4-Day Tarangire, Manyara & Ngorongoro4-Day Safari: Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater

Day 1: Arusha National Park

The first drive is a short one: Arusha National Park begins barely half an hour beyond the city. Instead of open savannah, you'll find mountain forest with colobus monkeys swinging through it, plus the Momella Lakes full of waterbirds and Mount Meru rising above. Because hardly any large predators live in the park, a guided walk is possible if you'd like one. A quiet first day before the big parks follow; in the evening you settle into your first place to stay.

Day 2: Tarangire National Park

On to Tarangire National Park, about two hours away by car. A simple rule applies here: the drier the months, the busier the riverbanks. Elephants then arrive in their hundreds, zebras and wildebeest follow, and somewhere in the tall grass there's usually a lion already lying. Lunch is a picnic in the park, the game drive carries on into the afternoon, and then your second night awaits.

Day 3: Lake Manyara National Park

Day three belongs to the narrow park by Lake Manyara. In the forest beyond the entrance, baboons clamber about in large family groups, hippos lie packed together at the Hippo Pool, and pelicans circle over the water. The backdrop to it all is the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. With luck, you'll spot a lion in a tree on the way back, the trademark of this park. In the evening comes night number three.

Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater

The finale is a basin: on the last morning the vehicle rolls over the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and down to the floor of the caldera, which is considered the largest intact one in the world. Down below, wildlife crowds into a small space, from herds of buffalo to the rare black rhino. You'll rarely get the Big Five in front of your lens as completely as here. After the game drive the vehicle winds its way back up; in the evening you reach Arusha City, or, if you wish, fly on to the island.