8 Days Tanzania Flying 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 will be waiting for you at the hotel's lobby ready to transfer you to Dar es Salaam Domestic terminal for your morning flight to Ruaha National Park. This beautiful flight will have you passing over the vast wilderness that is Nyerere, over the Udzungwa Mountain range and down into Msembe airstrip in Ruaha National Park. The plane may take off and land at a few airstrips to collect and drop passengers along the way. You will be met at the airstrip by your guide and taken back to Kigelia Ruaha. This understated little bush-camp has been in the beating eastern heart of the park for years, where the wildlife is most concentrated. Game drives from here, encountering the great mammals of Africa, can be thrilling and hard to tear yourself away from. So, in camp we retreat - but with Nature up very close - a quiet, canvas refuge, only disturbed by our elephant visitors.  They just don’t make them like this anymore! Overnight: Kigelia Ruaha

In one of Africa's biggest game spots, explore. There are custom-built open game drive vehicles which are perfect for traversing the varied habitats of Ruaha. You can also get out on foot. Being on your own two pegs gives you a totally different experience. At Kigelia, we're great fans of "going out" for breakfast and enjoying a sundowner in the bush. These things are rare treats on a safari and something that you wouldn't do back home, which frankly is the only reason you need for doing them. Whether you're out and about in an open game drive car, treading the game trails with your guide or wondering around the camp in search of birds, this is safari as its meant to be. Dinner and overnight Kigelia Ruaha.

After breakfast in camp, say goodbye to Kigelia, and head back to Msembe Airstrip to take a flight to Nyerere National Park. This 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. The terrain here is much more green and lush than the dry plains of the Serengeti and other northern parks. On landing at Kiba Airstrip, another warm welcome and short drive to camp will see you at Sand Rivers Selous for lunch while enjoying the spectacular river view to Nyerere National Park. Dinner and overnight. Overnight: Sand Rivers Selous.

Days at Sand Rivers are about exploring. Our open-sided 4x4 vehicles are a great way of seeing things. For covering a bit of distance when that's what's needed. But, we like to retain spontaneity wherever we can. Often the best way to see things, to avoid scattering animals from the lakeshore, or spooking a herd of elephant as they feed, is to hop down and quietly work our way into a good position on foot. And the same goes for our boats. Being on the river is a fantastic contrast to time spent in a vehicle. All in all, days at Sand Rivers aren't about box ticking, or endless driving in search of the next animal. It's a sense of gradual absorption in this corner of the natural world that we'd love you to feel. Overnight: Sand Rivers Selous

After breakfast at the camp, you will be transferred to Kiba airstrip in time for your 45 minute morning flight back to Dar es Salaam.