Daytrip to Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park is located just 45 minutes outside the city center. It’s a multifaceted jewel that is often overlooked! Standing in the shadows of the more famous parks of Northern Tanzania, this park is rarely visited. Yet this very circumstance is what makes Arusha National Park so worthwhile.

Spend your day inside Arusha National Park on game drive in an open-roofed 4×4 safari vehicle! Optional add-on: get out of the car and explore the park on foot during a guided walking safari. A wonderful opportunity to experience wildlife from a different perspective!

Important Facts:

• Location: inside Arusha National Park
• Duration: daytrip from 8 AM
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Age Restrictions: no children below 10 years on the walking safari

Beading Class

Embark on a 2-hour beading class to learn more about traditional beading techniques of the Maasai tribe while at the same time hearing more about the Maasai culture. Your guided tour will start with a visit of the workshop where you will find various Maasai women designing unique pieces – a great inspiration to create your own beautiful piece of jewelry.

You will then proceed into the serene garden to get started yourself! Different packages for your beading classes are available: sip on local chai (tea) or indulge in a cheese board and wine shared with your family and friends. What a beautiful cutlural exchange and great memory of Tanzania that you can take home with you!

Important Facts:

• Available: Monday to Fridays between 10 Am – 2 PM
• Highlight: Tuesday – Maasai Market Day
• Duration: 2-hour
• Physical Rating: easy
• Age Restrictions: none

Canoe Safari

For adventurous travelers we recommend getting out of the vehicle and jumping into a canoe to explore the landscape of Arusha National Park. A canoe safari is a unique adventure to experience Tanzania’s wildlife from a different perspective. Each canoe ride varies between two to three hours in length. A fabulous chance to view buffaloes, hippos, giraffes and various water birds as well as soaking up the breathtaking scenery.

Important Facts:

• Location: inside Arusha National Park
• Departure times: morning and afternoons
• Duration: 2- to 3-hour
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Age Restrictions: no children below 8 years
• Equipment: 2-Persons fiberglass canoes

Lake Duluti Walk

Lake Duluti is a hidden and often overseen gem in Arusha! Its natural surrounding offers a peaceful walking opportunity to avoid the bustle life of Arusha Town. An uneven path lets through the beautiful lake forests and your guide will explain more about the plants, trees, insects, birds, and small mammals that cross your way. Every now and then you might be able to glimpse a view of Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro. What a peaceful scenery!

Important Facts:

• Departure times: morning and afternoons
• Duration: 2-hours
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Age Restrictions: none
• Not to forget: good walking shoes; binocular and camera

Market Visit & Local Lunch

Enjoy a guided tour over Arusha’s main market and take a glimpse into the daily Tanzanian life. See how residents shop for fresh fruits, vegetables, spices and various other things. It is a great dive-in into the Tanzanian culture and probably a sensory overload, but a lot of fun!

Afterwards try some traditional East African cuisine with a „nyama choma“ lunch. Nyama choma means roasted or barbequed meat – either beef, chicken, or goat – each tasty marinated and cooked on an open flame. Suitable side dishes include: chapati (a flatbread made from wheat flour) or ugali (a kind of thick maize porridge) as well as a kachumbari (a tomato-onion salad).

Important Facts:

• Departure times: morning
• Duration: half day
• Physical Rating: easy
• Age Restrictions: none

Shanga Workshop Visit

Explore your creative side and support the Shanga Workshop in Arusha. This self-sustaining initiative employs and trains people with disabilities, who create unique, handmade jewelry, glassware and homeware incorporating recycled materials. Shanga is the Swahili word for “bead” and artistically-minded travelers can make their own necklaces from recycled powder glass beads. A great experience with memories to take home!

Important Facts:

• Departure time: morning or afternoons
• Duration: 1,5 to 2-hours
• Physical Rating: easy
• Age Restrictions: none

Coffee Plantation Visit

Tanzania – especially the Kilimanjaro region – are well-known for its splendid coffee. Enjoy a 2-hour stroll through a local coffee plantation and learn everything you need to know about the cultivation of coffee. A local farmer will guide you and explain every step of the coffee-making process. Learn how seedlings are planted, harvest mature beans, engage in the roasting and grinding process, and enjoy a delicious cup of hot brew. What an enjoyment – any coffee fan will love this tour!

