“Exceptional time in Zanzibar with Rameses Tours”
My friends and I met the Rameses team on our first night in Zanzibar , their energy and friendliness immediately made us feel welcomed and we were treated as one of their own on…
11 days · Safari & beach
The full northern circuit, then a slow week of white sand, spice lanes and dhow sunsets to finish. The classic pairing, and the reason most people come.
Duration
11 days / 10 nights
Parks
Style
Private vehicle, then beach
Best months
Jun–Oct · Jan–Mar
From
$3,100$6,250On request pp
The journey
The safari half is the northern circuit done without rushing. Then a short flight east and the pace drops entirely — Stone Town for a night if you want the history, and the rest on the coast doing very little.
The order matters. Safari first, beach second: early starts and long drives are easier before a week of doing nothing than after one. Zanzibar is an extension of this trip, not a second holiday bolted on.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport, where your guide meets you and transfers you the short distance to your hotel in Arusha. The rest of the day is yours to rest after the flight and settle in before the safari begins in the morning.
Stay: Arusha lodge or hotel · Dinner
Day 2
Driven south-west after breakfast into Tarangire, reaching camp for lunch and out for an afternoon along the river among the elephant herds and the baobabs. In the dry season the park draws big concentrations of game to its permanent water, and it is a quieter, gentler start before the open plains. Where your camp allows it, a guided night drive can be added — one of the few northern parks that permit them — for the nocturnal animals that a daytime drive never brings you.
Stay: Maramboi Tented LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · Lunch, dinner
Day 3
A long drive west, climbing over the highlands with the crater rim as a first glimpse, then dropping onto the plains of the Serengeti with game viewing on the way in. The scale opens out here and the driving becomes part of the experience rather than a transfer between camps. If you would rather trade the road for the air and spend the day with wildlife instead, the leg can be flown into the central Serengeti, buying back most of a day.
Stay: Kubu Kubu Tented LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 4
Dawn until dusk in the Seronera valley, the most reliable big-cat country in the park, with a packed lunch in the field so you stay out through the best of the light rather than returning to camp in the middle of the day. Lion, leopard and cheetah are all possible here. This is the natural morning to add a dawn balloon flight over the plains — an hour drifting low at sunrise, then breakfast where you land — booked early so a spare morning remains if the wind is wrong.
Stay: Kubu Kubu Tented LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 5
A second full day on the plains, moving further out and following whatever the guides reported overnight rather than retracing yesterday. Two days in the Serengeti rather than one is the difference between driving through a place and actually spending time in it — a day given over to finding wildlife and staying with it, waiting on behaviour, rather than ticking past. It is the day that most often turns up the sighting people remember once they are home.
Stay: Kubu Kubu Tented LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 6
A slow morning game drive out of the park, making the most of the plains one last time, then the climb up into the highlands to reach the Ngorongoro rim by late afternoon. The air cools and the landscape changes entirely as you gain height. The caldera opens beneath you at sunset — an enormous, unexpected view over the crater floor you will descend into at first light tomorrow, with the whole of it laid out far below.
Stay: Ngorongoro Sopa LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 7
Down onto the crater floor at first light, before the day-trippers arrive, for a half day among the densest concentration of wildlife in Africa and the best chance of black rhino anywhere in Tanzania. Then back up and the afternoon flight to Zanzibar. It is a day of real contrast — you swap dust and game drives for sea air and the coast in a single afternoon, and the shift from bush to island is part of what makes this trip work.
Stay: Beach hotel, north-east coastStay: Boutique beach hotel — to be confirmed · Breakfast, lunch
Day 8
A guided morning through Stone Town and its layered history if you want it — the winding alleys, the carved doors, the former slave market and its sobering memorial, the Forodhani night market coming alive at dusk — or a slow start and the beach, entirely as you please. This is the first full day on the coast and there is no pressure to fill it. A spice-farm visit pairs naturally with the town for those curious about the trade that shaped the island, easily arranged for the afternoon.
Stay: Beach hotel, north-east coastStay: Boutique beach hotel — to be confirmed · Breakfast
Day 9
Nothing scheduled, and that is the point. Snorkelling over the reef at Mnemba, a dhow out at sunset, or simply a book and a hammock in the shade — the coast is yours to shape however you like after the early starts of the safari. A dolphin trip off Kizimkazi can be arranged if you would like one, though the sightings, honestly, are never guaranteed, and the ethical operators keep their distance rather than chasing the pods for a closer look.
Stay: Beach hotel, north-east coastStay: Boutique beach hotel — to be confirmed · Breakfast
Day 10
The day people tell us afterwards was their favourite of the whole trip — the one with nothing in it at all. But if stillness starts to itch, there is plenty within reach: diving the coral at Mnemba Atoll, a boat to Prison Island and its giant tortoises, or Jozani Forest and its rare red colobus monkeys, found nowhere else on earth. The tides shape the day here more than the clock does, and your hosts will help you time whatever you choose around them.
Stay: Beach hotel, north-east coastStay: Boutique beach hotel — to be confirmed · Breakfast
Day 11
A last slow morning on the beach and a transfer to the airport for your flight home — or, as often happens, the start of a longer stay on the coast, if the island has done its usual work on you. Many people arrive planning to leave and end up asking about another few nights. However it ends, the pairing of bush and beach means you go home rested as well as full of the safari, which is rather the point of doing both.
Stay: —Stay: — · Breakfast
Is this journey for you
Full for six days, then deliberately empty for four. The order is the point.
No demands. The beach half asks nothing of you.
Couples and families who want wildlife without ten days of early starts.
What it costs
| Season | Mid-range | Luxury |
|---|---|---|
| Green seasonMar–May | $1,650 | $3,150 |
| ShoulderNov–Feb | $2,000 | $3,850 |
| Peak seasonJun–Oct | $2,350 | $4,500 |
Rates are per person based on two sharing. Solo travellers and parties of three or more are priced differently — tell us your party and we will quote it properly.
Includes park fees, accommodation, all meals, a private vehicle and guide. Excludes international flights, visas, insurance and tips. Mid-range stays inside the national parks; luxury uses private concessions where off-road and night driving are permitted.
What you get
Hot-air balloon
From $600on request per person
More beach nights
Four nights is a rest. Seven is a holiday. Easy to add.
Quoted with your dates
Private dhow sunset
Your own boat and crew for the evening, rather than a shared trip.
Quoted with your dates
Senior guide, and a spotter where the camp provides one
Off-road game viewing and night drives where permitted
House drinks at camp, and laundry
Airport transfers and bottled water
Not included
International flights
Tanzania visa
Travel insurance
Drinks other than bottled water
Premium wines and champagne
Tips for your guide and camp staff
Balloon safari and other add-ons
Make it yours
Dawn over the Serengeti plains, then a champagne breakfast where you land.
From $600on request per person
Add three to seven beach nights — white sand, spice lanes, dhow sunsets.
From $640on request per person
Trade driving for time. The single best upgrade on this itinerary.
Quoted with your dates
“Exceptional time in Zanzibar with Rameses Tours”
My friends and I met the Rameses team on our first night in Zanzibar , their energy and friendliness immediately made us feel welcomed and we were treated as one of their own on…
“Great vehicles and amazing team for amazing experience”
We are an amazing experience with them with the Arusha national Park and we also did the Kilimanjaro one day hike. Definitely recommended!
“An Unforgettable Serengeti Experience with Exceptional Service”
We had an incredible experience visiting Tanzania together with our business partners from Venezuela (Mimoas Company), and it truly exceeded all our expectations. Our journey with Rameses Safaris was absolutely amazing—from the moment we…
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