner and overnight. Overnight: Rufiji River Camp.

The following days will be spent on thrilling game drives, relaxing boat safaris exploring the river and lakes of the park and fascinating walking safaris. The Great Rufiji River and its tributaries are the lifeblood of the reserve, creating a network of forests and woodlands around the lagoons, sandbanks and lakes with tall palm trees adding to the scene. Because of its size and remoteness, the reserve has over 2,100 species of plants, 350 species of birds, 60,000 elephant, 108,000 buffalo and an estimated 1,300 of the worlds’ roughly 4,000 remaining rare wild dogs, giving guests an opportunity to glimpse all of these exotic animals in true unspoilt wilderness. Overnight: Rufiji River Camp

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the nearest airstrip for your connection to Ruaha National Park. Following its recent expansion, Ruaha is currently East Africa’s biggest national park and the second-largest on the African continent. It is also Tanzania’s most sizeable elephant haven and home to a profusion of bird species, including kingfishers, plovers, egrets, hornbills and sunbirds. Crocodiles and hippos thrive in the Great Ruaha River, which flows along the sanctuary’s eastern border and in the dry season between July and November, animals flock to the last remaining water sources, presenting an exceptional wildlife spectacle. Meet your guide at Msembe airstrip on arrival and game drive to Ruaha River Lodge. Dinner and overnight. Overnight: Ruaha River Lodge

Ruaha River Lodge is set on one of the most stunning stretches of the Great Ruaha River, where you can see game throughout the day from the comfort of your veranda. Ruaha National Park has a huge diversity of species boasting both the Greater and Lesser Kudu; the striped and spotted hyaena as well as Roan and Sable antelope. The lion population is now so large that they have gained film rights for their prowess at hunting Giraffe, which is not their traditional fare. The park’s rugged rocky outcrops are home to a healthy population of leopards and are privileged to see Hunting Dogs as well as cheetah, jackals, bat-eared Foxes, genet and civet. Many elephant herds are seen close to the lodge and throughout the Park. In the days that follow, you will bear witness to this wonderous sight, experiencing both day and night game drives and guided bush walks for the staggering bird and plant species. Overnight: Ruaha River Lodge

After an early breakfast, it's time to bid farewell to Ruaha and wind your way down south. passing incredible landscape and local villages to Mikumi, which was gazetted as a National Park in 1964 and is named after the spindle shaped Borassus palm trees. The Mkata plain supports vast herds of plains game such as wildebeest, impala, zebra and giraffe, hunted by their associated predators; while you are more likely to find Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, greater kudu, roan and sable antelope in the surrounding less fertile hills. Although game sightings can never be guaranteed, there are lots of sightings of the African ‘wild dog’ hunting the plains in packs. Dinner and overnight at Vuma Hills Tented Camp. Overnight: Vuma Hills Tented Camp

Today you will have morning and afternoon game drives from your camp. There is a rich variety bird species as well as large numbers of giraffes, buffaloes, hartebeest, wildebeest, elephants, impala, warthog, eland and other antelopes and not forgetting the lions, leopards and hippos.  Several observation towers enable you to overview the park in its entirety. Dinner and overnight at Vuma Hills Tented Camp.

After a last morning game drive and breakfast at the camp, transfer to DAR for connecting flight to Zanzibar. On arrival at Zanzibar airport, you will be met by your driver and transferred to the south east coast of the island to Breezes Beach Club & Spa for a 4 night beach stay at the lovely property. Additional excursions available at a surcharge.

Today, transfer to Zanzibar Airport for onward arrangements.