Polecat Safaris
A family at a long lunch table set in the shade of an acacia, with the lake and hills beyond

Family Safari

7-Day Tanzania Family Safari

Duration
7 Days
From
US$ 4,200 per person

Overview

Six nights with a full day in the Serengeti rather than a morning, a Maasai village on the way in, the crater floor, and a cultural morning in Mto wa Mbu before you fly.

  • A full day in the Serengeti, not a morning
  • A Maasai village visit on the way to the park
  • The Big Five across the Serengeti and the crater
  • Tarangire’s elephant herds at the start
  • A cultural morning in Mto wa Mbu at the end
  • A private 4×4 and an experienced local guide throughout
  • Comfortable lodges and tented camps chosen for families
  • Wildlife, culture and enough downtime to keep everyone civil
Duration
7 days, 6 nights
Destination
Tarangire, Serengeti & Ngorongoro
Stops
6
Experience
Family Safari
Best time
June – October & December – March

The route, and how far apart these places are

Arusha · Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Karatu · Mto wa Mbu

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

Your guide meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and drives you to Mount Meru Game Lodge, where the grounds do a lot of work on a first evening.

Dinner, and then bed. The safari begins in the morning.

Meals
Dinner
Overnight
Mount Meru Game Lodge, Arusha
Mount Meru Game Lodge, Arusha

Your Stay

Mount Meru Game Lodge

Day 2 02

Arusha to Tarangire

After breakfast you drive to Tarangire — enormous elephant herds, ancient baobabs, and a river that keeps the park busy all year.

A game drive through the park, and then Elephant Springs by Karibu Camps for the night.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Overnight
Elephant Springs by Karibu Camps, Tarangire
Elephant Springs by Karibu Camps, Tarangire (inside park)

Your Stay

Elephant Springs by Karibu Camps

Optional today

  • Night game drive 2–3 hours, starting just after sunset · Price on request
  • Sundowner The last hour of the afternoon drive · From US$ 50 pp
Day 3 03

Tarangire to the Serengeti, by Way of a Maasai Village

You start north towards the Serengeti, and stop on the way at a Maasai village — a proper visit, with time to ask about the customs, the cattle and how the day actually runs.

Then on to the park, arriving in time for an afternoon game drive out across the plains.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Overnight
Kubu Kubu, Central Serengeti
Highlight
A Maasai village visit — customs, cattle and daily life
Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge, Central Serengeti

Your Stay

Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Optional today

  • Olduvai Gorge A stop of an hour or so, on the way through · US$ 35–40 pp
Day 4 04

A Full Day in the Serengeti

The whole day in the park with your guide, which is enough time to reach more than one part of it and to sit still where sitting still pays off.

It is a long day in a vehicle for children, so it is deliberately unhurried — a picnic, a siesta in the shade, and out again for the last of the light.

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

Optional today

Day 5 05

Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Highlands

Game drives in the Serengeti through the morning, and then east in the afternoon towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The plains give way to highland as you climb. You finish at Lion’s Paw Camp, close to the crater.

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 6 06

The Ngorongoro Crater

An early breakfast and down into the crater, where the concentration of animals in one enclosed floor is unlike anywhere else in the country.

Afterwards you climb out and carry on to Kitela Lodge in the quiet of the Karatu highlands.

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

Your Stay

Kitela Lodge

Optional today

Day 7 07

Mto wa Mbu, and Departure

The last morning is in Mto wa Mbu — a walk through the village, the farming, the crafts and the markets, in a town where a remarkable number of Tanzania’s communities live within a few streets of each other.

Then on to the airport for your onward flight.

Meals
Breakfast & lunch
Highlight
A guided cultural tour of Mto wa Mbu

Optional today

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
  • All game drives and activities listed in the itinerary
  • The Maasai village visit and the Mto wa Mbu cultural tour
  • 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

Does this work for families with children?
Yes. The pace is comfortable and the wildlife days are broken up with cultural mornings, which is what keeps a week in a vehicle enjoyable for children.
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.
What will we see?
Elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, hippo and rhino are all possible across these parks. What you actually see depends on where the animals are that week — no operator can promise otherwise.
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.

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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