6 Day Family Adventure Safari
Canoe, walk and track wildlife as a family: Arusha National Park, Tarangire, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, with hands-on junior ranger-style activities along the way.
- Duration
- 6 days
- Route
- Arusha – Arusha National Park – Tarangire – Karatu – Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater – Arusha
- Start / end
- Starts and ends in Arusha (pick-up from your hotel or Kilimanjaro Airport)
- Best time
- June to October is usually best for walking, canoeing and wildlife viewing, with December to February also a good option for school holidays.
- Trip style
- Private family safari in a 4x4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof and your own driver-guide, staying in mid-range lodges and tented camps with family rooms where available.
Tour overview
This safari is built for families who like to get out of the vehicle and do things. It begins in Arusha National Park with a guided walk alongside an armed ranger and a canoe trip on the Momella Lakes, then heads to Tarangire, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater for classic big-game viewing.
Along the way your guide turns the safari into a learning adventure, with junior ranger-style activities such as reading animal tracks, identifying dung and birdcalls, keeping a wildlife checklist and learning how rangers protect the parks. Children come home not only with photos but with real bush skills and stories to tell.
The trip suits active families with school-age children, though younger kids are welcome and activities can be adapted to their age. You travel in a private Land Cruiser and stay in comfortable lodges, most with swimming pools for an afternoon splash.
Highlights
- Canoeing on Small Momella Lake in Arusha National Park (age and water levels permitting)
- Guided walking safari with an armed park ranger among giraffes and buffalo
- Junior ranger-style tracking, wildlife checklists and bush skills with your guide
- Big cats and endless plains in the central Serengeti
- Game drive on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater
- Private 4x4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof and family-friendly lodges
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Arusha National Park walking and canoeing
Your guide picks you up in Arusha for the short drive of about 45 minutes to Arusha National Park, in the shadow of Mount Meru. Start with a game drive to look for giraffe, zebra, buffalo and black-and-white colobus monkeys in the forest. Next, join an armed ranger on a guided walk, learning to read tracks and spot animals on foot. In the afternoon, paddle a canoe on Small Momella Lake with a guide, looking for hippos and water birds. Return to Arusha for the night.
Day 2Arusha to Tarangire National Park
Drive about 2 to 2.5 hours to Tarangire National Park, home to some of the largest elephant herds in northern Tanzania. Today the junior rangers get their wildlife checklist and binoculars ready: can you find an elephant, a giraffe, a baobab tree, a dik-dik and a lilac-breasted roller before lunch? Your guide explains how elephants communicate and why baobabs have such huge trunks. After a picnic lunch, continue exploring along the Tarangire River, then relax at your lodge pool.
Day 3Tarangire to Serengeti National Park
Leave early for the drive across the Ngorongoro highlands to the Serengeti. The journey takes most of the day, with stops to stretch your legs, enjoy the view over the Ngorongoro Crater from the rim and see Maasai herders with their cattle. After a picnic lunch you enter the endless plains of the Serengeti and continue on a game drive to the central Seronera area, famous for lions, leopards and cheetahs. Arrive at your lodge in the late afternoon.
Day 4Full day in the central Serengeti
Spend a full day exploring the Serengeti, returning to the lodge for a midday break if the children need a rest and a swim. The Seronera River valley is one of the best places in Africa to find big cats, and your guide teaches the junior rangers how to scan the kopjes and treetops for a resting leopard. Look for hippos, elephants, giraffes, topi and hartebeest, and talk about the great wildebeest migration and where the herds are at this time of year.
Day 5Serengeti to Ngorongoro highlands
Enjoy a final morning game drive in the Serengeti, then head back toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a drive of about 4 to 5 hours including game viewing on the way out of the park. Stop at Olduvai Gorge, where children can see where some of the earliest human ancestors were discovered and learn how scientists find fossils. In the afternoon continue to your lodge in the green farming country near Karatu for a swim and a family dinner.
Day 6Ngorongoro Crater and return to Arusha
Set off early with a packed breakfast and descend about 600 meters into the Ngorongoro Crater. On the crater floor, the junior rangers complete their final checklist as you search for lions, hyenas, buffalo, elephants, flamingos and the rare black rhino. Enjoy a picnic lunch by a hippo pool before climbing out of the crater. Drive back to Arusha, about 3 hours, arriving in the late afternoon for drop-off at your hotel or Kilimanjaro International Airport.
What is included
- Private 4x4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof and professional driver-guide
- All park entrance and conservation fees, including the Ngorongoro Crater service fee
- Walking safari with an armed ranger and canoeing in Arusha National Park
- 5 nights' accommodation in family-friendly lodges as listed or similar
- Meals as listed in the itinerary
- Entrance to the Olduvai Gorge museum
- Unlimited drinking water in the vehicle
- Pick-up and drop-off at your Arusha hotel or Kilimanjaro Airport
Not included
- International flights
- Tanzania visa
- Travel insurance
- Tips for your guide, rangers and lodge staff
- Drinks at the lodges
- Personal items and laundry
- Optional activities such as a Serengeti hot-air balloon flight
Good to know
- Canoeing and walking safaris depend on conditions and have minimum age limits set by the park, so your guide can swap in a forest drive or shorter nature walk for younger children.
- Day 3 is the longest travel day, about 6 to 7 hours with stops, so bring games, snacks and headphones for the drive.
- Pack a warm fleece for early mornings on the Ngorongoro rim and in Arusha.
- Bring sun hats, sunscreen and insect repellent for the whole family.
Frequently asked questions
What are the junior ranger-style activities?
Your guide leads simple, fun activities throughout the trip, like spotting tracks, identifying dung, recognizing birdcalls and filling in a wildlife checklist. They are informal and flexible, designed to keep children curious and involved on game drives.
Is this safari suitable for children under 7?
Yes, although some activities such as canoeing and walking safaris have age limits. Your guide will swap in age-appropriate alternatives so younger children never feel left out.
Can we add a beach extension?
Certainly. Families often fly from the Serengeti or Arusha to Zanzibar for a few nights of beach time. We can adjust the final days to include the flight.
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