Excursions

Only the excursions that can be done on a round trip day from Arusha are priced. Other excursions are to be chosen as part of the larger safari design.

All excursions include: lunch, Toyota Land Cruiser 4×4 open top car and private English-speaking guide (English or German-speaking as required).

Arusha:  Two hour walking safari with a ranger in Arusha NP + day in the park
(2 pax day: $650)

Moshi:  Bathing at Chemka, hot spring.
(day 2 pax : 450$)
Visit a coffee plantation and walk to Materuni waterfall and swimming.
(day 2 pax : 450$)

West Kilimanjaro: Walk on the Shira Plateau at the foot of Kilimanjaro (4 to 8 hours, according to customer choice and agreement with local guide)
Walk along the Simba River (1 to 3 hours)
Rainforest walk (2 to 3 hours or more)

Natron: Safari on foot along the lake with a local guide
Walk in the Engaresero River to the waterfall and swim
Bath in a hot spring

Mto wa Mbu: full-day visit on foot or by bike, offering a wide variety of activities: a hike up the mountain overlooking the park, a visit to the village, the local fruit market, a local meal and then a walk to a waterfall (2-pax day: $550 or can be added to the Serengeti safari tour).

Serengeti: hot air balloon flight
(from 05.00 to 10.00 am : 600$ /pers)

Kondoa: visit of the rock paintings

Lushoto: walks in the surrounding mountains.

Visit to different tribes: Night under tent in the Maasai village (near Arusha)
Datoga and Hazabe (near Karatu)

Discovery of the local Tanzanian life: City tour (and market depending on the day) on foot in Arusha or Karatu (from Karatu) with local lunch (half day 2pax: $100)

Arusha :  Two hours walking safari with a ranger in Arusha NP + day in the park
(2 pax day : 650$)

Usually the visits of the big parks are done inside the vehicle to avoid being eaten! During your visit to Arusha National Park (where you will arrive in the morning, after your guide has picked you up from your hotel), you will have the exceptional opportunity to get out of the vehicle, as there are no cats ready to pounce. However, you will need to be accompanied by a ranger armed with a whistle gun in case a buffalo or an elephant decides to charge you! You will be able to see wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, elephant, buffalo or various monkeys, depending on what nature offers you that day.

After the two-hour walk, you will have a delicious and lovingly prepared lunch before heading out to see more of the park by car. You will return to the hotel at the end of the day.

Moshi: Bathing at Chemka (also called Kikuletwa), hot spring
(day 2 pax: 450$)
Visit of a coffee plantation and walk to Materuni waterfall and swimming.
(day 2 pax : 450$)
Combination spring + plantation and waterfall
(day 2 pax: 550$)

Two activities are possible near Moshi, (either from Moshi or from Arusha, two short hours drive). On the way to Chemka, you will see a unique phenomenon in Tanzania. Indeed, a small lake was formed in the middle of large trees with roots and imposing branches, filled with hot underground water which goes up permanently on the surface, offering a constant movement and a water of an exceptional purity. This heavenly place is ideal for relaxation and offers excellent meals to be ordered and eaten on site.

You can also go for a walk in the rainforest near the Materuni waterfall, which you will reach after a short, easy hour’s walk on a dirt path. On the way back, you will visit a coffee plantation. You will learn everything from the planting of the coffee seed to the arrival of the ground coffee in your coffee pot.

West Kilimanjaro: Walk on the Shira Plateau at the foot of Kilimanjaro (4 to 8 hours, according to customer choice and agreement with local guide)
Walk along the Simba River (1 to 3 hours)
Rainforest walk (2 to 3 hours or more)

If you don’t have the time or don’t feel fit enough to climb the Kili, but want to feel the forces that emerge from the foot of this legendary mountain and enjoy the volcanic and lunar landscapes, then this is the holiday for you. We recommend a minimum of two nights at Simba Farm Lodge. Three nights are also easy to enjoy! The setting is heavenly, with views of the Kili and Mont Meru, a sumptuously flower-filled garden, a huge kitchen garden with strawberries, excellent three-course menus, a swimming pool and rooms with wonderful character. A wide range of activities are on offer: the Shira plateau is a must, of course, but also a walk along the river, in the virgin forest, to discover the local birds, or a short stroll to watch the sunset. Not to mention a visit to the farm and surrounding farms to discover and better understand traditional agriculture.

Natron: Safari on foot along the lake with a local guide
Walk in the Engaresero River to the waterfall and swim
Bath in a hot spring

The Natron region, Maasai country par excellence, is still very wild and not very touristy. The landscapes are sumptuous and the possible activities original.

Indeed, if you stay at least two nights at the edge of the lake, you will be able to do two of the three proposed activities. It would take an extra day to do all three.

The walking safari offers, early in the morning before the heat, the possibility to go with a guide to the edge of the lake to see, depending on the season, up to thousands of flamingos enjoying the only plankton able to survive in this PH10 water. Zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, ostriches and monkeys also live near the lake and can be seen when you are lucky! Sometimes even a few meters away. Afterabout two hours of easy walking, your guide will pick you up and drive you back to the hotel.

You can then choose to walk in the river or go to the hot spring. The Engaresero River walk goes deep into the Rift Valley and takes about 90 minutes round trip, not including the time you can enjoy the pool in front of the waterfall for a swim and/or just to cool off. Walking in the water is easy for everyone as long as you are sure-footed and comfortable on your legs! If this is not the case, or if you hesitate, you can go 40 minutes by car from the hotel to discover a hot spring that comes out of the mountain Ol Doinyo Lengai. The place is magical. You can walk around and enjoy, alone, this haven of peace. The basin that the spring forms is not large, but allows you to bask in it easily and even to take a few swims!