Important Facts:

• Departure times: morning and afternoons
• Duration: 2- to 3-hours
• Physical Rating: easy
• Age Restrictions: none

Shira Plateau Hike on Mount Kilimanjaro

Daytrip to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. Unlike other daytrips to the mountain, this panoramic walking tour will enter the park from the west at Londorossi Gate. The drive continues to Shira Barrier at an altitude of 3,300m. Here you will park the car and start your guided nature walk, which is a loop trail of 2 to 3 hours.

Enjoy the open moorland area and although not many large animals live here, you might with a little luck come across duikers, elands and various bird species. On clear and sunny days, you can even enjoy splendid views to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. This activity is best combined with an overnight stay in the area.

Important Facts:

• Departure time: morning
• Duration Shira Hike itself: 2- to 3-hours
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Not to forget: good walking shoes & sunhat; binocular and camera

Lake Chala Walk

Lake Chala close to Mount Kilimanjaro is one of Tanzania’s most hidden gems. This crater lake is fed by underground springs from the mountain and its turquoise water is surrounded by a great diversity of plants, trees and wildlife. There are a number of beautiful walking trails around the crater. For active travelers a steeply path leads down to the lake itself. An unforgettable experience not to be missed and best combined with an overnight stay directly at the crater rim.

Important Facts:

• Departure time: any time
• Duration: 1,5- to 2-hours
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Not to forget: good walking shoes; binocular and camera

Biking – Mto wa Mbu & Great Rift Valley

For more active travelers, we recommend getting out of the vehicle and hopping on a bike. There are various biking paths in the Manyara region with different degrees of difficulty and length. All biking routes are designed to let you experience Tanzania’s cultural diversity and maybe even catch a glimpse of wildlife from a different perspective.

This 3-hour biking ride will take you through the farming village of Mto wa Mbu. Enjoy the sights and sounds of this vibrant village! Stop at local farms and also visit a church and school. This is a great opportunity to get in contact with the local community. Your drive then proceeds towards the lake shore with stunning vistas of the lake, the Rift Valley Wall and small herds of wildlife.

Important Facts:

• Departure times: morning and afternoons
• Duration: 3-hours
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Age Restrictions: no children below 8 years
• Equipment: Merida and Titan mountain bikes with helmets

Night Game Drive

Lake Manyara National Park is the ideal location for a night game drive. This experience is completely different to any day safari as you encounter a new world of nocturnal wildlife. Less seen animals like civet cats, genets and porcupines are generally active at night. You might be also able to spot hippos, leopards and lions. Prepare yourself for an outstanding safari adventure!

Important Facts:

• Location: inside Lake Manyara National Park
• Departure times: evening – around 8 PM
• Duration: 2- to 2,5 hours
• Physical Rating: easy
• Not to forget: Camera and Head-Light

Tuk Tuk Village Ride – Mto wa Mbu

Explore the village of Mto wa Mbu in a Tuk Tuk. Being small in size it is the ideal vehicle to move between the farms and the local houses. A Tuk Tuk can carry up to three passengers on a bench seat behind the driver. As the sides of the vehicle are open, you can enjoy fantastic views and get a vibe of the village live.

Important Facts:

• Departure times: morning and afternoons
• Duration: 2-hours
• Physical Rating: easy
• Not to forget: camera

Lake Shore Walk

Travel off-the-beaten-track away from the heavily trafficked touristic routes to Lake Natron. Adventure seekers will enjoy a 2-hour stroll to the shores of the lake. A local Maasai guide will join you and explain more about this area. Lake Natron is a unique Salt Lake and one of the most important breeding grounds for the lesser flamingos in East Africa. This activity is best combined with an overnight stay in the area.

Important Facts:

• Departure time: around sunrise or sunset for beautiful vistas
• Duration: 2-hours
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Not to forget: good walking shoes (partly slippery); binocular and camera

Maasai Village

Tanzania is home to over 120 different tribes – the most famous tribe are the proud Maasai people. Despite western influences they have managed to hold on too many of their traditions. In the past, they moved nomadically in search of water and pasture for their herds, whereas nowadays most of them have established permanent settlements.

One of the joys of travelling is to experience other cultures and traditions! Take the time to visit one of the Maasai bomas at Lake Natron and get a sense of their local heritage and the fascinating ancestry of these noble people. The interaction on a personal level will be an extraordinary experience!

