Searches safaris, parks, day trips and field notes.
Almost everything worth doing here happens outdoors. Short-grass plains that run to the horizon, forest on the crater rim, a snow line three degrees south of the equator, and reef water warm enough to swim in at Christmas — all within one country and, mostly, within one week.
What changes is how you travel through it. A private vehicle and a guide who works only for you is a different trip from a fixed-date departure with five other people, and both are different again from a week on a mountain. None of them is the best one; they suit different travellers, and the job of this page is to tell you which is which.
The one constant is the guide. Ours are Tanzanian, certified by the Wildlife Management Authority, and have worked the northern circuit for years — which is the difference between seeing a lion and knowing what it is about to do.
Most trips end up being two or three of these at once — a private safari with a balloon flight in the middle, or a mountain followed by a week on the plains. Tell us which ones you recognise yourself in and we will build the rest around them.
Out of Arusha at dawn, back before dinner. Tarangire for elephant, Arusha National Park on foot, Lake Manyara for the tree-climbing lions — or a coffee farm and a waterfall if you would rather stay close. The cheapest way to find out whether a longer safari is for you.
Ideal for First-timers · Spare days either side of a trip
Discover moreLift off from the Serengeti in the half-light and drift with the wind while the plains wake up underneath you. An hour in the air, then the traditional champagne and a cooked breakfast in the shade of an acacia. Booked as an add-on to any Serengeti night, and it needs booking early in high season.
Ideal for Special occasions · Photographers · Early risers
Discover moreA vehicle set up for cameras rather than headcount: one row of seats left empty, beanbags on the sills, charging in the back and a guide who will hold a position for an hour because the light is about to be right. We plan the route around the sun, not around the schedule.
Ideal for Serious cameras · Long lenses · Patient people
Discover moreRoughly 1.5 million wildebeest moving in a loop through the Serengeti, all year. Where they are depends entirely on the month: calving on the southern short-grass plains in February, the western corridor around June, the Mara River crossings from July. We build the itinerary around where the herds should be in your weeks.
Ideal for Wildlife spectacle · Repeat safari-goers
Discover moreOver 1,100 species, and Tarangire alone holds more than 500. November to April brings the Palearctic migrants in and turns a good birding country into an exceptional one. Slower days, more stops, a guide who knows the calls, and a scope in the vehicle.
Ideal for Birders · Green-season travellers · Naturalists
Discover moreA private vehicle, camps chosen for the view from the bed rather than the size of the dining room, one dinner set up away from the others, and Zanzibar afterwards. Tell us the date and we will make sure the camps know — it changes how they look after you.
Ideal for Honeymoons · Anniversaries · Couples
Discover moreYour own guide and your own Land Cruiser, so the day runs at your pace. Stay with the leopard until it moves, or go back to the pool at noon because the children have had enough. Most of what we run is private, and for families it is the only version that really works.
Ideal for Families · Groups of friends · Anyone with a plan
Discover moreFixed departure dates, a maximum of six guests, and a window seat guaranteed for everyone. You give up some control over the route and get a meaningfully lower price in return. It runs even if only two people book.
Ideal for Solo travellers · Couples · Watching the budget
Discover moreSix to nine days to the roof of Africa. You do not need to be a mountaineer, but you do need to be fit and you do need enough days on the mountain to acclimatise — which is why we will talk you out of the five-day Marangu if you ask for it. Lemosho and Machame are what we recommend.
Ideal for Trekkers · Fit first-timers · Bucket lists
Discover moreFour days up Africa's fifth-highest mountain, an hour from our office. An armed ranger walks with you because the lower slopes hold buffalo and giraffe. Far fewer people than Kilimanjaro, a sharper summit ridge, and the best possible acclimatisation week if Kilimanjaro is next.
Ideal for Hikers · Kilimanjaro warm-up · Short trips
Discover moreOut at dawn, back for dinner. Good for a spare day either side of a longer trip, or a first taste of the bush without packing a bag.
Say which of these you recognise yourself in and we will build the rest around it.
Ask us anything — routes, seasons, camps, budgets. A specialist in Arusha answers, usually the same working day.
