A softer arrival in Arusha
Two relaxed days create room to arrive well, enjoy the garden calm of the safari capital and decide how much city colour you would like before the road turns wild.
Private ready-to-book journey
10-Day Signature Safari
Arusha · Arusha National Park · Tarangire · Mto wa Mbu · Ngorongoro · Serengeti
A considered ten-day Tanzania safari where private guiding, generous time and handpicked stays let every chapter unfold with quiet confidence.
10 days
9 nights
Overview
Tanzania, shaped around your own sense of discovery.
The Signature Safari is made for travellers who value the difference in the details: a warm welcome that never feels hurried, a private guide who reads the day with instinct, and stays that continue the atmosphere of the wilderness long after the vehicle comes to rest. With no more than twelve guests, every chapter has room to feel personal.
Begin gently in Arusha, then let Tanzania reveal itself in layers: the forests of Arusha National Park, Tarangire's elephant country, the living culture around Mto wa Mbu, the blue-green bowl of Ngorongoro and finally the plains of the Serengeti. It is a route of celebrated places, made exceptional by the way it is paced.
10
Days of privately guided discovery
05
Wild and cultural chapters, gracefully linked
12
Guests at most for a considered rhythm
Highlights
The details that make a classic safari feel distinctly yours.
Every stage has been selected for a different expression of Tanzania, while the private pace leaves room for the encounters no itinerary can ever predict.
Elephant country, unhurried
Two full days in Tarangire mean time to stay with the great herds, wait beneath ancient baobabs and let your guide follow the park's changing energy.
Culture with real connection
A respectful Maasai welcome and Mto wa Mbu experience bring the human texture of northern Tanzania into the journey with warmth and perspective.
A final horizon without limits
Ngorongoro's extraordinary wildlife and two Serengeti days give the journey its grandest scenes, with time enough for them to become personal memories.
Day by day
A route with room
to become a story.
Follow the journey below. The map will keep pace with each chapter, while the small details stay deliberately open to the rhythm of the wild.
Day 01
Arusha
Arrive well beneath Mount Meru
An Excellent Guides host meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and brings you through the soft foothills beneath Mount Meru to Arusha. The first afternoon asks nothing of you beyond checking in, settling into your room and letting the journey begin at its own pace. Tanzania's safari capital is close to the northern parks, yet its gardens, coffee country and gentle city rhythm make a graceful place to arrive.
Day 02
Arusha
Arusha, with nothing to rush
Wake slowly and let the day belong to you. Linger in the hotel gardens, take time beside the pool or choose an easy afternoon walk through Arusha's boutiques, local shops and contemporary corners. This is intentional space in the itinerary: a chance to recover from travel, meet your guide in an unhurried way and settle into the rhythm of the days ahead.
Day 03
Arusha National Park
A smaller park with a grand sense of place
Arusha National Park offers a beautifully different opening to the safari. Beneath the slopes of Mount Meru, forest, open glades and the Momella Lakes create a changing backdrop for giraffe, buffalo, baboons, flamingos and a remarkable variety of birdlife. Your private guide lets the day move with the light and the sightings, bringing you back to Arusha in time for a relaxed evening.
Day 04
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire and the patience of elephant country
After breakfast, travel into Tarangire, where enormous baobabs, open plains and the life-giving river create one of Tanzania's most distinctive safari landscapes. The great draw is its elephants: entire families moving beneath ancient trees, sometimes close enough to make the scale of the place feel wonderfully intimate. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and rich birdlife complete a first game drive shaped by the day rather than a fixed script.
Day 05
Tarangire National Park
A day to stay with the wild
A second Tarangire day is the luxury of having no need to rush on. Follow fresh tracks with your guide, pause at the river's edge and wait with the landscape long enough for its smaller stories to emerge. Perhaps it is a lion resting in shade, a leopard slipping through the trees or a long line of elephants moving towards water. Each sighting has time to become more than a photograph.
Day 06
Maasai country · Mto wa Mbu · Ngorongoro
The people and colour between the parks
This morning opens with a respectful Maasai welcome: music, movement and a chance to understand the traditions and daily life that have long shaped this land. Continue to Mto wa Mbu, where farmers, artisans and painters reveal another side of northern Tanzania. A slow walk through the town, a taste of local life and time to choose a meaningful keepsake turn the drive into a cultural chapter before the road climbs towards the cool highlands of Ngorongoro.
Day 07
Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro, the world within its walls
Descend into the great blue-green bowl of Ngorongoro, often called Africa's Garden of Eden. This ancient caldera gathers an astonishing concentration of life: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and the rare black rhinoceros are all part of the possibility, alongside hippos, cheetahs and extraordinary birdlife. A private picnic on the Crater floor creates a natural pause before you return to the rim as the afternoon light softens.
Day 08
Central Serengeti
The Serengeti opens beyond every horizon
After breakfast, leave the Crater highlands behind and travel west towards the Serengeti. The road itself becomes part of the safari, with a picnic lunch and an en-route game drive as the land broadens into the celebrated endless plains. By afternoon you arrive in the Central Serengeti, where acacia silhouettes, open sky and the first signs of wildlife introduce the final and most expansive chapter of your journey.
Day 09
Central Serengeti
A final day made for possibility
Give the Serengeti the full day it deserves. Explore the classic wildlife-rich Seronera Valley, or follow the seasonal energy of the Western Corridor and the northern plains when the movement of the herds calls. Lion prides, leopards, cheetahs, elephant families, giraffe and zebra can all appear in the shifting light; during the migration, wildebeest may turn the horizon into a living river. Your guide follows the story worth staying with.
