3-day Tanzania safari - Tarangire and Ngorongoro Crater

We did a 7 day trek on the Lemosho route to summit Kili with Altezza and then followed it up with a rest day, then 3 days of Safari with another rest day before flying back to the US. Altezza exceeded our expectation on both activities. We were booked in great accommodations: Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge for the two rest days and Mawe Mawe/Sound of Silence for two in the middle. Our guides were Rahim and Carlos. Rahim drove the Land Cruiser that I was traveling in and was excellent at driving, finding the animals and telling us about them. We had a group of 8 with two vehicles. The Land Cruisers were very comfortable - big windows that open, pop up roof, and refrigerator stocked with our requests as well as complimentary water and sodas. We visited Arusha National Park the first day and had a bush walk with an armed ranger. This day was about baboons and warthogs. The second day was Torangire where there are lots of elephants. Make sure your guide stops near a watering hole/large mud puddle as the Elephants will stop to spray themselves. The third day was Ngorongoro Crater which had everything except Giraffes (but we saw them at the two previous parks. The Lions were the big attraction at the Crater as well as more large herds of Zebra, Wildebeest and Water Buffalo. I had an excellent experience and the rate we paid for the safari was more than fair especially considering that many safari's are 10-15K. I could have done a few more days, but 3 was perfect, especially if you like to hike and want to make a run at summiting Kili. I also want to put in a special thanks to Robert who was our driver to the airport. The roads are easily blocked as they are just one way. Robert navigated a traffic jam by taking us down the backroads to get us to the airport on time.

In November 2025 (November is the shoulder touring season for mid-south Africa) we were lucky to have been booked on a Serengeti safari with Altezza Travel in Tanzania. This was arranged by the fine folks at Afro Divers, Pemba Island, Zanzibar, where we began our travels. Everything we experienced was first rate: our guide, our tour beginning at the Seronera area of the Serengeti ending in Arusha, the lodges we stayed at and their wonderful food, and of course all the natural wonders we observed throughout the journey. Worth noting here: Altezza doesn’t overload touring vehicles with 6+ passengers, which makes the driving and viewing experience very comfortable and more enjoyable; they only have four seats in their vehicles for safari. For us, we had only two in our group so we had the vehicle and guide all to ourselves. A brief description of our tour: We were met by our guide, Cathbert, at the Seronera Airstrip and had an afternoon safari drive on the way to our first lodge, Sounds of Silence. Over the next couple of days we visited several areas within the central part of the Serengeti National Park, then moved onto the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and our second lodge, the Acacia Naserian. After our day safari in the Crater we made our way through the Lake Manyara region, visiting a Maasi village before arriving in Arusha, where we stayed at the Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge. While there we visited the Arusha National Park for a ‘walking safari’ within an upland forested region of Tanzania. 7 days, 6 nights. Throughout the trip, the wildlife we observed and the overall experience exceeded our expectations! An unforgettable experience, all around. We can’t say enough great things about our guide, Cathbert. He was the ‘face’ of Altezza as we did not interact with anyone else from the safari company. Cathbert was professional, knowledgeable, considerate and easy-going. We never wanted for anything that wasn’t provided. While on safari he took care of everything; not just the expert guiding and transportation but also our lunches and comfortable, interesting breaks - especially during the long drive from the Seronera area to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Cathbert’s knowledge base was expansive, and he was always pointing out not only wildlife but other features of the landscape that were important to the environment. And he was always pointing out the relationships between animal species and the animals and their environment. Of exceptional note: Cathbert spotted a black rhino in the middle of the Ngorongoro Crater that looked like a mere black spec to the untrained eye! Cathbert was able to get us to a close-up view of the wildlife without the imposition of other safari vehicles crowding us. And we never felt rushed to move on to the ‘next spot’. That said, most all the safari companies were very considerate of wildlife viewing opportunities. We never felt crowded or that we missed something due to ‘traffic’. We highly recommend Cathbert for your guide throughout the Serengeti National Park and entire northern region of Tanzania. We hope to see him again! And finally, our lodging and food was top notch and did not break our bank! Every place where we stayed was clean, tastefully decorated/with amenities, comfortable beds (!), friendly, welcoming staff - informative and not intrusive, and located in the landscape where the clear, starry nights were spectacular! We didn’t want to leave … and we will go back with Altezza guiding us!

My grown daughter and I enjoyed two nights, three days of safari experiences with Altezza's Carlos. Altezza handled all the details, including accommodations the night before in Arusha at the Gran Melia (superb), a fabulously comfortable and well outfitted (air conditioning, extra fuel tank, 4 wheel drive, and wifi and power plugs) Land Cruiser and an educated, resourceful guide. We first visited Tarangire National Park, the spent the night near the top of the Ngorongoro caldera at the Farm House Valley property. Wish we could have stayed there another night to enjoy the ambience, views, swimming pool, dining. The next day and one half were spend in Ngorongoro, where we saw almost ALL the animals one could wish to view. Our final night was at Lion's Paw, at the edge of the crater, which gave us the opportunity for a dawn start our final day. Dawn is the best: quality of light, animals on the move, fewer land cruisers about... Lunches were provided in an elegant picnic style. The vehicle was cleaned by our guide every day. All the staff at the hotels were beyond helpful. Excellent way to enjoy a short safari!