4 Days Tanzania Safari – Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro

• Safari
• Tanzania Safaris

The four-day Tanzania safari itinerary to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro is loved by Mount Kilimanjaro climbers because it is short enough to make it an add-on to a long trek and long enough to recover from the challenging days of climbing the highest mountain in Africa. So four days. That’s all you need to see the very best of Tanzania and come home with memories that last a lifetime. This fast, perfectly-packed safari is built for people who want the real thing without wasting a single hour. You leave Arusha on the first morning and within two hours you’re already surrounded by herds of elephants walking between giant baobab trees in Tarangire (the park most longer trips rush through, but one of the most beautiful in the country). The next day, you drive into the heart of the Serengeti, where the plains stretch so far you can see the curve of the earth, and spend two half-days and one magical night right in the middle of it all: lions on kopjes, cheetahs on termite mounds, and the sky so full of stars it feels close enough to touch. Then comes the grand finale: you wake up on the crater rim, watch mist rise from the caldera at sunrise, and drop 600 metres down into Ngorongoro Crater itself (nature’s own Garden of Eden). In just five hours, you’ll see more animals in one place than most people see in a lifetime: black rhinos, huge-tusked elephants, prides of lions so close you can hear them breathe, and thirty thousand zebras, wildebeest and flamingos spread across the crater floor like a living painting. By late afternoon on day four, you’re back in Arusha, dusty, happy, and already planning your return, because four days is enough to give you the classic Tanzania highlights (Tarangire’s elephants, the endless Serengeti, and the unbelievable Crater), yet short enough to squeeze into a long weekend or add onto a work trip. It’s intense, it’s beautiful, and it’s the shortest route to the Africa you’ve always imagined.

Add Mount Kilimanjaro to Your 4-Day Safari in Tanzania

Turn a fantastic short safari into the ultimate Tanzania double-header. After your last game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater, you’ll be perfectly placed in the Kilimanjaro region to start the climb the very next day. In 6–8 extra days (depending on the route), you’ll trek from tropical rainforest all the way to the snow-capped summit of Africa’s highest mountain. Standing on Uhuru Peak at sunrise, looking down over the same plains where you just watched lions hunt, is one of those rare moments people never forget. It’s tough, but with good guides and the excitement still, safari still fresh in your legs, you’ll be amazed at what you can do. See our 13-day Tanzania safari that combines the Lemosho Route and a 4 days Safari here.

Add Zanzibar Beach to Your 4-Day Safari

Four days of dusty jeeps and early wake-ups deserve the perfect reward. When the safari ends, a quick one-hour flight from Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport drops you straight onto Zanzibar’s white sand. Trade binoculars for a cold coconut, wake up to the sound of waves instead of hyenas, snorkel over coral gardens, wander the spice markets and narrow lanes of Stone Town, or just lie in a hammock and do absolutely nothing. Three to five nights is usually spot-on: long enough to feel properly relaxed, short enough that you still remember every lion you saw.

Best Time for This 4-Day Safari into Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro

• June – October (dry season): Easiest game viewing, animals at waterholes, clear views, golden light. Peak season, so more vehicles and higher prices, but still brilliant for a short trip.
• January – early March: Calving season in the southern/central Serengeti, thousands of baby wildebeest, hungry lions everywhere, and fewer crowds than peak dry season.
• November & late May: Shoulder months, greener scenery, good wildlife sightings, far fewer people, and better rates. Short rains are usually just afternoon showers.

Any of these windows works perfectly for four fast days. Tell us whether you want the classic dry-season concentration of animals or the dramatic baby-season predator action, and we’ll slot you into the ideal dates.