Important Facts:

• Departure time: morning or afternoons
• Duration: 1,5 to 2-hours
• Physical Rating: easy
• Not to forget: sunhat

Ngare Sero Waterfall Visit

Lake Natron is located in the north of the country and far away from the usual touristic safari routes. A local Maasai guide will lead you on a 2-hour walk to the source of the Engare Sero River who winds its way through the escarpment. Highlight of the walk is the waterfall in which clear waters one can swim in. What a nice cool off! You might even come across a desert rose that grows in this dry area. This activity is best combined with an overnight stay in the area.

Important Facts:

• Departure time: morning or afternoons
• Duration: 2-hours
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Not to forget: waterproofed walking shoes (the river is crossed several times by foot)

Bird Watching & Boat Safari

Lake Victoria is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and is home to a wide variety of bush, swamp and water birds. Many of the birds are indigenous to this area and can best be seen on a boat safari.

Ride along the shoreline in a traditional canoe with a local fishermen and stop at a nearby village. Explore the village on foot and return to the lodge. The traditional singing of the fishermen is definitley the highlight as well as the information provided about different local fishing methods.

Important Facts:

• Departure time: mornings only
• Duration: 2 to 2,5-hours
• Physical Rating: easy
• Not to forget: sunhat; binocular and camera

Olduvai Gorge Museum Visit

Visit the world-famous archaeological site of Olduvai Gorge – often also referred to as the “Cradle of Mankind”. Early remains of homo sapiens were discovered here by Mary Leaky in 1976. These findings can be viewed in the little museum that further showcases animal fossils and stone tools. Travelers with an interest in mankind’s ancestors will be fascinated by this astonishing place!

Important Facts:

• Departure time: any time
• Duration: 1,5 to 2-hours
• Physical Rating: easy

Empakai Crater Visit

The Empakai Crater is much smaller than the Ngorongoro Crater and only 6 km wide. It is a magical place to go for a walking safari. Much of the ground is covered with water throughout the year. Lake Empakai is a Salt Lake and its alkaline characteristics provide one of the major food sources for the lesser flamingos that gather at the shores during the day and return to their breeding nests at Lake Natron at night. Take a walk down the rim and delight in the birds and plants or spend the night on top of the rim – a truly fantastic experience.

Important Facts:

• Departure times: morning and afternoons
• Duration: 2- to 3-hours
• Physical Rating: moderate
• Not to forget: good walking shoes; binocular and camera

Balloon Ride

Riding in a hot air balloon is a unique and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you should seize upon during your Tanzania safari. Floating over the endless Serengeti plains and watching wildlife from above is an indescribably magical experience. Get up early and rise with the sun as your balloon floats in whatever direction the winds take you. Your flight will last an hour and, after landing, you can enjoy a sumptuous bush breakfast.

Important Facts:

• Departure time from camp: between 4h00 to 4h30 am
• Departure time of balloon: between 6h00 to 6h30 am
• Age Restrictions: no children below 7 years
• Health Restrictions: passengers must be fit (not suitable for pregnant ladies, people with mobility or health conditions)
• Weather: cool in early mornings and warmer after sunrise, therefore, a jacket/sweater that can be removed later is a good idea
• Not to forget: binocular and camera

Balloon Ride

Rise before the sun and prepare to take off on an exciting hot air balloon ride in the early light of dawn – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you should seize upon during your Tanzania safari. Delight in a scenic flight in the comfort of a massive weaved basket and float across the open savannah, past green bushlands and the Tarangire River with its granite rocks, dense swamps, and the deep river valley. Your flight will last an hour and, after landing, you can enjoy a sumptuous bush breakfast.

Important Facts:

• Departure time from camp: between 4h00 to 4h30 am
• Departure time of balloon: between 6h00 to 6h30 am
• Age Restrictions: no children below 7 years
• Health Restrictions: passengers must be fit (not suitable for pregnant ladies, people with mobility or health conditions)
• Weather: cool in early mornings and warmer after sunrise, therefore, a jacket/sweater that can be removed later is a good idea
• Not to forget: binocular and camera

Maasai Village

Unlike other Maasai villages within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the villages near Tarangire National Park still offer an authentic cultural exchange. Your visit starts with a typical Maasai greeting, followed by a tour of the village and a demonstration of how the circular houses using mortar (made from cow dung and soil) are build. You will also learn how to make fire by twisting a stick on top of a flat piece of wood until it starts to smoke – then add grass to make a fire. Watch the women make colourful beadwork and try your luck in the famous jumping displays. The interaction on a personal level will be an extraordinary experience!

Important Facts:

• Departure time: morning or afternoons
• Duration: 1,5 to 2-hours
• Physical Rating: easy
• Not to forget: sunhat