T raveling in custom four-wheel drive Land Rover safari vehicles, we navigate back roads and dusty tracks to encounter a new surprise every day. Your family will discover vast, ruggedly beautiful landscapes, stretching from the volcanic cone of Mount Meru to the Great Rift Valley, from the dramatic, tree-strewn landscape of Tarangire to the endless plains of the Serengeti. You'll meet our long-time friends – villagers, school children, artisans, the Maasai and your Tanzanian guides – who share their thoughts, traditions, language and everyday lives with us.

You never know what we might see: a lion stalking a herd of zebra; a hundred Thomson gazelle springing across a dirt road; a tiny dik-dik antelope hidden in the tall grass; elephant leading their babies to a watering hole; hippo wallowing in a pool; or a family of cheetah patiently hunting its prey

Our family goes back to Tanzania every year to experience the land anew. And each time we feel – as your family will – the thrill of untamed nature and the warmth of some of the kindest, most hospitable people in the world.

2008 Dates

2009 Dates

Dates

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Days 1 and 2 – Depart U.S. / Arrive Tanzania

Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met and transferred to your lodge, where your Thomson Family Safari begins.

Day 3 – Arusha National Park

The wonders of Arusha National Park often draw comparison to Mount Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater, its larger counterparts in northern Tanzania. Mount Meru has been called Mount Kilimanjaro’s little cousin, and Ngurdoto Crater, which teems with wildlife, has the nickname “Little Ngorongoro.” Arusha National Park, however, has offerings found nowhere else in the region, including lush mountain forests that are home to the exquisite colobus monkey, and some 575 bird species. The park is truly a hidden gem.

Wildlife safari View the wildlife and diverse landscapes of Arusha National Park from your family’s four-wheel drive Land Rover safari vehicles. Between exploring the open grasslands and the Ngurdoto Crater, you and the kids will likely see buffalo, elephant, giraffe, bushbuck and even rhino. Hike to Mount Meru Waterfall This mountain is an ancient extinct volcano, and at 14,980 feet it is Tanzania’s second tallest mountain. Your family will hike through the lush foothills of Mount Meru and wind your way through the forest to a magnificent waterfall. Picnic lunch beside Momella Lakes Have lunch near the scenic Momella Lakes, a chain of seven shallow alkaline lakes, whose shades sometimes turn emerald and turquoise.

Days 4 and 5 – Tarangire National Park

This is Tanzania’s fourth-largest national park. Spend two full days with your family in Tarangire, exploring its rugged landscapes by safari vehicle and staying in a luxury camp. This park, often overlooked, astonishes many with its massive herds of elephant and distinctive winding riverine landscapes and swampy floodplains. It is also known for its large numbers of bizarre baobab trees, famous for their enormous trunks and root-like branches.

Wildlife safari Game drives in Tarangire weave back and forth over the Tarangire River and around its banks and shores, where it is possible to see lion, leopard, giraffe, gerenuk, reedbuck and even the rare fringe-eared oryx. This river is a major water source for the wildlife of northern Tanzania, especially in the drier months of July through November, when it attracts large concentrations of elephant and zebra. If anyone in your family is a birder, get those binoculars ready: avian species number over 550 here, from lilac-breasted roller and bee-eater to kori bustard and raptor. Swimming After being out on the dusty park trails, take a dip in the pool at a nearby lodge.

Day 6 – Ngorongoro Highlands

As you travel to the Ngorongoro Highlands en route to the Crater, you and your kids will head up a steep, winding road near the edge of the Great Rift Valley. Make sure to keep your cameras ready on the drive – you will be rewarded with expansive vistas of Lake Manyara and the exquisite surrounding plains. At the top of this slope lie the lush Ngorongoro Highlands, where the region's rich volcanic soil makes for some of the most fertile land in Tanzania.

School visit / Friends Across Borders meeting (pen pals) School visits and pen pal meetings often end up being some of this trip’s greatest highlights. Meet with teachers and students at a school near the town of Karatu and learn more about education in Tanzania. Children traveling with us can choose to exchange letters with a local child of similar age before leaving on their adventure, and meet face to face! It’s amazing how such interaction can be a real eye-opener for everyone involved. Lunch at Gibb’s Farm Have lunch at historic Gibb’s Farm in the Ngorongoro Highlands. A working coffee estate and organic farm, Gibb’s has a history that stretches back to the 1920s, and you’ll enjoy its lovely gardens and hillside setting as you have a delicious lunch. Forest hike Go for a hike with a naturalist through the hills and forests around Gibb’s Farm. While you take in the lush scenery, your family will learn about local herbal medicine and the cultures of the people of this region.

