Tanzania is unique in many ways: you will find a mix of cultures, cuisines and landscapes here. Tanzania has everything to offer for a perfect holiday: beautiful white sandy beaches, rich culture, beautiful untouched nature. The highlight if you ask me; the tropical island Zanzibar and of course safari in the Serengeti, the crater of Ngorongoro and Tarangire. Tanzania offers undoubtedly the most impressive parks in East Africa and this should be added to your bucketlist asap. So are you planning a beach vacation in Zanzibar and want to combine this with a safari in Tanzania? Then quickly read along for my 10 day route for Zanzibar and safari in Tanzania.
10 Day itinerary
- Day 1 – 4 Stay at The Residence
- Day 4 – 7 Stay at Nungwi Dreams
- Day 7 – 10 Flight from Zanzibar to Tanzania
Because of the size of the country and the many things to do you can easily spend 10 to 20 days here. But I’ve experienced it’s not very easy to book a holiday and safari, so if you need tips read my blog about everything you should know before going to Zanzibar and safari in Tanzania.
DAY 1-4: START YOUR TRIP IN THE BEST HOTEL IN ZANZIBAR |
I could not have wished for a better start than starting this journey at my now forever home away from home. Hotel The Residence is by far one of the nicest hotels I’ve been to. Here, you can experience paradise and I mean it. The hotel arranged a pickup (so no hustle at the airport) and one hour later you are in a tropical paradise located in the Southern part of the island. This luxurious villa only five star resort is a retreat and offers you relaxation, privacy, unreal hospitality and the perfect romantic getaway. This resort is so big (32-hectare) located right at the white beach. You even have your own bicycle here, an aquarium pool (besides your own), luxurious spa, a gym overlooking the lush gardens and very very good food. From here you can really embrace everything Zanzibar has to offer.
♥ Want to know more about this hotel? Read my full review about The Residence here.
The best things to do in Zanzibar
- Spicetour
- Stone town
- Prison island
- Dolphin and snorkling trip
The choice is yours. One thing is certain: nothing is necessary, everything is allowed ‘ Hakuna matata’!
DAY 5 – 7 : ON THE MOVE TO THE NORTHERN PART OF ZANZIBAR
Then it was time to move to the northern part of the island and stay two days at Nungwi Dreams. This hotel is located on the beautiful white sandy beach and here you’ll meet the friendly staff. Grab your magazine or a good book and order yourself a tropical cocktail on one of the sunbeams. At this hotel you find 2 pool areas, great sushi and a great roof terrace overlooking the ocean. This is vacation!
♥ Want to know more about this hotel? Read my full review about Nungwi Dreams here.
Day 7 Flight from Zanzibar to Serengeti National Park
Tanzania offers undoubtedly the most impressive game reserves in the world and I have been dreaming of going on a safari since I got my very first National Geographic magazine. From Zanzibar you can either go by boat (1,5 hours) or by plane (20 minutes). Going on safari will be an absolute unforgettable adventure. Admire the beauty of Africa and the countless animals you are going to meet. I advice you to book your flight directly to the Serengeti air strip. Even the plane ride was absolutely an experience on its own. Our route: Zanzibar airport, Arusha Airport -> Serengeti Airstrip. By landing on this airstrip, you’ll arrive in the middle of the reserve and you can even see the elephants and zebras from the plane. After touchdown you’ll be welcomed by the most welcome immigration officers and after our guide picked us up we began our game drive immediately. After not even 10 minutes we saw a very big group of lions and our adventure began.
I advice you to book your trip with a tour operator. They’ll arrange your pickup where you meet your guide, can advice you on plane tickets and they will guide you through the differente reserves and bring you back to the airport. This way you can have a care-free trip to Zanzibar and safari in Tanzania.
Serengeti | safari in Tanzania
In this reserve you can witness the largest annual migration of countless zebras and wildebeests in the world. This reserve is huge and vast with endless plains and savanna. The name is derived from the Maasai language and literally means endless plains. It covers an area of approximately 1,5 million hectares. This area is home to around two million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras and also gazelles. This circular migration goes through Kenya and Tanzania and attracts a lot of predators. This is a true spectacle and you can see the big diversity of animals. This is also the home of some endangered species like the black rhino, elephant, cheetahs and also wild dogs.
We’ve stayed two nights at Zawadi Serengeti Camp and I can recommend this place for everyone that really want to experience the safari vibes. Here you’ll overnight and stay in a tent in the middle of the reserve. If you ask me, much better than a standard hotel room. This tent has all the facilities you need, a great and comfortable bed and you can hear the hyena’s and hippos surrounding your tent at night. The real experience if you ask me. Everything is solar powered (so take an extra battery for your camera with you just to be sure) and really experience the wilderness.
♥ Read more about Zawadi Serengeti Camp?
Ngorongoro krater | safari in Tanzania
De Ngorongoro crater is the largest of the world and is called the source of live. This crater is the home of around 25.000 big animals. Here you’ll find large groups of lions, flamingos, to herds of wildebeest and gazelle and if you’re lucky you can even see the black rhino. This impressive crater has an area of more than 260 km² and is about 600 meters lower than the rest of the surrounding area. Due to the steep slopes of the crater, only a certain type of animals live in the crater. We’ve stayed at the Marera Valley Lodge and the morning after we drove to Arusha airport (3 hours) and took a flight to Dar-Es-Salaam and got the flight back to Amsterdam.
We organized our trip ourselves and I always want to help you so for any questions; put them in the comments below. Want to know more about my trip to Zanzibar and safari in Tanzania? Let me know or read more here about my stay at The Residence, Nungwi Dreams or the best things to do in Zanzibar.
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