Book and enjoy this customized 7 day Tanzania safari and Zanzibar itinerary guided by Superfine Safaris Limited. Tanzania safari plus Zanzibar is the most popular itinerary combination in East Africa rewarding you with 4 days on game drives through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro followed by 3 nights on the beaches of Zanzibar Island. This itinerary packs in the Big Five, the Great Migration, black rhino and the Indian Ocean in a single efficient week.
7-Day Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar: Overview
| Day | Location | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrive Arusha → Central Serengeti | Afternoon game drive |
| Day 2 | Central Serengeti | Full-day: big cats, elephants, wildebeest |
| Day 3 | Central → Ngorongoro Rim | Serengeti morning drive, crater rim sunset |
| Day 4 | Ngorongoro Crater → Fly to Zanzibar | Crater descent, afternoon flight to Zanzibar |
| Day 5 | Zanzibar — Stone Town & Coast | Stone Town tour, spice farm, beach |
| Day 6 | Zanzibar North Coast | Beach, snorkelling, Mnemba Atoll day trip |
| Day 7 | Zanzibar → Depart | Final morning, fly home |
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive Arusha and Fly to Central Serengeti
Fly into Kilimanjaro (JRO) or Arusha (ARK). For this condensed itinerary, skip the land drive and fly directly into the Serengeti on a scheduled bush flight. Precision Air, Coastal Aviation and Auric Air all operate daily scheduled flights from Arusha Airport (ARK) to Seronera Airstrip in the central Serengeti — the flight takes 50 minutes and costs $150–250 per person each way.
Arrive at Seronera by midday. Afternoon game drive with your camp’s guide. Flying rather than driving saves the two-hour road journey through the Ngorongoro highlands each way — a significant time gain on a short itinerary — and your first Serengeti drive begins in the best afternoon light.
Overnight: Central Serengeti.
Day 2: Full Day in the Central Serengeti
Morning drive from 6am. Serengeti mornings are defined by light — the golden hour after dawn is when lions and cheetahs are most active and most photogenic. The Seronera Valley’s permanent rivers sustain a year-round concentration of wildlife: leopards in the fig trees, lion prides on the kopjes, cheetahs on the open plains, and massive herds of zebra and wildebeest when the migration passes through.
Midday at camp (most Serengeti camps provide a bush lunch or a midday break). Afternoon drive from 3–6pm. The late afternoon is prime cheetah hunting time — cheetahs use the cooling temperatures to run down prey, and on open plains, high-speed chases are visible from a kilometre away.
Overnight: Central Serengeti.
Day 3: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater Rim
Morning game drive (6–10am) before driving east to Ngorongoro. The two-hour drive from Seronera to the Ngorongoro rim passes through the Ndutu area in the south — a prime lion and cheetah zone — and then climbs through highland forest to the rim. The vegetation transition from open savanna to montane forest within 30 minutes of driving is dramatic.
Arrive at the Ngorongoro rim by midday. Afternoon at leisure: walk the crater rim trail, visit the Maasai market at the main gate, or take a short drive along the rim for views. The crater appears different at different times of day — late afternoon light turns the grassland floor golden.
Overnight: Ngorongoro Crater Rim.
Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater and Fly to Zanzibar
Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater at 7am. The crater floor holds one of the densest wildlife populations in Africa: 25,000 large animals in 260 km². You have four to five hours on the floor before the 1pm exit deadline. Key targets: black rhino (Tanzania’s most endangered population — around 26 individuals, seen regularly in the crater’s central marshes), lions, the hippo pool, flamingos on Lake Magadi, and large buffalo herds.
Exit the crater by 1pm and drive to Arusha (2.5 hours). Connecting flight from Arusha Airport to Zanzibar’s Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) — about 1.5 hours. Precision Air flies this route twice daily. Arrive Zanzibar by evening. Transfer to your beach resort or Stone Town hotel.
Overnight: Zanzibar.
Days 5–7: Zanzibar
Zanzibar Island is 90km long, 30km wide, and sits 35km off the Tanzanian coast in the Indian Ocean. The island divides cleanly into two experiences: Stone Town (the historic Swahili trading port, UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the beach zones on the north and east coasts.
Day 5 — Stone Town and the north coast: A half-day walking tour of Stone Town covers the Old Fort, the Palace Museum, the former slave market (now an Anglican cathedral), and the labyrinthine streets with their distinctive carved wooden doors. Lunch at Forodhani Gardens night market. Afternoon: spice farm tour on the outskirts of Stone Town (60–90 minutes, about $15 per person — nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, black pepper, jackfruit growing in a working plantation). Transfer to the north coast (Nungwi or Kendwa) for your beach days.
Day 6 — Beach and ocean: Zanzibar’s north coast has some of the most reliable swimming conditions — Nungwi and Kendwa are sandy, palm-fringed beaches with clear water and no tidal extremes (unlike the east coast, which becomes a mudflat at low tide). Day trip option: Mnemba Atoll, a private island 3km offshore surrounded by a marine conservation area. Snorkelling off Mnemba is exceptional: turtles, dolphins, parrotfish, moray eels, and extensive coral gardens. Dive operators also run certified PADI courses here. Dhow sunset cruise available from Nungwi — a traditional wooden sailing boat, cold Kilimanjaro beer, Indian Ocean sunset.
Day 7 — Final morning, depart: Morning at the beach or Stone Town. International flights from Zanzibar Airport (ZNZ) connect to Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa and Doha. Most European departures are overnight — Zanzibar sits in EAT (UTC+3), so an 11pm Zanzibar departure arrives in London early morning.
Planning Tips
Best months: This itinerary works year-round. For migration herds in the Serengeti, June–October (animals in central and northern zones) or January–March (calving season, southern zones). Beach conditions in Zanzibar are best April–May and October–November are short rainy season — prices drop and long rains (May–June) bring some disruption. The best combined months: July–October (dry, migration, good sea conditions).
Tanzania visa: E-visa ($50) covers both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. One visa, one application. US citizens pay $100.
Zanzibar airport tip: International flights land at Zanzibar Airport, which has limited departure lounges and can be chaotic before evening flights. Arrive two hours early for international departures.
Extending this trip: Add Kilimanjaro (3–6 days for the trek), Pemba Island (a quieter Zanzibar alternative, 45-minute flight), Rwanda gorilla trekking (fly Zanzibar–Kigali, 2.5 hours on RwandAir), or a Kenya Masai Mara combination. See our full Tanzania itinerary guide for more options.
