7-Day Dar to Mikumi, Ruaha, Nyerere & Back Zanzibar

L'Expérience Du Jour

You will be picked up from your hotel, residence, or airport in Dar es Salaam in the morning. After a short briefing from your driver-guide, you will begin your journey to Mikumi National Park. The drive takes you through local towns, villages, and beautiful countryside landscapes, giving you a good introduction to Tanzania’s southern region. You will arrive in Mikumi in the afternoon, check in at your accommodation, and have a short time to relax. Later in the afternoon, you will enter Mikumi National Park for a sunset game drive. This is a great time to spot wildlife, as many animals become more active when the temperature cools down. Mikumi is home to elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, buffaloes, hippos, antelopes, and several predators such as lions. After the game drive, you will return to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight stay.

L'Expérience Du Jour

You will wake up early for a sunrise game drive inside Mikumi National Park. Early morning is one of the best times for wildlife viewing because the park is quiet, the weather is cool, and animals are often very active. During the game drive, you may see elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, impalas, wildebeests, hippos, and possibly lions before they move into shaded areas for the day. The morning light also offers a beautiful opportunity for photography. After the game drive, you will return to your accommodation for breakfast. After breakfast, you will check out and begin your drive toward Ruaha. The journey takes you through the Iringa region, with scenic views of hills, villages, and rural landscapes along the way. You will arrive at Ruaha Hilltop in the evening, check in, relax, and enjoy dinner.

L'Expérience Du Jour

After breakfast, you will drive to Ruaha National Park for a full-day game drive. Ruaha is one of Tanzania’s largest and most beautiful national parks, known for its wild landscapes, baobab trees, river systems, and large populations of elephants. The park is also famous for excellent predator sightings. With luck, you may see lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and wild dogs. Other animals commonly found in Ruaha include giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, greater and lesser kudus, impalas, warthogs, jackals, hippos, and crocodiles. You will spend the day exploring different areas of the park with your professional safari guide. A packed lunch will be served inside the park at a suitable picnic site. In the afternoon, you will continue with the game drive before returning to your lodge in the evening. Your dinner and overnight stay will be at your accommodation.

L'Expérience Du Jour

After breakfast, you will check out of your accommodation in Ruaha and begin your journey toward Iringa. On the way, you will visit the Isimila Stone Age Site, one of Tanzania’s most important historical and archaeological sites. At Isimila, you will explore the ancient stone tools, impressive sandstone pillars, and eroded natural formations that make the area unique. The site gives a fascinating insight into early human history and is a great cultural stop before continuing your safari journey. After the visit, you will continue driving toward Morogoro. The journey takes you through beautiful landscapes, villages, and scenic views of the southern highlands. You may stop along the way for lunch and refreshments. You will arrive in Morogoro in the evening, check in at your accommodation, relax, and enjoy dinner.

L'Expérience Du Jour

After breakfast, you will check out and begin your transfer from Mikumi to Nyerere National Park, formerly part of the Selous Game Reserve. This is another exciting day as you travel toward one of Africa’s largest protected wildlife areas. Upon arrival in the Nyerere area, you will enter the park for a game drive. Nyerere is well known for its diverse landscapes, including open plains, woodlands, lakes, rivers, and wetlands. The park is home to elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, antelopes, lions, leopards, hyenas, and many bird species. After the game drive, you will proceed to your accommodation inside the park area. You will check in, relax, and enjoy dinner.

L'Expérience Du Jour

After breakfast, you will depart for a full-day game drive in Nyerere National Park. This park offers a true wilderness safari experience with fewer crowds and excellent chances of seeing a wide variety of animals. Your guide will take you through different wildlife areas in search of elephants, giraffes, buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, antelopes, lions, leopards, wild dogs, hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, and many bird species. You will enjoy a packed lunch inside the park during the game drive. In the late afternoon or evening, you will go for a boat safari outside the main park area, usually along the Rufiji River or nearby waterways, depending on the arrangement. The boat safari gives you a different safari experience, with chances to see hippos, crocodiles, water birds, and animals coming to drink along the riverbanks. After the boat trip, you will return to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight stay.

L'Expérience Du Jour

After an early breakfast, you will check out and begin your transfer to Nyerere National Park at Mtemere Airstrip for fly to Zanzibar around 7:00 AM. This marks the end of your 7-day Tanzania southern circuit safari. NB: It can be arranged back to Dar es Salaam by car instead of Zanzibar.