Day 10
Serengeti · Arusha · Departure
Carry the story home
Begin with a final morning game drive while the Serengeti is still cool and full of possibility, then transfer to Seronera Airstrip for the flight back to Arusha. Your guide meets you for a farewell lunch before the last transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport. The journey comes to a close without hurry, carrying home the things that remain long after a safari: a particular light, an unexpected animal encounter, the quiet of the plains and the feeling of having had time enough to truly be there.
Where you'll stay
Hand selected for an
unmatched experience.
From Arusha's heritage calm to Tarangire's baobabs, the Crater rim and the Serengeti's far-reaching plains, each stay is selected to make every evening part of the journey.
01 / 04
Historic Arusha hotel
Four Points by Sheraton Arusha
A heritage hotel with the composed hospitality and central calm needed for a beautifully easy first night in Tanzania.
Tarangire lodge
Tarangire Sopa Lodge
A generous lodge among kopjes, grasses and baobabs, chosen for an evening that keeps elephant country close without giving up comfort.
Crater-rim lodge
Ngorongoro Serena Lodge
A beautifully placed lodge on the Crater rim, where clear highland air and wide views bring a quieter, more dramatic close to the day.
Serengeti lodge
Serengeti Explorer
A contemporary Serengeti retreat that joins generous space and thoughtful comfort to an immersive position in the heart of the plains.
What's included
The ease is built in.
The journey is designed so the practical details quietly support the experience. Before travel, we will confirm every element against your exact dates and preferred level of accommodation.
- Full-board accommodation with breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the safari, with Arusha stays as outlined
- All game drives in a custom-built 4x4 Safari Land Cruiser with a pop-up viewing roof
- All national park entrance fees, current government taxes and levies
- The scheduled domestic flight from Seronera to Arusha
- A professional English-speaking driver-guide, bottled drinking water and 24-hour support from the Arusha office
- All transfers and private safari logistics described in the itinerary
Not included
- International flights, Tanzania entry visa and travel or health insurance
- Balloon safaris, optional excursions and all-terrain vehicle or bike adventures
- Hotel services outside the meal plan, including spa treatments, laundry and bar services
- Tips for guides, hotel staff and porters
- Meals, drinks and activities not specifically described in this itinerary
Testimonials
In their own words
“Your #1 safari company”My 10-day safari with Excellent Guides was by far the most exciting experience. We saw all of the Big Five, from Arusha to the Serengeti. Our guide Hassan was the best: patient and full of knowledge. I highly recommend this company.
“Priceless experience!”Organising the trip, the lodge and the trek up Kilimanjaro with Excellent Guides was a unique experience. On summit night, my guide's positive motivation and good mood carried me to the top. A mega experience. Thank you!
“Excellent indeed!”Our honeymoon safari and relaxing days in Zanzibar were so much more than we expected. Rajabu is such an experienced, warm-hearted guide. We saw all the Big Five. A memory forever engraved in our minds.
“It seems like a dream”Our guide Jerry was the main reason our safari was so successful. So knowledgeable, with such a love for nature and the animals. How close we came to the wildlife was unbelievable. Everything I dreamed it would be, and more.
“We literally saw everything”The guides were like walking encyclopedias, and they knew where to find the animals, including a cheetah stalking its prey and taking off on an epic run. I truly can't say enough about this company.
“The dream safari”Two wonderful weeks through northern Tanzania. Their professionalism and experience, the smiles always on their faces and their attention to every detail made our honeymoon unique and unforgettable.
“Professionals, great service”Everything was wonderful: the organisation, the hotels and the safari itself. Professionals all the way, excellent service. We recommend them with all our heart.
“Once in a lifetime”Our guide Cosmas was amazing. Knowledgeable about the animals, the geography and the history of the region. The customer service was out of this world. They really spoil you.
“Wow! Unforgettable”We planned the trip for six months with Dearson, who answered every question promptly and personalised the itinerary to our wishes. The hospitality at every camp was outstanding.
“What an experience”Apollo and Ross were fantastic: fun, energetic, knowledgeable and informative. They found the Big Five and took such wonderful care of us throughout our first safari.
“A trip to Eden”We loved travelling through the reserves, watching the wildlife and visiting the tribes. John was kind, deeply knowledgeable and could notice even the most hidden animals.
“Photo Safari”Our guide took us to wonderful places and made the photographic safari exceptional. He was skilled, fun and friendly, and I returned home with beautiful memories and images.
“Smoothly run and professional”Communication was excellent, the ownership was involved and our hotels and lodges were fantastic. From airport pickup to drop-off, everything ran smoothly.
“Amazing week”Our guide was attentive, punctual and remarkable at spotting animals from miles away. He became our eyes, our source of knowledge and our friend throughout the journey.
“Miraculous!”My mum and I had the most incredible time. Travelling through Tarangire and Ngorongoro felt like travelling with a friend who cared deeply about making our experience perfect.
“Four action-packed days”Excellent Guides listened carefully, made every day count and placed us in safe, knowledgeable hands. Their network and respect for the wilderness made the safari extraordinary.
“Excellent!”Communication, preparation, lodges and guiding were all excellent. We especially valued travelling with a Tanzanian-owned company whose guide went the extra mile.
“The perfect honeymoon”We could sit back and enjoy every moment. The lodges were excellent, the vehicle was well maintained and our guide's knowledge and thoughtful approach made the journey faultless.
Make it your own
Ready to make Tanzania entirely your own?
Tell us when you would like to travel and what matters most to you. We will refine the guiding, stays, cultural moments and safari rhythm into a Signature Safari that feels effortless from the first welcome to the final farewell.
