Southern Tanzania Safari
Featuring:  Selous Game Reserve, Mikumi & Ruaha National Parks

First-Class Accommodations

14 Days / 11 Nights

This Safari visits several leading Game Reserves and National Parks in the southern portion of Tanzania.  While less visited than the country's northern areas, the south offers wildlife and preserves certainly as impressive as the north.  On this journey, we'll visit the Selous Game Reserve - the largest in Africa - with an amazing variety of wildlife, including the largest concentration of Hippos.  Also included are visits to the Mikumi, Ruaha, and Udzungwa Mountains National Parks.  Participants will return home, impressed by this experience!

Sample Group Itinerary 

Day 1  -  Depart USA. 
We depart the U.S. today en route to Tanzania.

Day 2  -  Arrive Dar es Salaam. 
Arrival at Dar es Salaam International Airport, where we are met and transferred to our hotel for overnight.   Southern Sun Hotel or similar.

Day 3  -  Dar es Salaam  -  Selous Game Reserve. 
We depart Dar es Salaam this morning by 4-wheel-drive vehicles to the Selous Game Reserve.  Picnic lunch en route.  An afternoon boat safari is planned along the mighty Rufiji River.  Those who have experienced this safari can verify the fact that this mighty river boasts Africa’s highest concentration of Hippos.  Birdlife is prolific.  Dinner and overnight at the Rufiji River Camp, a tented camp situated in the north-eastern part of the Selous Game Reserve, on a high bank overlooking the Rufiji River and the plains beyond.  Rufiji River Camp.  (B,L,D)

Day 4  -  Selous Game Reserve. 
A full-day game drive today in the Selous Game Reserve, Africa’s largest wildlife sanctuary, with an area of over 21,000 square miles, is larger than Denmark and four times the size of Serengeti.  It has the world’s largest number of big game – elephant, buffalo, rhino, sable antelope.  Selous also contains wildebeest, eland, giraffes, waterbuck, zebras, impalas, hippos, leopards and lions, along with about 350 species of birdlife.  Picnic lunch along the way.  Dinner and overnight.  Rufiji River Camp.  (B,L,D)

Day 5  -  Selous Game Reserve. 
A morning walking safari today provides an intimate impression of the African bush, along with unforgettable up-close views of wildlife and pristine nature.  Lunch at the Camp.  In the afternoon, we’ll enjoy another boat safari on the Rufiji River.  Dinner and overnight at the Camp.  Rufiji River Camp.  (B,L,D)

Day 6  -  Selous Game Reserve  -  Mikumi National Park. 
After breakfast we depart for the Mikumi National Park.  A picnic lunch is served en route.  Dinner and overnight at the Vuma Hill Tented Camp, which is set on a spacious hillside of Mikumi National Park.  Overlooking the Mkate Plains and surrounding mountains, it is an excellent place to get into the bush, each tent being designed with private bathrooms and hot showers inside, along with custom made furnishings.  Wild animals can be seen around the Camp grounds.  Vuma Tented Camp.  (B,L,D)

Day 7  -  Mikumi National Park  -  Ruaha National Park. 
We depart Mikumi this morning and drive west.  We stop in Iringa for lunch, before proceeding to Ruaha National Park.  Upon arrival in the Park, we’ll have a short game drive before arriving at the Ruaha River Lodge.  This lodge is constructed on and around a rocky “kopje” (hill), overlooking the Great Ruaha River.  The Lodge provides comfortable accommodations and good food, while blending into its surroundings, to enable visitors to feel themselves as part of the wild.  Both the dining “Banda” and the bar, in an elevated position above the river, combine comfort and coolness together with the most spectacular views.  Dinner and overnight.  Ruaha River Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 8  -  Ruaha National Park. 
Today we enjoy a full day game drive in Ruaha National Park.  Ruaha, with an area of 3,980 square miles, is the second largest park in Tanzania, and has the largest population of elephants of any East African national park.  The Great Ruaha River, which flows along the entire eastern border of the Park, features spectacular gorges and scenery, and a large number of hippos and crocodiles.  The wide variety of animals include the Greater and Lesser Kudu, and roan and sable antelope.  Birdlife is rich, with over 450 species recorded.  A picnic lunch will be served during the drive.  Dinner and overnight at the Lodge.  Ruaha River Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Days 9 & 10  -  Ruaha National Park. 
Two more full-day game drives are planned.  Among the wildlife we may see are the Greater Kudu, giraffes, lions, numerous antelope (including the impala and the waterbuck), cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, and possibly even Grant’s Gazelles and wild dogs.  Numerous birds will be among the sightings.  Picnic lunches each day, as well as dinners and overnights at the Lodge.  Ruaha River Lodge.  (B,L,D Daily)

Day 11  -  Ruaha National Park  -  Udzungwa Mountains National Park  -  Mikumi. 
After breakfast we depart Ruaha with box lunches.  We stop at the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, to enjoy a tour on foot with a local guide.  We continue on to Mikumi, where we’ll have dinner and overnight at the Mikumi Wildlife Camp.  Mikumi Wildlife Camp.  (B,L,D)

Day 12  -  Mikumi  -  Dar es Salaam. 
A morning game drive is scheduled in Mikumi National Park, which is rich in wildlife, including buffalo, elephant, lion, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, impala and hippo populations.  Return to the Camp for lunch.  In the afternoon we return to Dar es Salaam for overnight.  Southern Sun Hotel or similar.  (B,L)

Day 13  -  Depart Dar es Salaam. 
We transfer back to the airport today to board our flight back to the U.S.  (B)

Day 14  -  Arrive U.S. 
We arrive back in the U.S. today, full of lifelong memories of an unusual safari to areas rarely seen by most visitors to East Africa.  
 

Included Meal Codes:
B  -  Breakfast
L  -  Lunch
D  -  Dinner.

Tour Price Will Include:
  -  Round-Trip Airfare from USA to Tanzania
  -  Meet and greet service by our local representatives at Dar es Salaam International Airport     
  -  Round trip private transfers from/to airport in Dar es Salaam 
  -  11 Nights Accommodation in First-Class properties with private facilities as indicated (or similar), based on double occupancy
  -  Meals as indicated
  -  1-litre bottled mineral water per person per day whilst on safari
  -  Transportation by specially equipped 7-seater or 5-seater vehicles in Tanzania
  -  Services of a professional English speaking driver/guide
  -  Game drives, sightseeing and excursions as described in the itinerary, inclusive of applicable entrance fees 
  -  Applicable local and government taxes on accommodation and transportation
  -  Flying Doctor Evacuation Service.

Tour Price Will Not Include:
  -  Taxes, Fuel Surcharges, and other fees applicable to the airfare
  -  Tips to guides, driver, and tour director
  -  Excess baggage fees
  -  Items of a personal nature, such as telephone calls, internet access fees, laundry, etc.
  -  Travel Insurance.

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