Day 7 – Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area

Drive a short distance from the rural highlands to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a wildlife and cultural preserve that covers 3,200 square miles, of which a mere 102 square miles represent the Ngorongoro Crater. Only members of the Maasai tribe are permitted to live within its boundaries, and they are seen throughout the Highlands and Conservation Area wearing bright red and royal blue cloths and tending to their herds of goats and cattle.

Wildlife safari The Crater floor is reserved only for wildlife. At some ten miles in diameter, this Crater is the largest caldera, or ancient sunken volcano, in the world, and it abounds with one of the highest concentrations of diverse animals imaginable. Adults and children alike find this self-contained environment fascinating, especially because here you will have the opportunity to spot Africa’s renowned Big Five here – buffalo, elephant, leopard, the black-maned lion and the endangered, rare black rhinoceros.

Days 8 and 9 – Serengeti National Park

Protected since 1921, the Serengeti became Tanzania’s first National Park thirty years later. It comprises some 14% of Tanzania’s total land, and features grassland plains and savanna as well as riverine forest and woodlands. You will see wooded knolls around the official entrance called Naabi Hill Gate, which then drops into the park’s signature wide-open expansive plains. Like no other, this stretch embodies the meaning of the word “Serengeti,” which derives from the Maasai word Siringet, and has been translated as “the land that flows on forever.” Serengeti National Park covers 6,000 square miles of pristine land, and offers not only sprawling landscapes but the largest migration of mammals on earth, including 1.5 million wildebeest (December to March).

Picnic lunch The Naabi Hill Gate offers a pleasant setting for a picnic lunch, with birds and animals hanging out around the entrance. After lunch, take a short walk up Naabi Hill for a view of the surrounding plains. Wildlife safari in the Serengeti Morning and afternoon game drives take your family into the heart of the golden Serengeti. You may spot numerous prides of lions, zebra, hyena, leopards, cheetah, elephant, hippo, buffalo, jackal, gazelle and various primates.

Day 10 – Serengeti National Park / Arusha / Depart

This park is just one example of how Tanzania has been a magnificent inspiration for the world in terms of wildlife and environmental conservation. We’ll have time for one last game viewing drive before we return to Arusha. Rest, repack, and shower before your departing KLM flight.

Wildlife safari in the Serengeti Morning and afternoon game drives take your family into the heart of the golden Serengeti. You may spot numerous prides of lions, zebra, hyena, leopards, cheetah, elephant, hippo, buffalo, jackal, gazelle and various primates.

Day 11 – Depart Amsterdam / Arrive U.S.

Days 10 to 13 (June to August) – Zanzibar

One of the famed Spice Islands, Zanzibar has limitless wonders for traveling families, from its pristine beaches with vibrant coral reefs to its cultural and historic tours. For over a millennium, Zanzibar has been known as a powerful Indian Ocean trading hub, with rich cross-cultural history whose influences, whether African, Persian, Portuguese, Arab, Indian or Asian, still continue to thrive today.

Walking tour of Stone Town Explore this historic seaside city center, with its labyrinth of narrow streets, whitewashed Arabesque buildings and mosques, sprawling markets and palm tree-shaded courtyards. Your guided tour will give your family an in-depth and fascinating look at Zanzibar’s history. Beach time Spend the day taking in the local culture of the coast, swimming and relaxing on Zanzibar’s white sand beaches. Along the shore, you might even see Zanzibari fishermen and sea merchants carving or readying their dhows, old Arab-African sailing vessels that have been used to navigate between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for centuries. Snorkeling or diving (at extra cost) Vibrant aquatic life make their home along the shores of Zanzibar, including butterfly fish, emperor angel fish, dolphin, lion fish, green turtles and manta rays – just to name a few. If you or the kids are looking to see some exceptional marine wildlife up close, this is your chance. Sunset cruise by dhow Relax and enjoy stunning views from the turquoise waters as we cruise in a traditional dhow at sunset.

Day 14 – Zanzibar / Depart

Spice tour Zanzibar and its neighbors became known as the Spice Islands over 200 years ago, with the rise of trade in cloves and other spices, such as nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper. En route to Stone Town, take a tour of one of Zanzibar’s historic spice farms. Shopping and dinner at the Slipway In Dar es Salaam, the fastest growing city in Africa with its booming Indian Ocean port, you will have dinner on your own and a chance to do some last-minute shopping at the Slipway bazaar of restaurants and boutique shops before boarding your flight to Amsterdam.

Day 15 – Depart Amsterdam / Arrive U.S.

Please Note:   Thomson Family Adventures will attempt to adhere to this itinerary as much as possible. However, certain conditions (political, climatic, environmental, cultural, or availability) may necessitate changes in the accommodations.