Mto wa Mbu day tour on foot or by bike for a wide variety of activities. (2-pax day: $550)

It’s possible to explore everyday Tanzanian life for a day and come away with a feeling of knowing more about Tanzanian homes, food and landscapes.

In the morning, you set off on a two-hour walk above the village of Mto wa Mbu. The hike takes in beautiful views of Lake Manyara, and typical Tanzanian landscapes and vegetation. On the way back, you’ll visit the village with its traditional houses, banana plantations and local market, and enjoy a typical local meal. In the afternoon, you’ll hike through the rift valley to a magnificent waterfall. This walk will again give you the opportunity to discover different Tanzanian landscapes on foot.

These activities are very interesting and unique on a regular safari, as they give you the chance to get to know the country outside the car in which you will otherwise spend most of your time.

Serengeti : hot air balloon flight
(from 5.00 to 10.00 am : 600$ /pers)

The responsible agency will pick you up between 4 and 5 am at your hotel, and will propose you a safari of one hour at night, on the road to the place from where you will take off. Around 6.30 am, you take off and watch the sunrise. The gondola is large and can accommodate up to 20 people, but the show is so breathtaking that you feel alone in the world!

The departure can be from the center of the park as well as from the north or south depending on the season and the location of the wildebeest and zebra migration corridors.

After a good hour of flight, they propose between 60 and 90 minutes depending on the weather conditions, you land in the middle of nowhere, and can enjoy a sumptuous lunch cooked on site with champagne. Around 10 am, the drivers who came to pick you up in the morning, will bring you back to your meeting point with your guide so that you can continue your adventure!

Lushoto: walks in the surrounding mountains.

There are few mountainous areas in Tanzania, but they are quite spectacular. Lushoto is a small town located in the Usambara Mountains, more than an hour drive from Same (east of Moshi). The change of scenery is total. If you want to get off the beaten track and discover an exceptional place, Lushoto and its surroundings are made for you! You will have the opportunity to discover splendid landscapes and exciting ways of farming. The drive from Arusha is about 7 hours. We recommend a stay of 3 to 6 days, either for a day hike or a 4-day tour, to discover the flora, landscapes and close contact with the local people.

Kondoa : visit of the rock paintings

The rock paintings of Kondoa date from 100 to 10’000 years as the guide with whom we will have access to the site indicates it to us! Indeed, probably the surrounding tribes, convinced of the mystical powers of these paintings, wished to make their own tribal contributions, until the place was discovered and more or less protected. Access is easy, the paintings are not protected from the wind and especially from the rains, so that, despite their immense artistic and historical interest, their long-term life seems to be largely compromised.

The passage through Kondoa is particularly relevant for travelers going to Dodoma, Morogoro or wishing to visit Mikumi, Selous or further south.

Visit to different tribes: Overnight in tents at Maasai village (near Arusha)
Datoga and Hazabe (near Karatu)

The experience of sleeping in a tent among the Maasai is exciting. You arrive at the village during the day with your guide and a cook who will prepare a meal for you that is more accessible than the typical Maasai meal of hot blood mixed with milk. You will be welcomed by traditional dances and songs. During your stay, you will have the opportunity to communicate with the village chief. He will show you around the boma (village in Maa). He will explain to you how the houses are built, who is responsible for the construction, how the interior space is occupied. You will also see how the goats, cows and sheep are distributed in different enclosures, protected from wild animals such as hyenas, by thorn bushes.

You will also discover the different types of plants, barks and roots that are used as natural medicines. They are prepared in different forms such as soups, ointments, juices or simply eaten raw! You will leave the village the next day after a memorable immersion in the daily life of these touching and generous people.

The village in which you will go receives only the clients of our agency. It is essential for us not to interfere with their daily life.

From Karatu, you can also drive a good hour to visit the Datoga and the Hazabe. They are two tribes of hunter-gatherers who shoot with a bow and arrow in front of you before making a fire without matches to roast the animal they just killed. They also show you how to dig to drink water more than 1 meter deep, purified by the sand through which it flows. You will also learn to shoot with a bow and dance with them. We could fear at first a certain voyeurism and a tourist trap. It is nothing of the sort. Indeed, the Tanzanian government has been trying for years to make disappear the way of life of these two tribes and to send them to live in town in houses built for them. It is thanks to our visits and the money that this brings them that they can resist the government’s demands and preserve their ancestral traditions.

Discovery of the local Tanzanian life:    Visit of banana plantations, market and typical Tanzanian meal in Mto wa Mbu (full day 2 pax: 550$)

City tour (and market depending on the day) on foot in Arusha or Karatu with local lunch (half day 2pax: $100)

After a two hour drive from Arusha, you will reach Mto wa Mbu, the mosquito river. Mto wa Mbu is a small town that offers various interesting activities. Indeed, in addition to being the starting point for a bicycle or canoe excursion, it is also possible to visit with a local guide a banana plantation, located in the middle of cob houses quite typical of the country.

At the end of the tour, you can go to the local market and have a typical Tanzanian meal. On your safari, the food will be more international

You can also take a city tour in Arusha or Karatu. This will allow you to better imagine the daily life of the inhabitants of this country, both when they go shopping and when they try to get around town.