Serengeti walking safari in Tanzania
| country: | Tanzania |
| location: | Serengeti National Park |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade throughout the year, excluding April and May (rainy season) |
| price: | From £1730 (6 days) excluding flights |
| more info: | Price includes all accommodation as per itinerary, most meals, all guiding services including full support crew, National Park entrance fees, all vehicle transportation as indicated in the itinerary, private 4WD vehicles and internal air charter flights. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Perhaps the finest walking safari experience in all of Africa, this is a journey into the heart of the Serengeti National Park to coincide with the annual wildebeest migration. Our 6-day walking safari explores a vast wilderness which has only just opened for non-vehicle access and, together with our Tanzanian operations and guiding partners, are one of only a handful of adventure specialists to be granted permission to operate in this wonderful region. The experience is completely unique as nowhere else on earth can one walk on foot with such incredible wildlife numbers. Our routes and camps are designed in order to be flexible according to wildlife movements and, although the experience focuses upon the larger wildlife, the walking safari allows us to explore the rich birdlife and smaller creatures of the Serengeti.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arusha. Arrive in Arusha and stay overnight in a small and stylish guesthouse just outside Arusha Town. |
| Day 2: | Walk to camp. Walk across the wildlife-filled plains and arrive in camp for lunch. Relax during the heat of the afternoon and enjoy a late afternoon / evening walk. |
| Days 3-5: | Serengeti safari. Our Serengeti walking safari explores the wildest corners of this incredible region. Besides the vast numbers of wildebeest and zebra, we may see lion, leopard, elephant and giraffe in addition to many smaller creatures and fascinating birdlife and plants. Our walking safaris are genuine adventures in style. Although the camps are lightweight, every comfort in the bush is considered. Food is all important and delicious evening meals are enjoyed around a blazing campfire. |
| Day 6: | Extend your Tanzania safari or depart. Last morning walk in the Serengeti and depart on an afternoon scheduled flight. |
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society. Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Community
Community based tourism is now a major part of the solution in Tanzania providing the local Masai population with a viable and sustainable way of life. By joining our trips in Tanzania, you will be contributing to their ongoing growth and success. All of our in-country partners are engaged in various forms of conservation and some have entered into specific Community Based Tourism Agreements with several Maasai villages providing them with the means for them to realise the positive benefits of tourism and, at the same time, helping to secure wildlife corridors and dispersal areas. In these areas the combination of exclusivity, wilderness, cultural interaction and game is a unique and intensive experience. For the first time visitor to Tanzania these can be a far richer experience than a 'normal' safari, and for the seasoned Africa visitor these areas can be an entire safari in their own right. Arrangements are similar in the Rift Valley Area, whereby access is being granted to core areas which are forest reserves, and these fit particularly well with more 'regular' safaris, such that a couple of days can be spent hiking and fly camping away from the normal tourist routes, being led by Maasai guides and seeing a unique perspective to Tanzania. Environment Throughout Tanzania, we are working in areas where both people, wilderness and wildlife all co exist. We recognize that for communities to protect the natural resources that surround them they must see a direct link between the resource they are custodians of and financial reward. This is the optimum model whereby environmental conservation objectives are achieved through sustainable tourism development. The exclusive areas referred to above work through the payment of a significant annual fee to secure sole access to those areas. The annual fee is part of a larger contract, and within these contracts are agreements to work towards the protection of the local wildlife and environment through protection of certain areas and restriction of certain types of activity, such as agriculture. The communities then receive direct benefits in terms of employment of local guides, scouts, guards, as well as direct per guest per day fees, which all go towards the local community. Hence, there is a positive and ongoing relationship between non-consumptive tourism, conservation and community development. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |