Polecat Safaris
A couple taking breakfast on a lodge deck at sunrise, the plains opening out below them

Honeymoon

7-Day Serengeti Honeymoon

Duration
7 Days
From
US$ 4,828 per person

Overview

Six nights that open with a bush flight straight into the Serengeti and work back overland through the crater, the Karatu highlands and Tarangire — with a polo lawn, a guided walk and a night drive along the way.

  • A scheduled bush flight from Arusha straight onto the Serengeti plains
  • Two nights in the central Serengeti before you drive anywhere
  • A night on the crater rim, and a morning on the crater floor
  • Kitela Lodge in the Karatu highlands, among the coffee
  • Mto wa Mbu and Tarangire on the way back, rather than a transfer day
  • An optional night game drive in Tarangire
  • Shanga, where artisans with disabilities work in glass, bead and metal
  • Extendable with three to five nights in Zanzibar
Duration
7 days, 6 nights
Destination
Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Tarangire
Stops
5
Experience
Honeymoon
Best time
June – October & January – March

The route, and how far apart these places are

Arusha · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Karatu · Tarangire

Route Map

Day by day

Every day here is private — your own guide and your own vehicle — so the order holds but the hours are yours to move.

Day 1 01

Arrival in Arusha

You are met at Kilimanjaro International Airport and driven to Hamerkop House by Lemala, set beneath the slopes of Mount Meru — small, quiet, and the right sort of place to arrive at.

An hour-long guided wildlife walk comes with the night if you want to stretch your legs; the polo lawn and the golf course next door are there if you want more than that.

Meals
Dinner
Overnight
Hamerkop House by Lemala, Arusha
Highlight
A complimentary hour-long guided wildlife walk on arrival
Hamerkop House by Lemala, Mount Meru foothills

Your Stay

Hamerkop House by Lemala

Optional today

Day 2 02

Fly to the Serengeti

After breakfast you transfer the short distance to Arusha Airport for the scheduled bush flight west — an hour or so in a light aircraft instead of a day in a vehicle.

Your guide meets you at the airstrip and the drive to Melia Serengeti doubles as your first game drive.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Overnight
Melia Serengeti, Central Serengeti
Melia Serengeti Lodge, Central Serengeti

Your Stay

Melia Serengeti Lodge

Day 3 03

A Full Day in the Serengeti

A whole day out with your guide, which is what the central Serengeti asks for — the big cats here are found by working the same country patiently rather than by covering ground.

How far you go and when you stop is yours to decide; there is no group to keep to.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Overnight
Melia Serengeti, Central Serengeti (Cont.)

Optional today

Day 4 04

Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Highlands

A final morning game drive in the Serengeti, then the road south-east through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The landscape changes as you climb, and there is game to see for most of it. You finish at Lion’s Paw Camp, close enough to the crater rim to be first down in the morning.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Overnight
Lion’s Paw Camp, Ngorongoro Crater rim
Lion's Paw Camp, Ngorongoro crater rim

Your Stay

Lion's Paw Camp

Optional today

Day 5 05

The Ngorongoro Crater

An early breakfast and then down onto the crater floor, which holds one of the great wildlife concentrations anywhere and the country’s most reliable black rhino sightings.

After the drive and a picnic lunch you climb back out and carry on to the Karatu highlands.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Overnight
Kitela Lodge, Karatu
Highlight
A full morning on the crater floor
Kitela Lodge, Karatu

Your Stay

Kitela Lodge

Optional today

Day 6 06

Mto wa Mbu & Tarangire

You leave Kitela after breakfast and pass through Mto wa Mbu, a town where a great many of Tanzania’s language groups have ended up living side by side, for a short introduction to the place.

Then into Tarangire for a game drive among the ancient baobabs and the elephant herds, and on to Lemala Mpingo Ridge.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Overnight
Lemala Mpingo Ridge, Tarangire
Lemala Mpingo Ridge, Tarangire

Your Stay

Lemala Mpingo Ridge

Optional today

Day 7 07

Tarangire at First Light, Shanga & Departure

An early game drive in Tarangire, which is the best hour of the day there, and then the road back towards Arusha.

On the way you stop at Shanga, a social enterprise that employs people with disabilities — glassblowing, beadwork, weaving, sewing and metalwork, all of it done in front of you.

Then the airport, and your onward flight.

Meals
Breakfast & lunch
Highlight
Shanga — glassblowing, beadwork and weaving by artisans with disabilities

What the rate covers

Everything below is settled before you travel. What isn’t covered is listed just as plainly, so nothing on this trip arrives as a surprise.

Included

  • A private 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof, for your party alone
  • A dedicated professional English-speaking safari guide throughout
  • All accommodation as listed
  • All meals shown in the itinerary
  • The scheduled bush flight from Arusha Airport to the Serengeti
  • A complimentary guided wildlife walk on the first evening
  • The Mto wa Mbu introduction and the visit to Shanga
  • All game drives and activities listed in the itinerary
  • Park, conservation area and Ngorongoro Crater fees
  • Airport transfers on arrival and departure
  • Bottled drinking water in the vehicle, and government taxes

Not included

  • International flights to and from Kilimanjaro (JRO)
  • Tanzanian visa fees
  • Travel insurance
  • Items of a personal nature
  • Tips and gratuities for your guide and lodge staff
  • Optional activities not listed in the itinerary

Questions

Is this a private safari?
Yes. The vehicle, the guide and the itinerary are yours alone — you share the day with nobody outside your own party.
Can the itinerary be changed?
Yes. Because it is private, the nights, the lodges, the activities and the pace can all move. Tell us what you have in mind and we will redraft it.
Can we add Zanzibar?
Yes, and most couples do. Three to five nights on the coast at the end turns this into a safari and a beach honeymoon; we book the domestic flight and the resort with it.

Travel this one

Tell us roughly when, and we’ll come back with dates, the camps that are open and what the 7-day rate looks like for your party.

Or reach the team in Arusha directly — +255 654 592 688 or WhatsApp.

We reply within one working day.

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